Bryson Stott delivered the tie-breaking hit in the eighth inning to guide the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
Brandon Marsh homered and knocked in three runs for Philadelphia (87-70), which lowered its magic number to two to clinch a postseason berth. Zack Wheeler ended up with a no-decision after striking out 11 while giving up three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Milwaukee (98-59), which entered the night two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top record in the majors, lost for just the third time in its last 13 games. William Contreras knocked in three runs for the Brewers.
Working his fifth inning of relief for Milwaukee, Colton Gordon (0-1) notched the first two outs of the eighth inning before allowing singles to Luis Arraez and Alec Bohm. Stott then lined a slider up into center field to plate both runners with Bohm scampering home after the relay throw caromed off him and into foul territory.
Marsh followed with an RBI double to make it 6-3.
The Brewers got a run against Jhoan Duran in the ninth, but the Phillies’ closer slammed the door for his 33rd save.
Philadelphia took an early lead on Marsh’s two-run homer off Dustin May in the second inning. The hosts tacked on another run against Kyle Harrison in the third as Bohm delivered a two-out RBI double.
Meanwhile, Wheeler struck out the first seven batters he faced and did not allow a hit until Garrett Mitchell reached on an infield single to open the fourth. Brice Turang singled two batters later and Contreras supplied a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
After an uneventful fifth inning, Milwaukee tied it against a tiring Wheeler in the sixth. David Hamilton singled to open the frame and Jackson Chourio walked with one out. A double steal put two runners in scoring position for Contreras, whose base hit drew the visitors even at 3-3.
Tim Mayza got Philadelphia out of the sixth before Alex McFarlane retired all five batters he faced. Jose Alvarado (5-3) recorded the final out of the eighth, setting the stage for the late heroics.
