Phillies drop first series under interim manager Don Mattingly with 9-4 loss to Reds
Homers by Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa cut the Phillies' deficit to one in the sixth, but the Reds, who totaled 15 hits, quickly rebuilt a comfortable lead.
In the first inning Wednesday, Aaron Nola looked back to form.
He needed just 11 pitches to work through the top of the Cincinnati Reds lineup, freezing Elly De La Cruz with a fastball — which was up to 94 mph — and getting JJ Bleday swinging on a changeup.
But in the second inning, now with a one-run lead, Nola slipped back into the same struggles that have plagued him all season. A few poorly located pitches and traffic on the bases snowballed to three runs scoring, and the lead quickly evaporated.
» READ MORE: Phillies hope Kyle Schwarber ‘moving in the right direction’ to return to lineup
Despite homers from Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa making things interesting, the Phillies never caught up to the Reds, falling 9-4. It was the first series they dropped since Don Mattingly took over as interim manager on April 28, ending a streak of six series wins.
Nola, who completed five innings, was charged with four runs and took the loss. For most of his career, Nola regularly threw over 190 innings in a season for the Phillies, but this year he has posted just three quality starts (at least six innings, three or fewer earned runs). His ERA is 6.04.
“It’s tough to see anybody struggle, but especially somebody like Nola,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “He works so hard, he’s such a good competitor. He’s gotten a lot of big outs for this team. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without him. So we’re all pulling for him to get through it, and we have confidence that he will.”
The first three batters Nola faced in the second inning all reached — double, single, double — and all came around to score.
“Not that great, honestly,” Nola said of his season so far. “I felt better today. I missed some balls over the plate, and they capitalized on them. Tough one again.”
» READ MORE: A fan kept Tug McGraw’s 1980 World Series jersey in his dresser. Now it’s being auctioned off.
The Reds tacked on another run in the fourth. Nola left a fastball over the middle of the plate for Blake Dunn. His drive bounced off the center field wall and got past Brandon Marsh, which allowed Dunn to reach third with a triple. He then scored on a single.
Luck played a part of it. Five of the eight total hits Nola gave up on Wednesday had exit velocities softer than 95 mph, the threshold for a hard-hit ball. But he struggled to limit the damage when the Reds put the leadoff man aboard.
“You saw how good he was in the first inning today,” Realmuto said. “It’s still in there. For me, it all comes down to command and being able to throw the ball where he wants. That’s always when he’s been at his best.”
The Phillies have discussed alterations to Nola’s game plan, such as pitching backward, which typically involves throwing off-speed pitches earlier in counts where one would usually throw a fastball. But since every opposing team and their hitters present a unique challenge, there isn’t one fix.
“He’s going to keep working,” Mattingly said. “We’re not going to stop trying to help him in any way we can. We’re counting on him to be the guy he’s been and continue to make adjustments to have success.”
Once the bullpen took over in the sixth, it didn’t fare much better. In total, Cincinnati racked up 15 hits.
» READ MORE: Alec Bohm’s two-day ‘reset’ rebuilt his confidence after rough start
The Phillies, who had six hits, were aggressive on the basepaths: Trea Turner had two successful steals against lefty starter Andrew Abbott, Adolis García had one, and Marsh added another on lefty reliever Brock Burke. Turner’s speed helped manufacture a run in the first inning. He swiped second, advanced to third on a throwing error by Reds catcher P.J. Higgins, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper.
The throw home from Reds right fielder Will Benson was on line, but Turner snuck his hand around the tag with a perfect slide.
Bohm and Sosa homered in the sixth to pull the Phils within one run of the Reds. When he deposited his fifth home run of the year in the camera well just inside the left-field foul pole, Bohm extended his hitting streak to 11 games. But Cincinnati scored two runs in the seventh to put more distance before Sal Stewart’s two-run homer in the ninth.
“As we started to scratch back, they keep tacking on runs,” Mattingly said. “We just weren’t able to really stop, get our momentum going. We kind of had it, but we never were able to sustain that. They kept scoring.”
Orion Kerkering inherited a runner from Tim Mayza in the seventh and allowed a single and a two-run double. José Alvarado surrendered a two-run, 441-foot homer to Reds rookie Stewart in the ninth that landed in the second deck in left field.
Kyle Schwarber was out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game with a stomach issue, but he felt better by the end of the game and was available to pinch-hit in the ninth inning. But with the Phillies trailing by five, Mattingly opted not to use him.
“We just didn’t get to the spot, or really get a chance where his at-bat was going to make a difference,” Mattingly said.
As the Phillies continue to seek more production out of the cleanup spot, Rhys Hoskins is coming back to town this weekend with the Cleveland Guardians. Hoskins sat down with "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss his role with the first-place Guardians, his legacy with the Phillies, and more. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs