The Phillies were swept out of Texas following a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros. The theme of the series was the dominance of starting pitching for both clubs. The series finale featured a similar script — an early run for Houston, and shutdown baseball the rest of the way. For a brief moment, the Phillies had life when they broke an extended scoring drought of 20+ innings to tie the game in the eighth inning, only to watch the Astros score the winning run in the bottom half of the inning.
“As inconsistent as you can get,” Phillies broadcaster Ruben Amaro Jr. said about the Phillies’ offensive struggles against Houston on the NBC Sports Philadelphia postgame. “They just didn’t put together very good at-bats. It’s as simple as that. Yes, the Houston Astros did throw the ball well, but really, there’s no excuse for getting one run in a series.”
Phillies offense slumps again
Cristopher Sanchez was excellent over six innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run, and struck out 11 batters. His only blemish was allowing an RBI single to Yainer Diaz in the second inning. Otherwise, Sanchez utilized his change-up to confuse Astros hitters all afternoon. Sanchez is up to 103 strikeouts in 2025, which ranks 15th in the Majors. He is the third member of the Phillies to break the century mark in strikeouts this season, alongside Jesus Luzardo (104 strikeouts) and Zach Wheeler (126).
Houston’s starter, Hunter Brown, was equally excellent in seven innings. He allowed three hits and struck out seven batters. Brown’s dominance on Thursday afternoon reduced his earned run average (ERA) to 1.74, the best mark in Major League Baseball. Still, Brown did not record a decision after the Phillies rallied in the eighth inning against Houston’s relief pitcher Bryan King.
After a Bryson Stott walk, Rafael Marchan stepped up and cracked a line drive down the right field line, which allowed Stott to advance to third. Brandon Marsh smashed a deep fly ball to right field, scoring Stott to tie the game, 1-1. It was the first run against the Astros in 25.1 innings of baseball.
Orion Kerkering entered trying to hold the game, but lost control of a slider and hit Isaac Parades in the leg to put the first runner on base. Jose Altuve singled to move Parades into scoring position at second. Kerkering got Jake Meyers to fly out to center, but Cam Smith lasered a line drive above the head of a leaping Trea Turner at shortstop to score the go-ahead run, 2-1.
There was no magic from Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, or Nick Castellanos in the ninth inning. Astros closer Bryan Abreu pitched a clean inning for his third win of the season. The Phillies’ record falls to 47-34, and they have lost four of their last five games.
Philadelphia’s road trip moves to Georgia for a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves (37-42) beginning tomorrow at 7:15 PM EST. Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47 ERA) is the scheduled starter for Philly, while the Braves have not yet announced a starter.
Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
