Jake Arrieta needs to pitch better if Phillies rotation is going to be great | Bob Brookover

The list of disappointing things about the Phillies’ 6-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park was long.

An offense that had scored six runs or more in four straight games and a baker’s dozen less than 24 hours earlier had a pitcher with a 16.65 ERA on the ropes in the first inning and scored just two runs against Kyle Hart before being shut down by the Boston bullpen.

And a defense that had been among the best in baseball this season was as erratic as home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt’s strike zone.

But the most concerning development for the Phillies was the unsatisfactory pitching performance from Jake Arrieta, the veteran right-hander who could hold the key to their quest to make the playoffs in this pandemic-shortened season.

After pitching well in his first two starts of the season against the high-octane lineups of the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves, Arrieta has delivered consecutive clunkers against Baltimore and Boston.

For the second straight outing, he allowed an early 2-0 lead to dissolve into a 4-2 deficit while also failing to get through the fifth inning. In his previous start. against the Orioles, he sailed through the first four innings before being tagged for four runs on four hits and a walk. The last of those four hits was a bases-loaded, three-run double that knocked Arrieta from the game.

This time, Arrieta was off his game from the start. Even though he got through the first two innings without allowing a run, it took him 46 pitches to do it and he walked three batters. He had walked just two batters in his first three starts.

He got two quick outs in the third, but three pitches later the Phillies’ two-run lead was gone. Kevin Pillar doubled on a first-pitch slider that was right over the middle of the plate, and Rafael Devers followed by slamming a high 1-0 sinker into the center-field seats.

“It was command issues, and he got in long counts,” manager Joe Girardi said after the Phillies’ four-game winning streak came to a halt. “Jake is a guy who gets a lot of ground balls, and there wasn’t necessarily a lot. There were walks, and he was just off today. I don’t really know why.”

Arrieta walked Mitch Moreland to start the fourth, and that resulted in a run when Christian Vazquez singled and Jackie Bradley lofted a sacrifice fly to center field. In the fifth, Arrieta allowed a one-out double to Alex Verdugo off the Green Monster in left field, and that led to another Boston run when Rhys Hoskins booted a Pillar grounder.

That also marked the end for Arrieta, who was charged with four runs on five hits and four walks in 4 ⅓ innings. He needed 79 pitches to get 13 outs, and when his outing was over his ERA stood at 4.95.

“I wasn’t able to command the ball the way I would like,” Arrieta said. “I think that’s really the story of the outing was not being able to get ahead in the count with the fastball or spin the breaking ball for strikes to keep the counts in my favor. It just got away from me a little today.”

The reason Arrieta’s performance led the list of disappointments is not only because it halted the momentum of the Phillies’ four-game winning streak. It left you wondering if the Phillies rotation is basically Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and pray for runs from a team that is certainly capable of scoring plenty.

Obviously the much better plan for the Phillies would be for Arrieta to live up to the expectations they had for him when he signed a three-year deal worth $75 million in March 2018. He is at the end of that contract now, and with the exception of his first five months in 2018, when he posted a 3.54 ERA through 26 starts, and the first month of last season, when he posted a 3.46 ERA in six starts, he has not lived up to the contract.

Sure, the bone spurs in his elbow last season played a huge part in his struggle, and it was noble of him to try to pitch through the pain. But what the Phillies need now is for him to be good the rest of this season because, if he is, they could have the best rotation in a National League East that is filled with ailing arms.

“I can pitch at a really high level, and I know that I’m capable of doing so,” Arrieta said. “I think the first three were pretty good. Today I came out of the gate without command or the ability to spin the ball whether I was behind or ahead in the count. I don’t feel like I did anything well in this start. I think the last three there were a lot of good things … but today was a different story.”

The story of just how good the Phillies rotation can be will hinge greatly on the quality of innings that Arrieta provides for them.