Final Score: Athletics 4, Phillies 1
Sunday was the first game of the 2022 season where it felt like April in the
northeast at Citizens Bank Park, and perhaps not-so-coincidentally, it marked the first time that the Philadelphia Phillies bats went cold during the 2022 season.
The Phillies were held to just three hits Sunday, with a runner not getting passed second base until the bottom of the ninth inning. Unsurprisingly, that lack of offensive production handed them their first loss of the campaign in a series finale with the Oakland Athletics.
It appeared that the A’s had a chance to put a crooked number on the board in the top of the third inning, as Zach Eflin walked catcher Austin Allen to begin the inning, before allowing singles to Christian Pache and Tony Kemp.
Veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus came up with the bases loaded and hit a ball hard, but directly at Eflin, who stuck his glove out an caught the ball. He then proceeded to fire the ball to second base and double up Pache. While Johan Camargo made a tremendous catch in foul territory earlier in the game, this is an early candidate for best defensive play of the season for the Phillies:
The A’s did ultimately get on the board first, with Seth Brown flaring a single into left field in the top of the sixth inning off of Bailey Falter. The ball got down between Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos, allowing Andrus to score:
The A’s would add two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, with Tony Kemp plating two on an RBI single off of Damon Jones, thanks in part to a tremendous slide by Pache:
The Phillies did avoid a shutout, with Jean Segura leading off the bottom of the ninth inning by homering to the opposite field off of Lou Trivino, his second blast in as many days:
Unfortunately for the Phillies, Trivino then buckled down, retiring Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Rhys Hoskins in order to end the game.
With the loss, the Phillies fall to 2-1. They’ll open a three-game set with the New York Mets Monday evening.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
- Daulton Jefferies only struck two Phillies hitters out over five plus innings, but he pitched to contact very well. The 26-year-old allowed only two hits Sunday, while keeping the Phillies off the scoreboard.
- Zach Eflin wasn’t built up to pitch a full workload Sunday, but looked very good in the four innings that he pitched, limiting the A’s to just two hits and zero earned runs across four innings.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
The Phillies weren’t wearing their cream alternate uniforms this weekend because of a supply chain issue. You can read the full story below:
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Monday, April 11 vs. New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:45 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, FS1
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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