Brewers beat Phillies 6-2 in matchup of NL division leaders

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz and William Contreras each drove in two runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved a step closer to clinching the NL Central title by beating the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Monday night.

The Brewers' magic number is down to two as they seek their third division championship in the last four years. Milwaukee can wrap it up Tuesday night with a win and a Chicago Cubs loss to Oakland.

Brewers starter Aaron Civale (9-8) scattered seven hits and struck out six while allowing one run and one walk in five innings.

“Anytime you're competing and playing meaningful games at the end of the year, it's awesome,” Civale said. “At this point, it's just trying to get everybody on the same page and trying to make as deep a run as you can.”

Colin Rea, normally a starter, made his fourth relief appearance of the season and worked 2 2/3 shutout innings for the 34-year-old's first career save. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said he asked if Rae would be willing to help out a bullpen that was short on available arms one night after an 11-10, 10-inning loss in Arizona.

“He goes, 'Absolutely,’” Murphy said. "That's the type of people that you're looking for to build a team when you're in a small market and had all the adversity we've had."

Rea became the 12th Brewers pitcher to get a save this season, setting a franchise record. The only team to have more was the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays with 14.

Rea never before had earned a save in the major leagues, minor leagues or even in his two stints pitching in Japan.

“I wasn't sure how long I was going to go, and you just kind of leave it all out there,” Rea said. “I feel like when I come out of the bullpen, that's the way it goes. There's just that extra adrenaline.”

Blake Perkins scored twice for the Brewers. Brandon Marsh homered for the Phillies.

Contreras opened the scoring with a two-run double that had a 115.6 mph exit velocity, the third-highest of his career. Contreras hit a sharp grounder off Ranger Suárez that rolled all the way to the wall in left-center to bring home Jackson Chourio and Perkins.

The Brewers extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Rhys Hoskins drew a leadoff walk against his former team, advanced to third on Sal Frelick’s double and scored on Ortiz's sacrifice fly.

After Marsh put the Phillies on the scoreboard with a two-out homer in the fifth, the Brewers scored twice in the sixth to make it 5-1. Ortiz hit a two-out RBI triple and scored on Brice Turang’s single to left.

Suárez (12-7) went five innings and struck out five while giving up three runs, four hits and three walks. The left-hander remained in the game after jamming his right wrist while trying to field Turang's bunt in the fourth.

Philadelphia went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and couldn’t capitalize on opportunities to rally.

“We got enough hits to score some (more) runs," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We had chances, but it just didn't happen.”

The Phillies ran themselves out of an inning in the third. Cal Stevenson attempted to advance from first to third on Trea Turner’s one-out single to right field, but Sal Frelick threw him out. Turner then got picked off attempting to steal second.

Kyle Schwarber and Turner opened the sixth with singles off Civale, but Hoby Milner came out of the bullpen and retired Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm in order.

The Phillies brought the potential tying run to the plate after Schwarber’s two-out RBI single in the seventh cut Milwaukee's lead to 5-2 and put runners on the corners, but Rea retired Turner on a fly to right.

Milwaukee extended its lead to 6-2 in the bottom half. Perkins singled, advanced to second on Contreras’ walk, reached third on a double steal and scored on Gary Sánchez's sacrifice fly.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers RHP Nick Mears (forearm) and RHP Bryse Wilson (oblique) have bullpen sessions scheduled for Tuesday.

UP NEXT

RHP Zack Wheeler (15-6, 2.80 ERA) pitches for the Phillies and RHP Frankie Montas (7-10, 4.49) starts for the Brewers on Tuesday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras reacts after hitting a two-run scoring double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras reacts after hitting a two-run scoring double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits an RBI single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Joey Ortiz hits an RBI triple during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Blake Perkins and Jackson Chourio can't catch a home run hit by Philadelphia Phillies' Brandon Marsh during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Brice Turang hits an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Joey Ortiz hits an RBI triple during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Joey Ortiz reacts after hitting an RBI triple during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Brice Turang reacts after hitting an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

TOKYO (AP) — Hong Kong’s share benchmark has fallen more than 9% as traders dumped shares following recent sharp gains.

