Phillies fail to show up for finale in Phoenix, drop series to Dbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks (58-57) defeated the Philadelphia Phillies (59-55) by a score of 6-1 on Wednesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix. The victory was a second straight for the hosts after the Phillies had taken the opener, giving the series to the Dbacks, who took four of the six match-ups between the two teams this year.

With the victory, Arizona moves back above the .500 mark on the season and pulls to within 1.5 games of the final National League Wildcard playoff spot. The Phillies are now tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for that second NL Wildcard berth, though Milwaukee has one more loss.

This was a game in which the visiting Phillies simply failed to show up to play in any way. The offense generated just five hits on the night, going 0-3 with runners in scoring position.

The Dbacks scored twice each in the 3rd, 4th and 8th innings to secure the victory. In the 3rd, a hit batsman, a walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly put the home team in front. In the 4th it was three singles and then the first RBI in the career of Arizona starter Zac Gallen that got the runs home.

Gallen’s RBI came on a poor play by Scott Kingery, who continues to be played out of position by the Phillies, this time at third base.

With runners at first and third and one out, Gallen laid down a bunt that was fielded by Kingery, who opted to throw to first base to get Gallen while the runner at third, Nick Ahmed, was right behind him. Kingery could have been more situationally aware were he a natural or more experienced third baseman, pump-faking to first and turning to get Ahmed in an easy rundown.

Save that baseball!! @zacgallen23 gets his first career RBI thanks to some heads up base running #RattleOn pic.twitter.com/nHYwSQTnBQ

— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) August 8, 2019

Meanwhile, Gallen was mowing the Phillies down on the mound. The rookie from South Jersey allowed just one hit over his five innings and left with a 4-0 lead after throwing 85 pitches.

Arizona tacked on two more runs for good measure in the home 8th inning on RBI singles by Jarrod Dyson and Ketel Marte to put the Dbacks on top by a 6-0 margin. In the top of the 9th, Bryce Harper lofted his 20th home run of the season, but all that did was provide the final score in a 6-1 defeat.

Bryce Harper’s 20th home run of the season gave the Phillies their line run of the night. pic.twitter.com/eu2nxpPxz0

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 8, 2019

The Phillies will now move on to the City by the Bay to face the San Francisco Giants in a four-game long weekend series at Oracle Park.

 

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING PERFORMANCE

Phillies – Jason Vargas: 5 IP, 4 earned, 3 walks, 1 strikeout. 82 pitches, 48 for strikes.

Dbacks: Zac Gallen: 5 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts. 85 pitches, 54 for strikes.

 

PHILLIES NUGGETS PLAYER OF THE GAME: ZAC GALLEN

The rookie just turned 24-years-old last week, and was making his first start in a Diamondbacks uniform since arriving from the Miami Marlins in a trade deadline deal for shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm.

Gallen was born in Gibbsboro, New Jersey and was raised in the Somerdale area, right across the river from Philly in Camden County. He made few mistakes on this night, shutting down the Phillies offense on one hit over five innings. He also registered his first career RBI on a 4th inning sacrifice bunt.

 

TICKET IQ NEXT GAME

• Thursday August 8 at 9:45 pm EDT vs. San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park
• TV: MLB YouTube Channel
• Radio: WPHT 1210 AM; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

 

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