Heading into last Friday’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies had dropped six of their last seven games, including a sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers and a 2–1 series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Desperate to halt their skid, the Phillies were eyeing a bounce-back performance against a struggling Pirates team that sits in last place in their division. Needless to say, both the club and its hopeful fan base were counting on a strong showing to regain momentum.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at how the Fightin’ Phils fared in their three-game set at PNC Park this past weekend.
With ace Zack Wheeler on paternity leave, the Phillies turned to a bullpen game to open the series. The offense came out strong, striking early with an RBI groundout by Nick Castellanos that brought home Trea Turner in the top of the first inning. But the Pirates answered quickly, tying it in the bottom half on an RBI single from Bryan Reynolds.
In the third, Philadelphia regained the lead on an Alec Bohm single that scored Turner—his second run of the night. Yet again, Pittsburgh had an answer—and once more it came from Reynolds, who launched a solo home run to left in the bottom of the third to tie the game at two.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth when Turner, already having a big night at the plate, laced a two-out single to center—his third hit of the game—driving in both J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa to give the Phillies a 4–2 advantage. But true to the pattern, the Pirates responded immediately. In the bottom of the fourth, catcher Henry Davis launched a two-run homer 402 feet to left field, tying the game once more at 4–4.
The scoring stalled for both sides over the next four innings, with neither team able to break the deadlock. That changed in the ninth—though not in the Phillies’ favor—as Nick Gonzales delivered the final blow, lifting a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning that brought home Adam Frazier for the walk-off win. Frazier, who scored the winning run, capped off a strong night at the plate with three hits, as the Pirates edged the Phillies, 5–4.
Jordan Romano took the loss, surrendering three hits and one earned run in just two-thirds of an inning. The right-hander fell to 0–3 on the season, with his ERA rising to 7.71. It was the Phillies’ second walk-off loss in three days—Romano was also on the mound for Wednesday’s defeat against the Blue Jays, which ended in similar fashion.
Looking for answers—and any spark to get back on a hot streak—the Phillies turned to left-hander Ranger Suárez for Saturday’s contest.
Kyle Schwarber provided an early spark in the top of the first, launching a 414-foot home run to left-center. It was his 20th of the season and snapped an eight-game homerless streak.
While fans may have hoped Schwarber’s first-inning homer would spark a big offensive night for the Phillies, they were sorely mistaken. The solo shot turned out to be the team’s only run of the game, as the offense managed just four hits on the night.
Just as they had the night before—answering every Phillies run in the bottom half of the inning—the Pirates responded again. This time it was former Phillie Andrew McCutchen who came through, singling to center to score Gonzales and tie the game.
The score remained knotted at one as Suárez held the Pirates in check over the next five innings, until surrendering a solo home run to Davis in the seventh—his second homer of the series. That proved to be all Pittsburgh needed, as the Phillies fell by a final score of 2–1
Although Suárez was tagged with the loss, it was a quality outing for the Venezuelan left-hander. He went seven innings, allowed just two runs on five hits, and struck out five. Suárez has now recorded a quality start in each of his last six appearances—a mark defined as a starting pitcher pitching at least six innings while allowing three earned runs or fewer. He’s posted a strong stat line this season, with a 2.70 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and a 38:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 43.1 innings.
According to Phillies Nation, Saturday’s loss marked the third time this season the Phillies have lost a game in which their starter pitches seven innings.
Needing a win on Sunday to avoid a sweep, the Phillies turned to Cristopher Sánchez, who took the mound opposite last year’s NL Rookie of the Year and highly touted phenom, Paul Skenes.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the outcome mirrored Saturday’s result exactly, as the Phillies fell once again by a score of 2–1—sealing a series sweep for the Pirates.
The Pirates struck first in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Jared Triolo. The Phillies responded in the top of the third, as Rafael Marchán doubled and Brandon Marsh came around to score on a throwing error by Gonzales. However, that would be the only run the Phillies managed all afternoon, as Skenes delivered a dominant outing—going 7.2 innings, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while striking out seven.
The game remained tied at 1–1 until the bottom of the eighth, when—who else but McCutchen—came through once again for the Pirates, delivering an RBI single to right field to give them a 2–1 lead and, ultimately, the win.
The Phillies threatened in the top of the ninth, sparked by another hit from Turner, who doubled to left. But after an intentional walk to Schwarber, Bohm grounded into a game-ending double play, sealing the win for Pittsburgh.
Braxton Ashcraft earned the win for Pittsburgh after relieving Skenes with two outs in the eighth inning.
Although he was tagged with the loss, Sánchez (5-2, 3.10 ERA) had little to hang his head about, turning in a performance nearly as dominant as Skenes. The left-hander went seven innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out nine. In total, he generated 21 swings and misses.
“It’s frustrating, just the hitters that we have and the outings we’re getting from the pitchers. Feel like we’re letting them down,” remarked Bryson Stott following Sunday’s loss.
The Phillies have now dropped five straight games and nine of their last ten. Their record now stands at 37–28, leaving them four games back of the New York Mets in the NL East.
The Phillies return home to Citizens Bank Park to begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs, who enter at 40–25 and sit atop the NL Central. The series runs Monday through Wednesday.
Back from paternity leave, Wheeler is set to start Monday’s opener for the Phillies. However, if the team hopes to turn things around, it will need to be the offense that leads the way.
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