MILWAUKEE -- Jean Segura readily says there's lots of ways he can help the Milwaukee Brewers. His snap decision on the bases is one he admitted he's never seen before.
Segura dashed home on a rare two-base sacrifice fly and Wily Peralta pitched seven scoreless innings to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
"There's so many ways to win ballgames," said Segura, who had never seen a similar sacrifice fly from second in his career. "You can see that's one of them."
Segura's scramble came after center fielder Odubel Herrera and right fielder Domonic Brown collided in the third inning. According to STATS, it was the first time a player had scored from second this season on a sacrifice fly and the first time a Brewer had made such a play since Fernando Vina did it on Aug. 24, 1997.
"One of Jean's best traits is he helps you in every area of the game," Counsell said.
Peralta (3-7) had his best start this year, and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 27th save in 27 tries this season despite Chase Utley's RBI single. Khris Davis added a solo home run for the Brewers in the second.
The Brewers have slumped at the plate again recently, but took full advantage of their opportunities against the Phillies in their first game back at Miller Park since general manager Doug Melvin announced he was moving into an advisory role.
No matter who leads them, Peralta and Segura appear to be big parts of Milwaukee's future plans. Peralta missed two months with a left oblique strain.
"It's a nice step forward for him," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Peralta worked out of trouble all night, and Philadelphia finished 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
"I'm feeling better and better each start," Peralta said. "I feel really strong."
Utley had four hits for the Phillies, who squandered a solid start by Adam Morgan (3-4) by stranding 10 runners.
SUPERB SACRIFICE
Segura singled in Hernan Perez and reached second on the throw home in the third to set up his wild dash. Jonathan Lucroy hit a fly ball to the warning track, where Herrera could be seen calling for it and made the catch before crashing into Brown.
Third base coach Ed Sedar didn't hesitate sending Segura to the plate, and Freddy Galvis' relay throw was just late to catcher Cameron Rupp.
According to STATS, there have been 23 two-base sacrifice flies since 2000, including three last season.
PHILLIES FALTER
While the Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star break, they started the final series of this nine-game road trip with a thud.
Before the game, the scroll on the TV in the visitor's clubhouse questioned if Utley could be effective with the swirl of trade talks surrounding him.
So far, so good.
Utley doubled in the third and followed it up with singles in the fifth and seventh before his RBI single in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to six since coming off the disabled list.
"He looks as good as I've seen him. It's nice to see," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "I think he's feeling pretty good about himself and he just got that adrenaline flowing."
Morgan allowed just three Brewers to reach base over six innings, but all three scored. He also didn't get any run support.
"Days like this happen," he said. "Just looking forward to the next one."
BLAZEK'S BAD BREAK
The Brewers placed RHP Michael Blazek on the 15-day disabled list with a fracture in his right hand. Counsell said the injury likely ends Blazek's season. Blazek couldn't pinpoint how he was hurt.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Milwaukee called up David Goforth to replace Blazek. The rookie right-hander has made six relief appearances this season.
UP NEXT
Phillies righty Jerome Williams (4-8, 5.73 ERA) will look to build on his consecutive strong starts. In his past two appearances, he has allowed two runs over 12 innings.
Youngster Jimmy Nelson (9-9, 3.65 ERA) starts for Milwaukee and looks to be the first pitcher on the staff to reach 10 wins.
