PHILADELPHIA (AP) -After a September full of clutch hits, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and the Milwaukee Brewers are suddenly coming up short at the plate.
The Brewers managed just three runs and seven hits in the first two games of their NL division series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and their first postseason trip since 1982 will be a brief one if they can’t find some offense before Game 3 on Saturday night at Miller Park.
Braun went 2-for-4 but Fielder was hitless again and grounded out in a key spot as Philadelphia won 5-2 on Thursday to move within one win of the NLCS.
Fielder came up in a big spot in the eighth, batting with two on and two out. He shattered his bat on the first pitch from J.C. Romero, hitting a dribbler to second baseman Chase Utley to end the inning.
on are 0-for-7.
Braun and Fielder each had game-ending home runs in the final week of the season as the Brewers won six of their last seven to secure the wild card, but Milwaukee had trouble scoring without the longball in late September. That troubling trend has continued against the Phillies.
Struggling to get runners on base in the first two games, the potent Brewers have gone flat.
The Brewers managed just four hits in Game 1 – only two off Cole Hamels in the first eight innings – and managed two more off Brett Myers in Thursday’s loss. The Phillies pitcher provided most of Milwaukee’s offense in the first inning, walking three batters, including J.J. Hardy with the bases loaded to force in a run.
The Brewers had a chance to do more damage in the first but Corey Hart tapped back to the mound for an inning-ending double play.
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