So far, the Phillies easy schedule to finish the season has not quite worked out for them. After a loss to the NL-worst Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, the Phillies struggled to score again on Wednesday, and lost 4-2.
As quickly as the Phillies climbed to first place in the NL East, they have quickly fallen. They are now 3.5 games behind the red-hot Atlanta Braves for first in the division, and 4.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the second Wild Card spot.
The Phillies struck first in Wednesday’s game. After Odubel Herrera led off the top of the first with a triple, he came in to score on a passed ball.
In the bottom of the second, the Diamondbacks threatened with runners on first and second and two outs. Pitcher Humberto Castellanos lined a hit to right field, but Bryce Harper nabbed Josh Rojas at the plate to end the inning.
However, the lead was only preserved for so long. The Diamondbacks scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, getting 12 baserunners against Ranger Suarez, who had been very effective as a starter to this point.
A wild pitch by Suarez allowed Nick Ahmed to score and tie the game at 1-1, and RBI singles by Castellanos and Carson Kelly extended the lead to 3-1.
Meanwhile, the Phillies could not get anything going against Castellanos, who had appeared in just 16 games in his major league career to that point.
The Diamondbacks extended their lead in the seventh inning with an RBI single by Christian Walker against reliever Bailey Falter. Herrera got the run back in the top of the eighth with a solo home run, but the Phillies went down scoreless in the ninth against Tyler Clippard to end the game.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Humberto Castellanos: 5. IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 68 pitches
In just his second start of the season, Castellanos shined. He was extremely effective against Phillies hitting, allowing just five baserunners, and also got went 2-for-2 at the plate. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.14 — and his batting average is 1.000.
Ranger Suarez: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 86 pitches
Suarez had been effective to this point since his recent move to the rotation, and he did enough to give the Phillies a chance. But the Diamondbacks were swinging early and often and Suarez struggled to put hitters away. His ERA for the season now sits at 1.47.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
The Phillies have recorded a combined total of seven hits in their last two games against the Diamondbacks, who have the second highest team ERA in all of baseball.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Thursday, August 19 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field
- 3:40 p.m. ET
- TV:Â NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio:Â SportsRadio 94 WIP
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