Matt Strahm exits early with a bloody thumb, as the Phillies lose a 13-0 rout to the Reds

CINCINNATI — They surrounded Matt Strahm on the mound in the third inning Saturday. The entire Phillies infield was there; manager Rob Thomson, too, as a trainer examined the pitcher’s left thumb.

“Let’s go!” Strahm said finally.

Two batters later, Strahm went. So did the game.

Strahm sliced his thumb on a seam of the ball while uncorking a warmup pitch, turning assistant athletic trainer Joe Rauch into the baseball equivalent of a boxing cutman. It didn’t help, either, that Strahm needed 26 pitches to record two outs in the third inning.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper may not play in minors before returning from Tommy John surgery, Phillies manager Rob Thomson says

“The pitch count for that inning was high, considering the thumb,” Thomson said, “so I didn’t want to take a chance.”

Andrew Bellatti replaced Strahm and hung his signature slider for a first-pitch three-run homer by Wil Myers to open a five-run lead. It was the biggest blow to the Phillies in a 13-0 humiliation that featured the indignities of another bad baserunning decision and an infielder (Josh Harrison) pitching the white-flag bottom of the eighth inning — and allowing five runs.

Never mind that the Reds lost 100 games last year and still are in rebuilding mode. They have played the Phillies even over the last two weekends, with the final game of the season between the teams set for Sunday.

The Phillies won’t mind leaving Great American Ball Park behind, not that the defending National League champs have played particularly well anywhere else in opening 5-10, their worst 15-game start since the 99-loss 2015 season.

“There’s reason to be frustrated,” infielder Alec Bohm said. “We haven’t played the cleanest baseball. But all we can do is keep showing up tomorrow and working to fix it. You’re not going to sit around and pout about today or the past losses. Just got to keep moving forward.”

Thomson elected not to move forward with Strahm, even though the lefty seemed to regroup from the bloody thumb and putting the first two runners on base in the third inning. He struck out Stuart Fairchild, then won a seven-pitch duel with Tyler Stephenson by getting him to chase a slider in the dirt.

» READ MORE: As MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, Josh Harrison, Taijuan Walker reflect on declining number of Black players

But Strahm struggled with his command even before cutting his thumb, a problem that he said he “can’t really put my thumb on,” an unintended pun. He gave up a solo homer to Myers in the second inning on a belt-high fastball. He fell behind in the count to all but one of the 13 batters he faced.

Strahm also threw only 61 and 59 pitches in his previous two starts as he continues to stretch out after spending two-thirds of spring training in a reliever role. With Strahm at 67 pitches, Thomson decided not to let him face Myers again.

“As soon as Topper hit that top step, being the second mound visit, it doesn’t matter what words I have, it already is what it is,” Strahm said. “I’ll throw the ball until he takes it, and whenever he takes it, it’s his team. Just got to respect it.”

Bellatti throws his slider two-thirds of the time. It’s his best pitch. Not this time, though.

“They were sitting on it,” Thomson said. “He left it up, over the plate. [Myers] attacked it.”

Of all the negative Phillies trends so far, here’s the most worrisome: They have made nine — nine! — outs on the bases, most in the majors. They’re on pace for 97 baserunning outs, not including pickoffs or caught stealings. They made 36 all of last season.

It’s possible the Phillies are trying to be aggressive because hits with runners in scoring position have been scarce. But the latest bad decision came amid a five-run deficit in the fifth inning.

With two out, Trea Turner tried taking an extra base after Reds shortstop Jose Barrero winged a throw wide of first base. No chance. Myers retrieved the ball, which didn’t get far away, and easily threw out Turner at second.

“I think the ball kicked out a little further than he thought, but in that situation, you’ve got to make sure,” Thomson said. “Because we were down five runs at the time. It looks bad.”

It was the fourth time the Phillies have made a baserunning out at second. They’ve also had two runners thrown out at both third base and home plate. Thomson continued to talk about the Phillies needing to “clean that stuff up.”

“If you look at it, they’re all aggressive mistakes, guys trying to take the extra base, guys trying to make plays, guys trying to score runs,” Bohm said. “While obviously it’s not what you want, I think it’s easier to pull back than to try to be more aggressive. That’s something that’s going to work itself out, I think.”

Said Thomson: “We just keep talking about, ‘Let the game come to you. Don’t try to force it.’ We want to have controlled aggression. Just got to keep pounding it home.”

» READ MORE: How Nick Castellanos’ time in Cincinnati helped set him up for Year 2 with the Phillies

Third baseman Edmundo Sosa exited in the sixth inning with what the Phillies characterized as “low back discomfort” that arose during the game. Thomson said Sosa will be reevaluated Sunday.

The Phillies optioned reliever McKinley Moore to triple-A Lehigh Valley after the game. A corresponding move wasn’t announced, but it’s likely they will be adding a fresh arm for the series finale. If Sosa needs to go on the injured list, infielder Scott Kingery would be a possibility.

On the plus side, Bryson Stott extended his season-opening hitting streak with a leadoff double on the fourth pitch of the game. The 15-game run is the longest by any player to begin a season since Minnesota’s Brian Dozier hit in 17 straight in 2018.

The longest modern Phillies hitting streak to kick off a season was Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones’ 16-gamer for the Whiz Kids in 1950.