Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies bullpen surrender eight runs in loss to the Red Sox

BOSTON — It had been awhile since the Phillies’ pitchers had a complete meltdown. They’d only allowed eight or more runs five times this season; the last time they did it was May 27.

On most nights, teams have to eke out a win against the 46-21 Phillies. But that was not the case on Wednesday. Starter Cristopher Sánchez and relievers José Ruiz and Spencer Turnbull combined to allow eight earned runs against the Boston Red Sox through 6⅓ innings. They recorded only four strikeouts and allowed six walks in an 8-6 Phillies loss.

Sánchez was able to wiggle out of some jams early, but struggled toward the end of his outing. In the fifth, he allowed two singles to put runners on second and third base (left fielder David Dahl threw to third instead of second, which allowed Ceddanne Rafaela to advance another base). Jarren Duran hit the ball toward Whit Merrifield at second, but Merrifield’s throw missed Bryce Harper at first, allowing two more runs to score to cut the Phillies’ lead to 4-3.

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Sánchez departed after that. He was charged with four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts over four innings.

“Early, it was a lot of sinkers,” manager Rob Thomson said of Sánchez. “He wasn’t mixing his pitches. He was behind in the count. So his command was off a little bit. Velocity was there, but he wasn’t commanding his fastball and he wasn’t commanding his change-up. They were taking a lot of balls in the dirt, changeups in the dirt. He got behind in the count.”

Sánchez said that despite a good bullpen session before the game, everything felt off for him.

“All of my pitches,” he said. “My command, too. Everything.”

Ruiz entered in relief, and allowed a single and a sacrifice fly to tie the game, 4-4. He struck out Rafael Devers to get the second out, and allowed a single to Connor Wong that Merrifield dove for, but was unable to catch. Ruiz allowed a two-run double to Enmanuel Valdez in the next at-bat to give the Red Sox a 6-4 lead.

Turnbull, who hadn’t pitched since June 1, entered in the sixth. He struggled with his command and control. The right-hander allowed a leadoff walk to Bobby Dalbec and a two-run home run to David Hamilton, giving the Red Sox an 8-4 advantage. He was charged with two earned runs.

He led off the seventh with back-to-back walks. Turnbull’s wild pitch with one out allowed runners to advance to second and third, and Valdez walked to load the bases. Turnbull left with one out in the seventh.

“Rust,” Thomson said of Turnbull. “That’s all it is. The guy hasn’t pitched in 10 days, he hasn’t seen a hitter in 10 days. You can’t blame that on him. It’s just a lack of reps — that’s all.”

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Seranthony Domínguez — who now has a 1.98 ERA over his last 15 games — had the best outing of the night. He entered in relief of Turnbull, and induced a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning without incurring any further damage. His strikeout came against Hamilton, who went 2-for-4 on Wednesday.

Gregory Soto pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing a single and a hit-by-pitch, with one strikeout.

“Really good,” Thomson said of Domínguez. “I mean, tonight was maybe one of his best nights. Strands all those runners. He was really good. [Gregory] Soto was better tonight. So, those were some good things.”

The last time the Phillies faced Nick Pivetta, they crushed him. It was July 11, 2021, just less than one year after the Phillies traded him to the Red Sox, and Pivetta allowed four earned runs on four hits in four innings.

This season has gone differently for the Red Sox right-hander. After a stint in the bullpen, he is firmly in the Red Sox rotation. He has dropped his walk rate to a career-low 5.5%, upped his strikeout rate to 31.1%, and has a 3.40 ERA through eight starts.

But none of that mattered against the Phillies on Wednesday night. Just as they did in 2021, they tacked four earned runs on their former righty, and they didn’t waste any time. Kyle Schwarber drew a leadoff walk, Nick Castellanos doubled, and Harper singled to drive in Schwarber in the first inning. Castellanos scored on a Bryson Stott force out in the next at-bat.

After Pivetta allowed two more walks in the third, to put runners on first and second with one out, Merrifield hit an RBI single to right field, and Dahl doubled to drive home another run.

It was the most walks Pivetta had allowed all season, and the second-most earned runs. He exited after four innings. The Phillies did not have nearly as much success against the Red Sox bullpen. They scored only two runs after Pivetta exited.

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Harper doubled in the ninth, and advanced to third on a balk. Alec Bohm hit a sacrifice fly to drive him home. Stott struck out and Merrifield walked to bring up Dahl, but Dahl flied out to end the game.

Castellanos and Harper were the only hitters with multi-hit games. Both went 2-for-4.