Phillies fall in extra innings to Yankees, lose fifth straight series

The Phillies had the bases loaded twice with the opportunity to walk it off against the Yankees.

But instead, Bryce Harper grounded out to end the ninth inning and Bryson Stott flied out to end the 10th. The Yankees capitalized on the missed opportunities to beat the Phillies, 7-6, in 12 innings. Gleyber Torres scored the ghost runner with a sacrifice fly, for what proved to be the winning run.

“We did have some opportunities. But I really liked the fight tonight,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson.

The Phillies led early, but after Matt Strahm allowed a three-run homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr., they entered the ninth trailing by one.

The bottom of the order came up clutch to keep the game alive, as J.T. Realmuto and Stott strung together a pair of singles to put the tying run at third. Johan Rojas, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, scored on a wild pitch to send the game to extras.

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Meanwhile, the top of the order continued to slump. Trea Turner finished the game 1-for-6, while Harper finished 0-for-5.

“Bad timing for everyone kind of struggling a little bit,” Turner said. “Obviously played some good teams as of late, for sure. And we’ve been in the games, but just haven’t had enough. And we’ll get over the hump.”

Turner added he’s felt “out of whack” at the plate since the All-Star break.

“[I’ve been] missing pitches you should hit,” he said. “And then when they make good pitches, it’s obviously a hard game. So you can’t miss those.”

Austin Hays made an impression with a three-run home run in the second inning, his first as a Phillie and his fourth this season. Hays typically fares better against left-handed pitching, but he hit his home run off a sweeper from Yankees starter Will Warren, a righty making his MLB debut. Hays also made a diving catch in left field in the fifth, and tied the game in the 11th with an RBI single.

Realmuto was the only other Phillie with a multi-hit game, finishing 3-for-5.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola had a solid outing, allowing two earned runs over 5⅔ innings. He gave up seven hits, including one homer to Chisholm, and walked three. Nola recorded four strikeouts.

Hays wasn’t the only new Phillies acquisition with a strong performance. Carlos Estévez made his first appearance since being traded from the Angels, entering the game in the ninth to face the heart of the Yankees order. He retired the side in order, inducing three flyouts from Aaron Judge, Austin Wells, and Chisholm.

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Jeff Hoffman faced the minimum in the 10th. With Rojas taking over in center, Brandon Marsh slid over to right field and made several key catches to keep the Yankees at bay. He finished with 10 putouts across two different positions. Alex Verdugo scored the ghost runner with a sacrifice fly in the 11th, but Hays tied things up again.

After the Yankees plated another off Orion Kerkering in the 12th, the Phillies failed to respond.

Marsh hit a potential sacrifice fly to center to lead off, but Alec Bohm — standing on second as the ghost runner — did not tag up and failed to advance. Realmuto and pinch-hitting Weston Wilson struck out to end the game.