Brewers beat Halladay, Phillies

[April 20, 2011]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Back in the ballpark where he used to be an ace, Randy Wolf shut down his former team and outpitched the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.

Wolf tossed six crisp innings, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0 Tuesday night.

The Brewers became the first team to win a series against the NL East-leading Phillies this season. They'll try to complete a three-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon when Cliff Lee takes the mound for Philadelphia.

Wolf (2-2) allowed two hits, struck out five and walked three against his former team. The left-hander had his best seasons with Philadelphia in the early 2000s, and was an All-Star in '03.

"It was tough early on. I didn't have my best stuff," Wolf said. "I tried to mix speeds a lot and I think I kept them off balance."

Jimmy Rollins had a bunt single in the first and Shane Victorino hit a double in the third for the Phillies' only hits of the game.

Sean Green, Zach Braddock and Mike McClendon each pitched an inning after Wolf left.

"I had really good defense behind me," Wolf said. "They're a dangerous team. You don't want to let them get something going."

Halladay (2-1) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings. It was his worst start since he allowed six runs in six innings in a loss at the New York Yankees last June 15.

Halladay tossed a complete game at Washington last Wednesday, needing 123 pitches to do it. He got an extra day rest because of a rainout, but still wasn't as sharp as usual.

"I felt good. There were times early when there were a couple pitches that cost me that weren't where I wanted them," Halladay said.

Halladay retired the first two batters in the second before running into trouble against the bottom of the lineup. Yuniesky Betancourt doubled to deep right-center. With the pitcher on deck, Halladay fell behind in the count 3-1 to George Kottaras before grooving a fastball. Kottaras ripped an RBI single to right for a 1-0 lead.

The Brewers got another two-out run in the third when Braun hit an opposite-field shot to right.

Braun then made an outstanding play in the bottom half to rob Rollins of extra bases and save at least one run. With runners on first and second, Rollins hit a drive to deep left. Braun made a leaping, backhanded grab at the warning track after a long run.

"We were gonna score some runs there," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He made a tremendous catch."

Braun got things started in the sixth with a walk. He moved to second on Prince Fielder's single and scored on Mark Kotsay's one-out single.

Fielder chased Halladay with an RBI single that extended Milwaukee's lead to 4-0. David Herndon entered and allowed McGehee's three-run shot.

"He's the best pitcher in baseball and we put together some good at-bats against him," Braun said of Halladay. "You don't want to get behind. You try to be patient, but not overly patient."

NOTES: The Brewers have four shutouts among their nine wins. ... A crowd of 45,408 was the 146th consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. ... The Phillies placed LHP J.C. Romero on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right calf. Lefty Mike Zagurski was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Brewers CF Carlos Gomez robbed Carlos Ruiz of extra bases in the second with a running catch on a drive to deep right-center. ... Braun is 9 for 19 in his last five games, and has reached safely in all 17 games. ... Fielder was 3 for 4 off Halladay and is 6 for 10 against him. ... Halladay's ERA rose from 1.23 to 2.83.

[Associated Press; By ROB MAADDI]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.