Brewers thriving behind pitching entering series vs. Phillies

The Milwaukee Brewers will try to continue their hot streak when they open a three-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

The Brewers are coming off a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds after taking two of three from them heading into the All-Star break. Those wins gave Milwaukee a two-game edge over the Reds for first place in the NL Central.

Three of their past five wins have come via shutout.

"It's good to see us come in and shut them down and slow their roll," Brewers reliever Hoby Milner said of Cincinnati. "Hopefully, we start a little slump for them. That would be nice."

Milner, Bryse Wilson, Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps and Devin Williams combined to throw 9 1/3 scoreless innings last weekend.

"We've got this group of five that's been here all year, and all five of them have had really nice seasons," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.

Milwaukee's offense absorbed another blow over the weekend when power-hitting first baseman Rowdy Tellez underwent surgery on his left ring finger after injuring himself during pregame warmups on Saturday.

Tellez was shagging fly balls in the outfield when his finger snagged on the center-field wall, tearing off his fingernail and breaking the bone at the tip.

Tellez was close to returning from right forearm inflammation that had kept him out since July 5, but now he'll miss an additional four weeks.

The Brewers also placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a lower back strain. The team recalled infielder Jahmai Jones from Triple-A Nashville.

The Phillies came out of the All-Star break hot as well, winning their past three games to take three of four from the visiting San Diego Padres. Those wins moved Philadelphia within a half game of an NL wild-card spot.

The Phillies are planning to start former two-time NL most valuable player Bryce Harper at first base during the upcoming series, but had not cemented which game as of Sunday.

Harper has not played a defensive position since April 16, 2022.

He was diagnosed with a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow in May of last season and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in November.

"Ready as I can be at first base, right?" Harper said. "I'm going to try to play the best first base I can. It's not going to be an every-day thing -- it'll be one day here and a couple DHs -- so we'll go from there."

Philadelphia plans to send right-hander Aaron Nola to the mound for the series opener.

Nola (8-6, 4.39 ERA) strung together wins in consecutive starts for the first time this season on June 28 against the Chicago Cubs and July 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays, but lost his most-recent outing after giving up five runs (four earned) and eight hits over six innings in a 7-3 loss to the Miami Marlins on July 9.

Nola, 30, is 5-1 in 10 career starts against Milwaukee with a 2.28 ERA. Christian Yelich is 10-for-30 (.333) with a homer against Nola.

The Brewers plan to counter with veteran right-hander Julio Teheran.

Teheran (2-3, 3.64) has struggled in his past two outings, allowing a combined 13 runs in 11 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from 1.53 through his first six starts this season.

The 32-year-old has made 26 career appearances against Philadelphia, including 25 starts, and is 9-9 with a 3.97 ERA.

Harper is 19-for-47 (.404) with nine homers, 21 RBIs and 12 walks against Teheran.