Marco Estrada allowed two runs in six innings, Cliff Lee was hit hard for the second time in three starts, and the Brewers finished off a three-game sweep with a 6-2 win over the Phillies Thursday night at half-empty Citizens Bank Park.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Phils, who fell to 3-6 overall. The Brewers outscored them 25-10 in the three games.
This is the first time the Phillies have been swept in a series of three or more games and lost each game by at least four runs in nine years. It last happened in June of 2005, when the Red Sox swept the Phillies 8-0, 7-1 and 12-8.
The official announced attendance of 25,492 is the Phils' lowest at Citizens Bank Park in their last 498 regular-season home games, since Sept. 11, 2007, when they drew 25,263 for a game against the Rockies.
Starting pitching report
Lee (2-1) struck out five of the first nine batters he faced but then allowed seven hits to the next 15 batters and left the game after six innings with the Phils trailing 3-1.
Lee allowed eight hits, walked none and struck out eight, throwing 96 pitches in six innings.
He’s now allowed 29 hits and 11 earned runs in 18 innings in three starts for a 5.50 ERA.
Bullpen report
Jeff Manship replaced Lee in the seventh and allowed three runs without retiring a batter.
Jake Diekman finished the seventh without being charged with a run, and Justin De Fratus finished up with a scoreless, hitless eighth and ninth.
The Phils’ bullpen this year has allowed 16 earned runs, 25 hits and 14 walks in 26 2/3 innings.
Three Milwaukee relievers combined to allow one hit and no runs in three innings.
At the plate
Marlon Byrd drove in both Phillies runs. He slammed a solo homer to left in the second and added an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Chase Utley, in his first game since missing two games with the flu, had two hits.
The Phillies struck out 11 times and managed just six hits.
Ryan Braun was 2 for 3 with a sac fly, giving him six hits in 12 at-bats and 10 RBIs in the series. Braun arrived in Philly hitting .150 and raised his average to .281.
Aramis Ramirez’s fourth-inning RBI double was the 443rd of his career, 11th-most among active major-leaguers.
In the field
Byrd misplayed Gomez’s third-inning fly ball down the right-field line into what was scored a triple but should have been a three-base error.
Byrd settled under the ball while standing on the foul line but just dropped it.
Gomez just beat Brown’s throw to third, but Lee got Jean Segura to bounce out to second, stranding Gomez at third.
In the fifth, Domonic Brown threw out Gomez trying to stretch a single into a double. In the ninth, Brown made a nice diving catch of a line shot by Scooter Gennett.
Cody Asche was charged with his second error of the season in the eighth, the Phils’ 10th error this year and sixth in the last three games.
Sick bay
Sandberg said slick-fielding reserve Freddy Galvis is almost ready to join the Phillies after fighting a leg infection.
“He’s doing well, he’s doing well, he’s knocking at the door,” Sandberg said before the game. “It could be fairly quickly.”
Reliever Mike Adams, who had shoulder surgery last summer, should be back in the next few days as well.
“Adams threw his first back-to-back days [in Clearwater],” he said. “I think he threw 25 pitches. Threw all of his pitches. Reported fine afterwards. He’s progressing in a straight line very well.”
Up next
The Phillies open a three-game series Friday against the Marlins. Gametimes are 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1:35 p.m. Sunday.
A.J. Burnett starts Friday for the Phils vs. Jose Fernandez, Nathan Eovaldi faces Jonathan Pettibone Saturday, and Kyle Kendrick pitches Sunday vs. Henderson Alvarez.