PHILADELPHIA - It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the Milwaukee Brewers need to do to rescusitate their dying chances in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

 "We've got to swing the bats a little better than we have to,'' manager Dale Sveum said Tuesday night after the Brewers managed just three hits in their 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
A little better? How about a lot better?

 The Brewers have just a grand total of seven hits and three runs in losing the first two games of the best-of-five NL Division Series at Citizens Bank Park. Their batting average in two games is .115. Their on-base percentage is .194. Their chances of coming back to win three games in row without dramatically changing those numbers is zero.
 
 "Right now, I'm just kind of garbage,'' said first baseman Prince Fielder, who is hitless in seven at bats and grounded out to second his last three at bats. "Hopefully, I can pick it up back home.''

 What makes that comment especially striking is that Fielder was one of the most productive Brewers in a September that saw five regulars - Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Mike Cameron, Craig Counsell and Bill Hall - all hit under .200. As a team, the Brewers hit .227 in September, by far the worst in the major leagues. Even when they were winning six of their last seven games, they needed late-inning home run heroics from Rickie Weeks, Fielder and Braun to pull out four of the victories.

 "We're not getting enough men on base to do a lot of damage,'' Sveum said. "We've really got to get home and figure the bats out.''
 
 But what can they do? "It's not like we can go in the (batting cage) and work harder,'' shortstop J.J. Hardy said.

 Perhaps working less is the answer.

 Charlie Manuel, the Phillies manager who broke into the major-league coaching ranks as a hitting coach, said what the Brewers are going through now is what the Phillies went through in August. While the names may be different, the symptons Manuel sees are the same.

 "They're thinking about hitting and they want to do good. That's only natural,'' Manuel said of the nature of a slump. "But whether you realize it or not, you're a little tight and you overswing. You've got to back off and have control, control your adrenaline. …

 "A lot of guy get caught up in it and they don't know how to handle it. That creates strikeouts, taking pitches and taking good balls to hit.''

Suppan probable

 After tabbing Dave Bush to be Saturday's starter, Sveum said right-hander Jeff Suppan is likely to get the call in Game 4 Sunday if a Game 4 should be necessary. The Phillies are likely to counter with right-hander Joe Blanton because Manuel said first-game starter Cole Hamels would not work on three days rest.

 "It's going to take something pretty drastic for 'Soup' not to start,'' Sveum said.

 Drastic, as in losing Saturday's game. 

Sticking with platoon

 Sveum said he will stick with his second base platoon that had Ray Durham starting Thursday night against Phillies right-hander Brett Myers and return Rickie Weeks to the lineup Saturday against Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer.

 Like previous manager Ned Yost, as well as a number of others in the Brewers organization, Sveum is willing to overlook Weeks' defensive deficiencies for what he thinks he can be as an offensive player. 

 "He's so close to being a prolific player,'' Sveum said.