Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap - July 28 - July 30
Recapping each game in the Phillies at Pirates series and a look at series highlights with the Series Six Pack
Philadelphia Phillies (55-47) at Pittsburgh Pirates (45-57)
Game 1 – Phillies win 2-1 behind a brilliant Zack Wheeler performance - W: Wheeler (8-5, 3.74, L: Keller (9-7, 3.97), S: Kimbrel (17)
Zack Wheeler has been good all season despite his 3.74 era but today he was terrific. Wheeler had everything going in his arsenal and was striking out the Pirates hitters almost at will. The only thing he needed was the run support from the offense. The Phillies threatened in the first two innings, getting guys in scoring position but then not getting that clutch hit to bring them in. Schwarber led the game off with a bloop double but Turner, who had two days off, struck out again, followed by a bizarre steal attempt that got Schwarber picked off and then a Harper strike out. In the second, Bryson Stott doubled but Realmuto grounded out and Bohm lined out to center. Finally in the third inning, the offense broke through. Marsh walked and Schwarber came to the plate with one out. He belted the first pitch he saw 406 feet to the opposite way for his 27th homerun. The Phillies finally take the early lead at 2-0. Wheeler was cruising until the bottom of the 4th when he ran into some trouble. A single and a walk out two men on with one out for Ji Man Choi who lined a double to the right field corner. Easily scoring one and looked like it would score McCutchen from first but the third base coach inexplicably held McCutchen has he started to round third. Wheeler was able to get the next two batter for no more damage and the inning ended 2-1. That mistake of holding a McCutchen would wind up being costly. Both teams couldn’t get anything going when in the bottom of the 7th the skies opened up and a rain delay was called. When play resumed, Jeff Hoffman threw one pitch, a strike, to strikeout Jared Triolo who was down in the count 1-2 when the game went into delay. Hoffman and Soto helped save the lead in the 8th despite allowing two singles in the inning with a well timed double play by Soto. Kimbrel came in and shut the door for his 17th save on the season as the Phillies won 2-1.
Game 2 – Phillies can’t capitalize on opportunities and fall 7-6 – W: Priester (2-1, 9.19), L: Nola (9-7, 4.43), S: Bednar (21)
The Phillies are in the midst of a playoff push and every game is important, especially ones against the teams that are not very good where the expectation is to win. Nola started this game and did not have his sharpest stuff from the get-go. He got out of the first to innings unscathed but gave up a lead off homer in the bottom of the third to Liover Peguero, just his second off the year. The next batter doubled but Nola was able to work out of the trouble with a nice double play started by Cave in left field. The inning ended 1-0 but the Phillies would answer back quickly. In the next half inning, after a strikeout by Harper, Bohm worked a walk, Stott doubled, and Realmuto walked loading the bases for Turner who was moved down to the seven hole. Unfortunately, a familiar outcome, Turner struck out and left it to Marsh with two outs. Marsh came up clutch with a double that cleared the bases, taking a 3-1 lead. Cave then followed it up with a double of his own and the inning ended 4-1. Nola, who did not have his good stuff, proceeded to give up two doubles, a walk, and another single to give up two runs to end the inning at 4-3. In the bottom on the fifth, the defense failed again. Nola let up a lead off single, followed by a walk, and then Harper booted a ball at first to load the bases with one out. Then Endy Rodriguez hit a line drive to Marsh who was indecisive on how to play the ball and it scooter by him, clearing the bases for a three RBI triple. Nola induced a pop up but then allowed a two-out single to score one more and the inning ended 7-4 with the Pirates taking the lead. The Phillies did their best to fight back, loading the bases with no outs in the next inning. Marsh grounded out with a fielders choice with the out at home, and Rojas then struck out. Schwarber drew the walk but the offense couldn’t add more as Castellanos struck out to end the inning. A bases loaded, zero out situation ended with just the one run. The Phillies would add one more in the top of the eighth from a Rojas single to score Turner. In the ninth inning, the Phillies had the tying run on third with less than one out but JT Realmuto grounded into a game ending double play. The Phillies drop a heart breaker 7-6.
