The Philadelphia Phillies dropped the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the San Diego Padres on a 6-4 final score. Despite allowing San Diego to open a 6-0 advantage, the Phillies clawed their way back into the contest with some late inning magic to close the gap. Philly brought Kyle Schwarber to the plate with the game on the line, but a strikeout from Padres closer Robert Suarez closed out the game for San Diego.
Phillies rookie Mick Abel survived 1.2 innings in a forgettable outing against San Diego. While he only allowed two hits on the afternoon, one of those was a screaming line drive down the third base line from Padres superstar Manny Machado that scored three runs and extended the score to 5-0. Walks were the biggest issue on the day for Abel, who lost his ability to throw for strikes in the second inning.
“That’s exactly what happened,” Rob Thomson stated about Abel’s struggles in his short outing on Wednesday afternoon. “He was trying to be too fine. Not really sure what happened there, but he did lose command and lost control. I just chalk it up to ‘one of those days’. He’s been really good this year. Very few walks in his first couple of outings. We’ll fix it.”
Phillies battle
Max Lazar entered in relief of Abel and got the Phillies out of the second and through the third inning. However, in the fourth inning, Lazar walked Elias Diaz to open the inning, followed by singles from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill to load the bases. Machado struck out but Luis Arraez drew a walk to force another run across the plate for a 6-0 Padres lead.
Kyle Schwarber woke up the ballpark with a solo home run to lead-0ff in the sixth inning to make the score 6-1. Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and Max Kepler were sat down in order to end by Padres starter Nick Pivetta. The former Phillies pitcher picked up his 9th win of the season with a six-inning, six-strikeout performance.
The Phillies tacked on two runs in the seventh inning. J.T. Realmuto doubled to start the inning, followed by Edmundo Sosa’s line-drive triple down the third baseline that scored Realmuto, 6–2. Sosa scored utilizing a swim move at the player that would make Michael Phelps proud for a 6-3 game in South Philadelphia.
The trio of Harper, Castellanos and Kepler came to bat again in the eighth inning but were set down in order. Philadelphia fourth reliever of the afternoon, Daniel Robert, allowed a walk but no runs in the top of the ninth setting the stage for a potential Phillies rally in the final inning.
Realmuto smacked a single to center field, but Bryson Stott and Sosa hit balls on the ground in the infield for the first two outs of the inning. Brandon Marsh pinch hit for Johan Rojas and picked up an RBI with a single to center field that scored Realmuto for a 6-4 game. Turner blooped a ball to center field for a single, and Marsh was thrown out at third base to end the ballgame…. at least initially. The play was reviewed, and Machado never placed the tag on the base runner resulting in the overturned call.
“That’s a baserunners decision with the ball in front of you,” Thomson said post-game. “Marshy just assumed the center fielder was going to throw the ball into second base. When you are in scoring position, you can’t assume anything… you gotta make sure in that situation.”
On the next pitch, Turner was given credit for a stolen base, his 300th career swiped bag in the Majors, to put runners on second and third base with two outs. Schwarber stepped to the plate, fouled off a few pitches, but ultimately he was punched out via strikeout to end the game as a 6-4 win for the Padres.
Game 2 of the day-night twin-cap started at 6:15 PM EST. Cristopher Sanchez (6-2, 2.79 ERA) battles Dylan Cease (3-7, 4.53 ERA) to finish the series with San Diego. Philadelphia (and San Diego) will have an off day tomorrow to rest and recover from a grueling 18-innings of baseball on Wednesday.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
