A series loss wasn't quite what the Brewers had in mind when they embarked on their East Coast tour late last week. But by dropping two of three to the Mets, their second series loss of the season presents a now-unavoidable challenge for the young club.

"It's been a while," said Brewers manager Ned Yost. "We came in and our defense was good, our baserunning was good, and we just got outpitched in the last game."

Milwaukee's bats fell asleep in Sunday's finale, and the Brewers can only hope hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park will wake them up. It certainly did last season, when the team took five of six from Philadelphia, averaging well over five runs in the three games out east.

There's an added bonus this time, too -- not in what awaits the Brewers in Philadelphia, but in what doesn't. Reigning National League MVP Ryan Howard is idling on the disabled list, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the Phillies' lineup.

Dave Bush will try to expose that hole for the Brewers, looking to become the last of Milwaukee's five starters to push his personal record above .500. He'll do so opposite veteran lefty Jamie Moyer, who has a similar philosophy to Bush: Walk nobody, miss plenty of bats and hope it's enough for a victory.

Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Dave Bush (3-3, 5.73)
Bush has shown signs of improvement in each of his previous two starts, lasting into the seventh in both. Even when he's struggled this year, his control has been impeccable, as his 34 strikeouts against just eight walks attests. Yet hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park may not be what Bush needs for continued improvement. In one career start there, he allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings.

PHI: LHP Jamie Moyer (4-2, 3.00)
The soft-tossing 44-year-old still has plenty of magic remaining in that rubber left arm. Moyer has posted seven quality starts in seven tries, and five of those have come on the road. His 8-5 career record against the Brewers means little, as he has yet to see the team this century. As such, he's never faced a single Milwaukee regular.

Player to watch
Jimmy Rollins has positioned himself among the elite shortstops in the NL, and that's bad news for Bush. In seven career at-bats against the right-hander, Rollins has three hits, all for extra bases.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• FSN

On radio
• WTMJ 620 AM

Up next
• Tuesday: Brewers (RHP Claudio Vargas, 3-0, 2.65) at Phillies (RHP Adam Eaton, 3-3, 7.43), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Brewers (RHP Jeff Suppan, 5-3, 3.00) at Phillies (LHP Cole Hamels, 5-1, 3.46), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Brewers (RHP Ben Sheets, 3-2, 4.10) at Phillies (RHP Freddy Garcia, 1-2, 5.17), 2:05 p.m. CT