Bryce Harper returns to the lineup as our beloved Phillies start their second home stand against the team they hit around the week prior – the Dodgers. This series is one to forget after this recap.
GAME ONE
Just when I thought the Phillies bats were alive, they go absolutely dead this game.
Urias was on the mound for Los Angeles. I didn’t expect the result to be like last week, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Urias went five full innings with five strikeouts, no walks, and only allowed two hits. The Dodgers then used their bullpen that allowed five hits with one run to shut the game down. At least it was Realmuto that got the RBI double to prevent the shutout.
The offense was bad and the pitching was okay. Suarez allowed three runs in the first two innings. He was definitely not feeling it Friday night, but a competent baseball team should be able to battle back, especially when you hit around the same pitcher only a week ago. They managed to get seven hits, but that only gave them one run. Harper being out seems to have really messed with them after having a fantastic week last week.
GAME TWO
I went to this game and they made me regret it after a couple of innings. Nola pitched a solid 5.1 innings, managed to get run support, then gave up the long ball to tie the game with two outs in the 6th inning. Before we recap the game, no, I do not know why Herrera tried to run home on Mookie with Bryce on deck. The offense surprisingly wasn’t bad this game. Segura hit Castellanos in to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Mookie Betts immediately ties it up in the top of the third with a homer to left field. In the bottom of the third inning, Bohm decided he was going to one-up Mookie and hits a two-run home run to give the Phils a 3-1 lead. In the fourth, Schwarber wanted to get in on the home run action and hits one as well to give the Phillies a 4-1 lead and a three-run cushion for our ace.
Aaron Nola was on the mound Saturday night and he pitched a fantastic five innings. He did pitch 5.1 though, and that .1 was not kind to him nor our Phillies. In the fifth inning with two outs, he allowed Taylor to single and Lux to walk. This set up Betts to get a two-RBI double and make the game 4-3. Nola looked tired toward the end of this inning, but he ended up coming back out in the sixth inning and let Will Smith tie the game with a home run. Brad Hand gets immediately sent in to relieve Nola and made the inning awful. Muncy walked, Turned reached on an infield single, and Bellinger of all people singled. The bases were loaded with one out as Brogdon shut down the inning with back-to-back pop-ups. It wasn’t an ideal inning, but it really could have been so much worse. Alvarado comes in at the middle of the seventh inning and shuts it down. He comes in to start the next inning and immediately allows two hits. Seranthony comes in to relieve and allows two runs to come in off of a Lux single and wild pitch. Familia started the ninth inning getting two quick outs then Barnes smacks a 95 MPH sinker for a home run.
These types of games make me wonder if Girardi knows he’s on a contract year with the lack of energy he brings.
GAME THREE
That’s one way to win a ballgame. A walk-off error in the 10th inning is not how I envisioned us avoiding a sweep, but I’ll take it.
This was a very uneventful game aside from the final innings. Both Eflin and Gonsolin brought their stuff today, but the Dodgers offense attacked in the second and third inning. Betts homered with two outs in the second, and Rios homered with one out in the third. That really doesn’t reflect how well Eflin did. Sure, giving up the long ball sucks, but two runs is manageable. Eflin’s day saw him have four hits, two earned runs, and 12 strikeouts in seven innings. Seranthony and Alvarado come in as relief. They did their jobs as between them both, only one hit happened. Knebel relieved Alvarado in the 10th and allowed a run just to keep us on our toes.
The offense was clearly mad this game. Rhys even threw a trash can in the dugout because he was so mad at how he and the rest of the offense have been doing. Just as I start thinking this team has no hope, Stubbs hits his first career home run in the sixth inning. It feels like one has to really smack the ball for it to be a home run, but he did it. With two outs in the ninth, the Dodgers intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber. I’m not going to question it, but it didn’t make sense because Jean Segura is the most clutch hitter we have. He proved that when he hit Castellanos in from third to tie the game. JT was put on second to start the 10th because he was the last out. Stubbs was the first one up to bat. Stubbs hit the ball in the infield and JT went to third after the attempt at first was made. Both players were safe, but JT left the base and got tagged out. After that frustrating play, Camargo strikes out and it seems inevitable that the Phillies will lose. Thank goodness Quinn is fast as he gets to second base on a hit that was ruled a single. Like I said, thank goodness Quinn is fast because the craziest of circumstances happens. Bohm hit the ball toward Muncy at second base, Muncy makes an error, and Quinn scores from second to win the game. Any other batter would have been out.
This was not a good series by any means, but as someone that tries desperately to find a positive in anything with this team, I’ll take the walk-off error. Time for a series against Atlanta starting tomorrow, go Phils.
