Citizens Bank Park was the scene of another low scoring pitchers duel Saturday afternoon. As the sun lowered and afternoon turned to evening, the Marlins would take the lead as the Phillies transitioned the pitching duties from their starter to the bullpen.
Philadelphia mustered two runs on the day, one manufactured and the other on one swing from an unexpected source. Aaron Nola (9-4, 3.43 ERA) pitched well despite taking the loss and being responsible for all of Miami’s runs. Let’s see how we got there.
Nola pitched good, Phillies needed great
This is not a knock of Aaron Nola’s performance – he pitched well. Going into the seventh frame, the starter was at just 83 pitches. Four batters later, the Marlins tied the game on back-to-back doubles, and Nola was removed with 100 pitches and a man in scoring position. Matt Strahm came in, and he would relinquish another run on just his second pitch of the game – a middle-up fastball to Jazz Chisholm Jr.
After the game, manager Rob Thomson said he thought Nola was great. “Command was great. Two pitches, really. The fastball to (Lopez) leaked back over the plate, and the 3-2 fastball to Fortes leaked back over the plate.”
Regarding the command, he was right. 71 of 100 pitches were thrown for strikes, and Nola did a good job of trying to get ahead of Marlin hitters – he threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 27 hitters he faced. Despite taking the loss, he still finishes the night with a quality start. Even the home run hit by Nick Gordon in the second inning touched the lower edge of the zone – the Marlins outfielder turned on it and got just enough.
The starting staff cannot be expected to pitch how Cristopher Sánchez did last night. What Nola did tonight is normally enough to win. Tonight, it just wasn’t.
Phillies Offensive woes
It is very early in the “no Realmuto, Harper, and Schwarber at the same time” experiment the Phillies have been forced into, but so far it does not look great. Today they got a surprising boost via a home run from Garrett Stubbs. That long ball was his first of the season and just his second extra-base hit on the year.
The second run was scored by Johan Rojas, who for the second day in a row used his speed to put himself in a position to score. He walked, stole second, was moved to third by Bryson Stott, and driven home by an Alec Bohm sacrifice fly.
“Eight base runners, you’re probably not going to score many runs so we have to get on base,” Thomson said during his post game press conference. “Try not to do too much, and eventually you’re going to score.” He noted that the guys who aren’t here is “out of our control” and the guys in the lineup just need to stay within themselves.
The Phillies manager was asked specifically what he’s seen out of the at-bats lately:
“I think guys maybe are trying to do a little bit too much right now. They just have to relax and be themselves, get good at-bats.”
Rob Thomson post game, June 29, 2024
What’s next?
In two games without essentially the heart of their lineup, the Phillies scrounged together four total runs, two of which were manufactured in large part by the speed of the No. 9 hitter. They will need more if they want to hang on to split this series with Miami.
Tomorrow’s finale is slated for a 1:35 PM start and will see Ranger Suárez (10-2, 1.83 ERA) face off against Yonny Chirinos (0-0, 2.70 ERA – 2 starts).
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke
