Phillies fall to the lowly Marlins at home, waste Aaron Nola gem
The Phillies have lost five straight and nine of their last 11. They are 6-12 this month as they seem to be free-falling in June just as they did last September when they plunged out of the race for the division title.
The Amtrak train carrying the Phillies on Thursday night from Washington did not arrive at 30th Street Station until early Friday morning. The Phillies, in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, were told to report Friday night to the Citizens Bank Park just two hours before the first pitch of series-opening 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Perhaps a little rest would help the weary Phillies as they play a stretch of 13 games over 12 days. Instead, their nightmarish stretch continued.
They have scored just eight runs during a five-game losing streak and have dropped 14 of their last 20 games. They are 6-12 this month as they seem to be free-falling in June just as they did last September when they plunged out of the race for the division title. The Phillies are just three games above .500 after being 10 games over on June 8. A weekend at home against the hapless Marlins does not seem to be the elixir they needed.
“I think you just stay steady and keep going," Scott Kingery said. "I don’t think there’s a need for anyone in our lineup to start changing stuff up. Everyone knows the talent they have and the ability they can play at. I think if we all stay the course and keep going, we’ll bounce out of this.”
They had their best pitcher on the mound Friday night, yet they still lost. Aaron Nola pitched eight innings and struck out 10. That wasn’t good enough. The Phillies will fill their rotation this weekend with Vince Velasquez on Saturday and Enyel De Los Santos on Sunday. Desperate for wins, the Phillies turn to spot starters.
Friday was the start of an 16-game-stretch that includes 13 games against the Marlins and Mets. If the Phillies are to make up ground in the division, they must take care of business against the third and fourth place teams in NL East. It is only June, but it could be the type of stretch that defines a season.
“If we perform like we’re capable of performing we beat most teams most of the time,” said Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “If we don’t perform like we’re capable of performing, it doesn’t matter who’s out there, they have a chance to beat us and that’s what happened tonight.”
The pitching on Friday was excellent. Nola allowed just one earned run as his other run scored on an error. It was the lineup, which went missing since a torrid start to the season, that failed to show up.
Jay Bruce and J.T. Realmuto both went 0 for 4. Jean Segura had one hit but is batting just .183 this month. Rhys Hoskins doubled twice, but neither could start a rally. Bryce Harper crushed two balls, both of which died deep in the outfield.
The only run they could muster against the bottom-feeding Marlins came on a steal of home. Roman Quinn swiped home in the third inning on a double steal.
“I think our guys can swing the bats better. I think we all know that,” Kapler said. “Going up to the plate with the right approach, the right mind-set, we’re just not getting it done right now. We’ve got to do a better job. It’s that simple.”
The Phillies had nine hits, but little to show for it. They left 11 men on base and went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. They rank below the league average in nearly every offensive category. A lineup built for power has not lived up to its billing. Kapler was asked after the loss about his confidence in hitting coach John Mallee.
“I think we have the right personnel in place. I think we have the right coaches in place,” Kapler said. “Our processes and our practices need some refinement. There’s no coaching staff in baseball that works harder than our staff does and we are going to work to find solutions.”
The Phillies left the bases loaded in the fourth when Bryce Harper flew out to right. He jumped on a first-pitch slider from Marlins righthander Sandy Alcantara but just missed it. Harper nearly homered again in the ninth but flew out to deep center. Alcantara allowed eight hits and struck out six in 7⅔ innings. The Phillies had no answers for him.
Rhys Hoskins started the fifth with a double but the next three batters went down without a fight. Hoskins hit a two-out double in the seventh and Jay Bruce struck out looking. The Phillies put together one last threat in the eighth when Cesar Hernandez singled with two outs to put runners on first and third.
Gabe Kapler lifted Nola for recently acquired lefthanded hitter Brad Miller. Marlins manager Don Mattingly responded by pulling Alcantara for lefthanded reliever Jose Quijada to have a left-on-left matchup. Kapler pulled Miller for righthanded Sean Rodriguez.
If the Phillies were going to get a needed win, first they’d have to play chess with the last-place Marlins. Rodriguez struck out swinging. Mattingly won the battle of wits and the Phillies had another restless night.
“It’s a tough one," Kingery said. “For us, we know we have it in us. We’ve had runners in scoring position and we just can’t get that big hit right now. We’re going to have some guys come through pretty soon here and it’s going to start rolling for us.”