The Hang Seng index lost 9.4% to close at 20,926.79. Technology and China-related shares led the decline.

Hong Kong shares had logged strong gains over the past week while markets in mainland China were closed for a weeklong holiday. The advances were fueled by recent announcements of plans by Beijing for more support for the economy and for financial markets.

Shares initially soared in Shanghai on Tuesday but then gave up a chunk of those gains as details of economic stimulus plans from officials in Beijing fell short of what investors were hoping for. Shares elsewhere in Asia declined.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Shares soared Tuesday in Shanghai as Chinese markets reopened after a weeklong holiday but then gave up a chunk of their initial gains as the details of Beijing's plans to revive the world's second-largest economy appeared to fall flat.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 3.1% at 3,438.16, though in Shenzhen, Japan's smaller market, the main index gained 6.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 7.6% to 21,336.70 as traders, apparently underwhelmed by the update from Beijing, sold to lock in profits from recent gains.

The Shanghai benchmark initially gained 10% but fell back as officials of China's main economic planning agency briefed reporters about a slew of policies announced earlier that were meant to address various problems such as a protracted slump in the property market.

“China’s markets rally has hit a wall, leaving investors deflated. The reopening surge from the week-long holiday barely had time to gather steam before fizzling out, and now the once-thrilled bulls are licking their wounds,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets were mostly lower.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.3% to 38,842.75. as the dollar fell to 147.89 Japanese yen from 148.18 yen. A weaker yen tends to push share prices higher.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.4% to 2,599.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 8,176.90.

On Monday, U.S. stocks slid after Treasury yields hit their highest levels since the summer and oil prices continued to climb.

The S&P 500 dropped 1% to 5,695.94 and is still close to its all-time high set a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 41,954.24, coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite sank 1.2% to 17,923.90.

It’s a stall for U.S. stocks after they rallied to records on relief that interest rates are finally heading back down, now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation. A blowout report on U.S. jobs growth released Friday raised optimism about the economy and hopes that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing for it.

When Treasury bonds, which are seen as the safest possible investments, are paying more in interest, investors become less inclined to pay very high prices for stocks and other things that carry bigger risk of losing money.

It’s more difficult to look attractive to investors seeking income when a 10-year Treasury is paying a 4.02% yield, up from 3.97% late Friday and from 3.62% three weeks ago.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, jumped more on Monday. It rose to 3.99% from 3.92% late Friday.

Treasury yields may also be feeling upward push from the recent jump in oil prices. Crude prices have been spurting higher on worries that worsening tensions in the Middle East could ultimately lead to disruptions in the flow of oil.

Brent crude, the international standard, shed $1.23 to $79.70 per barrel. It had jumped 3.7% Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, slipped $1.21 to $75.93. It also gained 3.7% on Monday.

Stocks that are seen as the most expensive can feel the most downward pressure from higher Treasury yields, and the spotlight has been on Big Tech stocks. They drove the majority of the S&P 500’s returns in recent years and soared to heights that critics called overdone.

Apple fell 2.3%, Amazon dropped 3% and Alphabet sank 2.4% to act as some of Monday's heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

An exception was Nvidia, which rose another 2.3%. It rode another upswell in excitement about artificial-intelligence technology after Super Micro Computer soared 15.8% after saying it recently shipped more than 100,000 graphics processing units with liquid cooling.

If Treasury yields keep rising, companies will likely need to deliver bigger profits to drive their stock prices much higher, and this week marks the start of the latest corporate earnings reporting season.

Analysts say earnings per share grew 4.2% during the summer for S&P 500 companies from a year earlier, led by technology and health care companies, according to FactSet. If those analysts are correct, it would be a fifth straight quarter of growth.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the euro rose to $1.0982 from $1.0977.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed.

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 24, 2024., 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)