Less than 8,500 people watched a sloppy 8-3 Phillies loss in Miami on Tuesday night, where the bigger story was Nick Castellanos, the man missing from Rob Thomson’s lineup. Jesus Luzardo battled against his former squad, but the Phillies‘ offense struggled with eight hits on the evening in an 8-3 loss in the second contest of a four-game series.
Unpacking the Castellanos Situation
Nick Castellanos was scratched from the lineup following “inappropriate” comments he made to the manager while exiting the game on a defensive switch on Thursday night. “I wasn’t happy, spoke my man,” Castellanos told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He said I crossed a line. So, my punishment is I’m not playing.”
Castellanos’ consecutive games streak ends at 236 contests, which was the longest since Pete Rose played in 350 games between 1980 and 1983. It was the second-best active streak in MLB behind only Atlanta’s first baseman Matt Olson (405).
The 33 year old was 1-for-11 in the series against the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. Of course, that one swing generated 4 RBIs in a blowout win in Sunday’s finale. It will be fascinating to see how the outfielder responds when he returns to the lineup. The 33-year-old outfielder is batting .241 with 13 hits, including two home runs, over his last 15 games. Castellanos ranks just outside the top 25 in the majors with 76 hits this season, while his next 17 doubles would position him in the top 20 in the category.
Game Recap
Jesus Luzardo allowed four runs through five innings, but the Philly bats generated only eight hits on the evening as Miami ended a five-game home losing streak. Eric Wagaman’s 2-run HR opened the scoring for Miami in the second inning, 2-0.
Trea Turner’s solo HR in the fourth inning cut the lead in half at 2-1, before the Phillies stole the advantage behind RBI singles from Johan Rojas and Kyle Schwarber for a 3-2 advantage in the fifth inning. That was the end of the excitement for Phillies fans in attendance in the Sunshine State.
In the sixth inning, Luzardo allowed the first two runners to reach base to open the sixth inning and was replaced by Tanner Banks. Kyle Stowers hit a bases-loaded fielder’s choice to Alec Bohm to tie the ballgame. Javier Sanoja’s triple gave the Marlins the lead right back at 4-3. Xavier Edwards singled in Sanoja for a 5-3 lead after six innings on a catchable ball that Max Kepler lost in the stadium lights. Miami’s offense continued to stay hot with a solo HR in the seventh and two more runs in the eighth inning to finish the 8-3 final score.
The Phillies struggled to find hits against the Miami bullpen, which limited Philadelphia hitters to just four hits over the final five innings. Philly was 2-for-7 (.285 average) with runners in scoring position (RISP) on Tuesday night, while Miami was 5-for-12 (.416) in the win.
Philadelphia and Miami have two more games remaining in their series at LoanDepot Park, both of which are scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m. EST. Ranger Suarez is expected to start tomorrow, with Cristopher Sanchez in the series finale on Thursday night.
Mandatory Credit: Michael Laughlin-Imagn Images
