The Phillies traveled to San Diego for a three-game series against the Padres at Petco Park over the weekend, their final matchup before the All-Star break. While the Padres reside in the NL West, they could prove to be a formidable obstacle for the Phillies come October if both clubs secure postseason berths. Last year, both teams reached the playoffs but never crossed paths — the Phillies fell to the New York Mets, while the Padres were eliminated by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Heading into the series against the Padres, the Phillies had dropped two of their first three road games in California, losing the opening pair to the San Francisco Giants before salvaging the finale behind an offensive outburst.
A similar pattern unfolded in this series too, though without the offensive outburst in the final game.
On Friday night, soon-to-be free agent Ranger Suárez took the mound, continuing what has been a career year for the left-hander. Suárez delivered another solid performance, tossing 6.2 innings while allowing three runs (only one earned) and striking out five.
The game started on a promising note for the Phillies, with Nick Castellanos homering in the top of the second to give them an early lead. However, the three runs the Padres plated in the bottom half of that same inning proved to be all they would need to secure the win. Suárez also committed a costly miscue in that pivotal inning, a throwing error to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Trailing 3-1 after two innings, Kyle Schwarber looked to spark a comeback, narrowing the deficit to 3-2 with a towering 425-foot shot in the third.
But that would be all the offense the Phillies could muster. San Diego tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, sealing a 4-2 victory.
Looking to bounce back on Saturday, the Phillies had the perfect candidate on the mound — ace Zack Wheeler. Entering the game, Wheeler boasted a stellar 9-3 record, a 2.17 ERA, 148 strikeouts, and an exceptional 0.84 WHIP.
But Saturday simply wasn’t his day, as he endured a rare rough outing.
Although he didn’t factor into the decision, Wheeler surrendered four earned runs over six innings, including two home runs. According to Phillies Nation, it marked the first time all season he had allowed two homers in a single game. As noted by the Associated Press, it was also just the fourth time in 19 starts that Wheeler had given up more than two earned runs.
Following this outing, Wheeler’s ERA rose to 2.36, but his 154 strikeouts now rank second in all of baseball.
Although the Phillies collected more hits than the Padres — 9 to 8, with three off the bat of J.T. Realmuto — San Diego still had the edge where it mattered most, winning by a score of 5-4.
With Saturday’s loss, Philadelphia fell to 1-4 on this West Coast road trip.
Looking to avoid a sweep and head into the All-Star break on a positive note, the Phillies handed the ball to Cristopher Sánchez for the series finale on Sunday.
In the meantime, Sánchez got some unexpected good news on Saturday as the Phillies chose to honor his contractual All-Star bonus even though he wasn’t officially selected.
Acknowledging how much the gesture meant, Sánchez commented, “My teammates and my team are showing support and the front office as well has been supporting so much that they decided to, even though I’m not officially a part of the game, they’ve decided to activate the bonus clause that gets me a bonus for making the All-Star team. They decided to inform me that way and that just shows the overall support I’m receiving.”
“We think he’s an All-Star. His teammates do, the entire organization does and I think that’s why (owner John Middleton) and Dave acted that way,” said manager Rob Thomson.
As for the game itself, Sánchez proved why he’s deserving of All-Star recognition, guiding the Phillies to their first win of the series and closing out the first half on a high note. The left-hander delivered 7.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out six and lowering his ERA to 2.50 heading into the break.
Offensively, the Phils managed just two runs, but it proved enough. Amid Sánchez’s strong outing and Bryce Harper’s pair of runs, it was Realmuto who ultimately sealed the deal, doubling in the eighth to give the Phillies a 2-1 win.
With the win in San Diego, Philadelphia heads into the break at 55-41, holding a half-game lead over the New York Mets atop the NL East.
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