After a dominant 10-1 victory on Tuesday night, the Phillies sent Aaron Nola to the mound in hopes of their 8th straight win.
Nola got to a strong start by striking out leadoff man George Springer. He allowed a single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with 2 outs but he got Justin Turner to ground out to 3rd to end the inning.
The Blue Jays sent Chris Bassitt to the mound in hopes of preventing their first sweep of the season. He induced 2 pop-ups and a ground out to shortstop for a clean first inning.
In the 2nd, Aaron Nola recorded his 2nd strikeout against Bo Bichette. Again, he allowed a 2-out hit, this time a double to Davis Schneider. He got Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ground out to end the frame.
Settling In
Bassitt continued the good day, recording a 1-2-3 inning. He had some help from former Platinum Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier who made a spectacular catch in the center field gap on a line drive by Brandon Marsh. The contact had an xBA of .420, according to Statcast.
The Blue Jays struck first in the 3rd. George Springer hit a single with 1 out and quickly stole 2nd. Nola was able to get the 2nd out on a strikeout but gave up a single to Guerrero to give the Jays a 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back walks to start the 3rd gave the Phillies a perfect chance to get some runs of their own. Johan Rojas came up with no outs with a chance to move both runners into scoring position. It looked like he got the sac bunt down but he was called back to home plate as the bunted ball went off his hand. Foul ball. Naturally, he lined the next pitch into shallow center field to load the bases.
That would bring up Kyle Schwarber. He tied things up on a sac fly in which right fielder Geroge Springer made a beautiful diving catch. That’s all the Phillies could muster.
Nola recorded his first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the 4th. He added his 5th K of the day on a swing-and-miss from Davis Schneider. In the 5th, he allowed a 1-out single to Kiermaier. From there, he struck out Springer and Daulton Varsho for his 6th and 7th strikeouts.
Bassitt kept shoving back for the Jays. In the 5th, he struck out the side (Stott, Sosa, and Rojas).
Phillies Lose the Lead
The Jays got a hit parade started in the 6th. Guerrero started things off with a single. Justin Turner got on base on a fielder’s choice. Danny Jansen doubled. Bo Bichette singled. Davis Schneider singled. All told, it gave the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.
Aaron Nola would leave the game with 2 outs in the inning. Matt Strahm and his 13.2 inning scoreless streak would relieve him. A first-pitch single by Kiermaier would make it 4-1.
Bassitt shut down the top of the Phillies order, recording his 6th strikeout of the afternoon. It continued a trend of dominance against the Phillies for Bassitt. Coming into the game, he had a 1.59 career ERA against the Phils.
Seranthony would be the next man up for the Phillies in the 7th. He walked Varsho to begin the inning but he otherwise shut the Blue Jays down.
Fightin’ Back
Bassitt started the 7th for the Jays at 96 pitches. He got Alec Bohm to ground out for the 1st out. After a Marsh single and a Nick Castellanos double, Bassitt got the hook. Righty Zach Pop entered in relief.
Bryson Stott hit a sac fly to center fielder to bring home Marsh. Castellanos advanced to 3rd. Kody Clemens would pinch-hit for Edmundo Sosa. Pop struck him out to end the scoring threat. 4-2 Jays.
Orion Kerkering got the call for the 8th inning. After a walk to Schneider, the Blue Jays executed a perfect hit and run with Kiner-Falefa, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out. A bloop single by Kiermaier gave the Blue Jays their 5th run of the day.
Whit Merrifield pinch-hit for Rojas in the 8th. He grounded to 3rd for the 1st out. Lefty Tim Mayza would enter the game in relief of Pop. He allowed a double to JT Realmuto but would strand him.
Jose Ruiz came in for Kerkering at the top of the 9th. He sat the Jays’ 3-4-5 hitters down 1-2-3.
One More Chance
Jordan Ramano entered the game looking for his 5th save of the year. Alec Bohm ensured that it wouldn’t be easy for Ramano, singling on the first pitch. After a Marsh FC, Castellanos lined a single of his own. Stott kept things going with a double, driving in Marsh. The Phillies suddenly had 2 runners in scoring position with just 1 out. Clemens popped out on the 1st pitch he saw for the 2nd out.
Romano got Merrifield to pop up to end the game, 5-3 Blue Jays. The loss moves the Phillies to 26-12 and ends their 7-game win streak. It also ends their 10-game win streak at Citizens Bank Park.
The Blue Jays outhit the Phillies 12-7.
“I gotta give our guys credit,” said manager Rob Thomson. “They came back and [got] the tying run on 2nd base in the 9th and kept fighting.”
The Phillies will head to Miami for a 3-game series against the Marlins starting Friday.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
