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Tuesday, Jul. 4 2:05pm ET
Wickman hurts All-Star selection chances | |||||
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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Everyone in the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse seems confident Bob Wickman will regain his form, although a string of bad performances may cost the closer a trip to the All-Star Game. Pat Burrell's grounder scored Bobby Abreu with the go-ahead run as the Philadelphia Phillies scored four runs off Wickman in the ninth inning Tuesday to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4. Milwaukee took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but Wickman blew his second save in three tries and his third overall. It was the third poor outing in six days for Wickman, who also gave up four hits and three runs in two-thirds of an innings of a non-save situation on Thursday. "I've seen a lot of closers go through these things," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "He's just going through a tough time right now." Wickman, who set the franchise record last year with 37 saves, is the only Milwaukee player with good numbers who hasn't been injured for a significant portion of the season. That was thought to make him a lock to be the Brewers' All-Star representative, but NL manager Bobby Cox could change his mind. "If they're hitting the ball off the wall, I'm making bad pitches," Wickman said with a shrug. "If they're hitting ground balls in the infield, then I'm making good pitches." Nobody hit the ball off the wall against Wickman on Tuesday, but a variety of mental and physical errors contributed to Milwaukee's ninth-inning collapse. With one out, Ron Gant singled and stole second against Wickman's deliberate delivery. Abreu's slow grounder up the middle somehow eluded both Wickman (2-2) and shortstop Luis Lopez. Gant tripped and nearly fell at third, but he recovered to score the tying run. "I thought for sure I was going on my face," Gant said. Scott Rolen then walked, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Burrell grounded to second and Ron Belliard threw home, but Abreu slid in under catcher Henry Blanco's tag. One out later, Alex Arias singled up the middle to bring home two more runs. Wickman, who has 11 saves, left the mound to loud boos and headed straight up the tunnel to the clubhouse. "I thought we'd have a chance to win it," Philadelphia manager Terry Francona said. "We've been staying close a lot, and that's all we've needed to do. We have a good instinct late in games." Francona praised his team's baserunning, particularly Gant's play in the ninth. Doug Glanville also beat out a routine two-out grounder in the third inning, kick-starting a three-run rally. "We've been aggressive, but smart," Francona said. "That's what will win ballgames." Chris Brock (5-4) pitched a perfect eighth and Jeff Brantley, who needed a bases-loaded strikeout of Geoff Jenkins on Monday night to avoid blowing a save, pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 13 chances. "They win ugly, and we lose ugly," Lopes said. "Our biggest obstacle has been ourselves, not the opposition." Philadelphia won for the 13th time in 18 games, while Milwaukee fell to 2-3 on its 10-game homestand. Jeromy Burnitz's fifth-inning double scored Lopez to put Milwaukee up 4-3. Lopez had a season-high three hits for the Brewers, who got 6 2/3 strong innings from Jason Bere. He wasn't quite as successful against the Phillies as he was five days earlier, when he struck out 13 in an 8-6 victory at Philadelphia. But except for a three-run third inning, Bere stayed in control, and Milwaukee's relievers kept the lead intact by pitching out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings. Philadelphia scored the game's first three runs with a two-out rally in the third capped by Rolen's two-run double. Milwaukee got three of its own in the fourth inning on four hits, with the tying run scoring on a fielder's choice grounder by Raul Casanova. Phillies starter Dave Coggin, who was facing Bere for the second time in five days, allowed four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. He struck out a career-high five.
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Philadelphia Clubhouse Milwaukee Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 9 Toronto 4
Kansas City 10
Philadelphia 7
San Francisco 3
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