Milwaukee, WI – John Mayberry and Eric Kratz hit back-to-back homers in the second inning as the Philadelphia Phillies took down the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, on Saturday.
Ryan Howard had two doubles and drove in a run and Chase Utley went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game skid.
Cole Hamels (14-6) gave up three runs on eight hits and struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings.
"I was able to keep the ball down tonight. It was a great battle with (Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun)," Hamels said. "He really does well against lefties. You don't get noticed unless you win, so it's nice to be on a little bit of a roll."
Jonathan Paplebon recorded the final out in the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth nail down his 27th save.
Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and Aramis Ramirez also homered for the Brewers, who had an eight-game home winning streak snapped.
Mike Fiers (6-6) gave up four runs on five hits over five innings to absorb the loss.
"(Fiers) really hasn't thrown that many innings, we're going to talk about that," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "You don't necessarily view it as fatigue, but more that he is missing his spots. After those two bad innings he pitched well."
Back-to-back homers in the second put the Phillies up 3-0. Laynce Nix walked before Mayberry cracked his tenth homer of the year. Kratz followed suit with his sixth longball this season, a lined shot deep into the left field stands.
"I got ahead in the count and he gave me a fastball that I was able to put a good swing on," Mayberry said. "It was huge to be able to get (Hamels) that win, and it was great that Paplebon was able to come in and slam the door."
Ramirez led off the home half of the second with a homer to make the score 3-1.
Philadelphia stretched its lead to 4-1 in the third when Howard doubled in Utley. Utley singled before Howard ripped a double to right-center field.
The Brewers pulled within one run in the eighth after Braun drove a two-run homer over the right-field wall. Jonathan Lucroy singled before Braun crushed his National League-best 33rd homer of the season.
Game Notes
Hamels snapped a 23-inning scoreless streak after giving up the homer to Ramirez in the second. He has given up just three runs over his last 29 2/3 innings ... The Phillies went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base ... Braun's stolen base in the sixth made him the only player in the majors with 30 or more homers and 20 stolen bases.
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