Unusual night for Phillies pitching, who allowed 8 runs in the loss to the Red Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
BOSTON – It’s not often that the Phillies lose a game in which they led after the first inning. It’s not often that the Phillies lose a game in which, at one point, they were up by four runs.
That was the case Wednesday night.
The Red Sox exploded for five runs in the fifth inning and scored eight unanswered to hand the Phillies an 8-6 loss.
This was not a pitching duel by any means when it came to starters. Both Cristopher Sánchez and former Phillies Nick Pivetta only worked four innings each. While the Phillies got to Pivetta early, the Red Sox struck in the fifth.
Boston got a pair of singles from David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran to start the inning. A throwing error by Whit Merrifield scored two and it took a while to stop the bleeding.
José Ruiz replaced Sánchez and inherited two baserunners with no outs. Three more runs were scored before the Phillies could get out of the inning.
This was Sánchez’s shortest outing since April 23 against the Reds, where he allowed five runs in an 8-1 loss.
“At first there were a lot of sinkers, he didn’t mix up his pitches,” manager Rob Thomson said of his starter. “He was behind in the count, so his control was a little off. Velo was there, he wasn’t mastering his fastball, he wasn’t mastering his changeup. They were getting a lot of balls in the dirt, changeups in the ground, he got behind on the count.”
Spencer Turnbull, who pitched the sixth inning, did not have his best night. You can’t necessarily beat him, though, since he hasn’t pitched since June 1st. There is a difference between being well rested and being rusty. Unfortunately for Turnbull, he was rusty. Thomson confirmed this.
“Rust, that’s all,” he said. “Guy hasn’t pitched in 10 days and he hasn’t seen a hitter in 10 days. He can’t be blamed. It’s just a lack of reps, that’s all.”
Turnbull gave up a two-run home run, allowed two hits and walked four.
On a night where you’re getting offensive contributions from all but three in the lineup, it’s a loss that just stings.
The Phillies took an early lead with two runs in the first inning. Bryson Stott had a 2 RBI night. Whit Merrifield, David Dahl and Bryce Harper drove in runs. Nick Castellanos had a double and a triple. They were 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
Still, the Phillies are 10 games ahead of the Braves in the NL East.
It was an unusual night for a club that, through 67 games, has always found a way to bounce back quickly.
The three-game series concludes Thursday with Aaron Nola (8-2, 2.77 ERA) on the mound for the Phillies. They will face Tanner Houck (6-5, 1.91 ERA).
The Phillies then head to Baltimore for a weekend series against the Orioles to conclude their road trip.
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