Final Score: Giants 5, Phillies 3
SAN FRANCISCO — If the Phillies flew out of Phoenix, Ariz. after losing two of three to the sub-.500 Diamondbacks with Train’s “Save Me, San Francisco” blasting on the team plane as somewhat of a plea, well, San Francisco’s answer to that plea this weekend was unambiguous:
“Nah.”
The Phillies dropped the final leg of a three-game sweep to the Giants on Sunday, letting a valiant comeback effort fall by the wayside as one of the season’s more crushing losses ended one of the season’s most dejecting series in sweep fashion.
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Outside of a couple minor threats here and there, Ranger Suárez and Carlos Rodón relatively cruised through the first three innings. But Suárez hit a wall in the fourth, just like he did in the six-run frame that began the Diamondbacks’ comeback on Monday.
Suárez issued two one-out walks — more of an uncharacteristic trend from him the last few starts — before a single by LaMonte Wade Jr. gave the Giants a 1-0 lead. Suárez then struck out David Villar, but in similarly uncharacteristic fashion, he was unable to put the inning away before a pair of two-out RBI singles had put the Giants up three.
Nick Nelson relieved Suárez in the fifth and allowed a single, a walk and a wild pitch to put two in scoring position with nobody out. Dangerously close to letting the Giants blow it open, Nelson instead struck out three straight to escape unscathed and keep the Phillies within striking distance.
The Phillies couldn’t whittle that striking distance down in the sixth despite putting runners on the corners for Bryce Harper to open the inning. Harper, Jean Segura and Bryson Stott all struck out to make for another blown scoring opportunity.
Two innings later, however, they finally came through in the clutch. Bohm and Harper singled with one out to bring up J.T. Realmuto, and Realmuto — who has been the Phillies’ most productive and consistent hitter since the beginning of July — came up with a hit that looked like it could change the season on a dime.
It was the hit the Phillies had been waiting for all series, and it came in large part because the Phillies were able to run Rodón’s pitch count up enough that he departed after six, 106 pitches under his belt.
David Robertson almost gave the Giants their lead right back in the eighth. Key word: almost. Robertson struck out two, then allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases with one out. But the veteran Robertson struck out the veteran pinch-hitter Evan Longoria to keep it tied.
The problem? Robertson threw 27 pitches that inning. When Rob Thomson threw him back out for the ninth inning anyway, it backfired. Similar to Robertson’s Aug. 21 blown save against the Mets after throwing 36 pitches the day before, the right-hander’s 41st pitch of the game — a season-high — wound up connecting first with Wilmer Flores’ bat, then with the netting just inside the left field foul pole.
Sweep.
The Phillies are 73-61. They lost five of six on the West Coast road trip against two teams below .500. They’ve lost six of seven overall.
And they’re 0-3 in September.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Carlos Rodón: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR, 106 pitches (70 strikes)
The Phillies were reportedly in the mix for Rodón at the trade deadline but ultimately weren’t willing to meet the Giants’ pricey demands. Rodón seemed intent Sunday on making them wish they had. The Phillies didn’t really make him sweat terribly hard, except for in the sixth, but they were able to get his pitch count high enough that he couldn’t go deeper. It paid off with Realmuto’s big fly.
Ranger Suárez: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 69 pitches (44 strikes)
Suárez cruised early, retiring 10 of the first 11 hitters he faced. But much like in his last two starts, he hit a wall, and for the second straight outing, it came in the fourth. Suárez has always tended to avoid such walls, or at least limit the damage when they come. As Phillies Nation’s Tim Kelly noted, he’s already thrown 21 ⅓ more innings this year than he did last year. Perhaps that’s contributed to his recent struggles.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Tuesday, Sept. 6 vs. Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:45 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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