Brewers' Jake Bauers' walk-off prevents the Phillies from clinching a playoff spot

MILWAUKEE – Before the Brewers played their final game of the series against the Phillies on Wednesday, they had already secured their place in the National League Central.

A Cubs loss to Oakland that afternoon had brought Milwaukee's magic number to zero. Several Phillies exchanged hugs and congratulations with their old teammate Rhys Hoskins before batting practice.

The Phillies, however, will have to wait a little longer for their own celebration. They had a chance to secure a postseason berth and move one step closer to their own division title with a win on Wednesday, but a walk-off single by Jake Bauers postponed that for another day and helped the Brewers to a 2-1 victory over the Phillies.

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With the game tied 1-1 in the second half of the ninth inning, Carlos Estévez allowed a leadoff triple by Jackson Chourio, who scored on Bauers' hit.

The Phillies' offense wasted starting pitcher Aaron Nola's recovery, allowing just four hits and 16 strikeouts. Their only run came on a solo shot by Alec Bohm. The Phillies managed 40 strikeouts in the three-game series.

“We have a lot of strong hitters in our lineup, a lot of power guys that are going to have strikeouts from time to time,” Bohm said. “I think the last few days, just the whole group has had strikeouts. So that's a little more noticeable.”

Nola pitched seven complete innings, bouncing back from his last two starts when he failed to get out of the fifth inning. He allowed a four-pitch walk to Brice Turang in the first inning, but came into the game better after that, issuing no more walks and allowing just three hits.

“Everything felt pretty good, good four-seam. Control was pretty good,” Nola said. “They're definitely a tough team. I played against them earlier in the year and I basically knew what they were going to do in the game. So I just tried to make my throws, get strikes on the first pitch and throw out the leadoff man because I know most of the team runs and they're pretty fast and athletic.”

Nola's focus after his last outing was to avoid the “big inning,” when the mistakes pile up and the opposition runs up the score. He succeeded – even when Hoskins tied the game with a solo home run in the fifth inning, Nola quickly recovered and struck out the next nine batters. He finished the game with nine strikeouts, his most since starting on Sept. 1 against Atlanta.

“Especially when [Hoskins] “I just felt like I've seen that from him a lot,” Nola said. “I've seen this guy take curveballs out of play a lot. Honestly, I wasn't really surprised that he hit the pitch right there, but he put a good swing on it. He's a tough hitter.”

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His last at-bat of the game was against Hoskins, who had beaten him with a ground-rule double and a home run in his first two at-bats. Nola put his old teammate out of action after three pitches when he caught him looking at a fastball on the edge of the zone.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday afternoon that he felt Bohm's timing was off since returning from his hand injury and that he needed more reps.

Turns out he didn't need that many. In his first at-bat of the game, Bohm fouled out before catching a slider in the zone and lifting it over the center field wall. He made good contact again in the sixth inning, but the ball stayed in the field and was caught by Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell.

“Things went a little off here and there in the first few games,” Bohm said. “I still feel like I missed a few shots in the middle that I probably could have done something with. But overall I felt comfortable in the box.”

Orion Kerkering pitched a 1-2-3 in the eighth inning, giving the Phillies a chance to take a lead in the ninth inning, but Brewers closer Devin Williams struck out everyone in order.

“We need to get back to our two-strike approach and utilize the field,” Thomson said.

The Phillies' magic number for a postseason appearance remains one, while the magic number for the division title remains four.