Game 3 – Phillies make defensive and base running mistakes and lose in extras 6-4 – W: Perdomo (2-1, 3.74), L: Vasquez (2-1, 2.27)
The Phillies were up against the 43-year-old Rich Hill in this one. They started the game off slow but were able to connect in the top of the fourth inning where Alec Bohm hit a two-run shot to right center field that gave the Phillies the early 2-0 lead. Trea Turner followed that up with a double of his own and a Sosa single gave the Phillies men on the corners with no outs. But as the offense has done recently, it squandered the opportunity and failed to bring in another run. Sanchez had one of his best games of his season, finishing five innings without allowing a hit but he walked two and hit three batters. Apparently, Sanchez was fighting a stomach illness, so Rob Thomson pulled him in favor of Seranthony Dominguez in the bottom of the sixth. The decision did not go well as Anthony gave up single, homerun,, walk and another single before being pulled. The homerun tied up the game at two and he left the game with two men on for Jeff Hoffman. Hoffman did a great job battling and got the next two batters out to end the inning 2-2. The Phillies would answer immediately in the top of the seventh. A Stubbs walk, Rojas sacrifice bunt, Schwarber walk and Castellanos strike out face way to Harper who stepped up to the plate with two on and two outs. He hit a clutch single to score one and Bohm followed with a double to score another. The score was 4-2 and the Phillies looked to be in the driver seat. But then things started to fall apart. Soto came in and struck out the first batter on three pitches. He then got Connor Joe to pop up in the infield but Sosa and Turner collided and the ball fell. Reynolds then lined a single to a Rojas who bobbled the ball and allowed the runner to score from first. The score would be 4-3 after the 7th. Yunior Marte came in for the eighth and got himself into trouble right away. He gave up a single and then a double, putting two in scoring position with no outs. He was able to work out of it with allowing just one run but that tied the game at 4-4. The Phillies or the Pirates wouldn’t score the ninth and the game would go to extra innings. With the ghost runner on second, Bohm hit a ground ball to third who proceeded to throw it away gifting the Phillies guys on the corner with no outs. Turner hit a fly ball to right field but Harper didn’t try to go, Bohm didn’t get the memo and tagged to third which the Pirates noticed and got him caught in a rundown. Harper tried getting home but they threw him out and all of a sudden the Phillies had just a man on second with two outs. Sosa struck out and the inning was over. The Pirates didn’t waste anytime as Josh Palacios belted a homer to right field and the Pirates won 6-4.
Series Six Pack of Notes/Highlights:
1. Rob Thomson finally made a move at the two hole in the lineup. Moving Turner from the second spot in the lineup to the seventh. Trea Turner, by his own accord, is having the worst season of his career. He was a black hole at the two spot and hopefully moving him down in the order relieves some pressure. He went 2-8 in the 7th spot in the final two games of the series.
2. Castellanos was moved to the two spot in the order to take the place of Turner but did not fair much better going 1-10 with five strikeouts. He’s has a rough go of it since the All-Star break, showing a lot of the same tendencies he had in his less than stellar 2022 campaign. He is batting .162 with 35 strikeouts and two walks.
3. Cristopher Sanchez continues to dazzle since being inserted into the rotation. In game three he was pulled after five innings and just 73 pitches without giving up a hit. His era dropped to 2.66 and his whip sits at .908. He’s been a revelation for this Phillies team. It’s just a shame they don’t ever provide run support for him. He has not recorded a “win” despite his great pitching.
4. The defense this series was exceptionally poor. A number of mental lapses that led to the Pirates scoring runs that that they shouldn’t have. Situations where the defensive communication was nonexistent is becoming a common theme for this team. Easy ground balls are being booted and throws are off the mark. The pitching staff must be getting tired of not having even an average defense behind them providing them the support they need.
5. The offense as a whole did not have the series you would expect against the lowly Pirates. It has been scuffling for quite some time but was especially not at its best this series. They left a total of 28 guys on base in the three games and struck out an astonishing 39 times. In comparison, against the Orioles, they left 16 guys on base and struck out just 17 times. The strikeouts are killing this team as they are just non-productive outs. The team looks lost at times at the plate.
6. It’s a wonder to anyone who watches this team as to why Stott continues to sit, even a little bit, against left-handed pitching. Thomson has had some questionable calls and decisions this year but this one is the most baffling. Stott has been one of the best hitters in the game this year and definitely on the Phillies. In 100 at bats this year he’s batting .310 with an OPS of .764. I can understand why Thomson would want to give his guys a rest, but it’s been more than usual for Stott who has earned the right to be left in.