A post-London trip to Boston always looked a little dangerous for the Phillies on paper. Mix in injuries to Trea Turner/J.T. Realmuto/Brandon Marsh, throw in an off night for Aaron Nola, sprinkle in some bad umpiring, and you have yourself a recipe for dropping a three-game series.
Tuesday: Phillies win, 4-1
The series started off well for the Phillies, with Kyle Schwarber hitting a 444-foot home run on the first pitch of Tuesday’s game. Schwarber hit another home run in the fifth. Zack Wheeler held the Red Sox to one run over seven innings, Matt Strahm struck out the side in the eighth, and Jose Alvarado closed the game out for his twelfth save.
It may have taken an extra week or so for “June Schwarber” to arrive this season, but he quickly made up for lost time. “It’s definitely a tone-setter for us when he goes up and does that,” said Wheeler about Schwarber’s leadoff home run. “I think that’s why he’s hitting leadoff for us. I know, as a starter, if somebody leads off with a home run, it’s kind of a dagger.”
Wednesday: Phillies lose, 8-6
The Phils jumped out to an early lead in Wednesday’s game as well. Facing ex-Phillies legend Nick Pivetta, Schwarber walked to start this one. Hits from Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper then helped make it 2-0 before Cristopher Sanchez even took the mound. In the third, Whit Merrifield’s RBI single and David Dahl’s RBI double made it a 4-0 game.
Castellanos hit a one-out triple in the top of the fourth. But he was left stranded on third base, and the ballgame went downhill from there. The Sox tagged Sanchez for a run in the bottom of the fourth, then chased him from the game before he could record an out in the fifth. Sanchez exited with the bases loaded.
Before the inning was over, reliever Jose Ruiz not only allowed all three inherited runners to score, but served up a couple more runs for good measure. Spencer Turnbull failed to stop the bleeding in the sixth, and suddenly the Sox had scored eight unanswered runs.
“[Sanchez] wasn’t mixing his pitches,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He was behind in the count, his command was off a little bit, velo was there. He wasn’t commanding his fastball, he wasn’t commanding his changeup . . . Could be just one of those nights. He’ll be back out there.”
Thursday: Phillies lose, 9-3
Aaron Nola entered Thursday’s game with a 2.77 ERA after allowing just six runs over his previous five starts. But by the time the Red Sox were done with him in this game, Nola served up eight runs on eleven hits in 3.2 innings. His ERA skyrocketed to 3.48.
“Flush it and move on to the next one,” said Nola after the game. He hadn’t pitched since June 5 due the team’s London trip, and although he declined to blame the loss on the long layoff, it certainly didn’t help.
Home plate umpire Alex MacKay didn’t help Nola either. Check out this ball four call, just before the Sox busted the game open:
Up next
Things won’t get any easier for the Phillies this weekend, as they head to Baltimore to face a strong Orioles club.
Reinforcements may be on the way, at least. Brandon Marsh, battling a hamstring injury, went 3 for 5 in a rehab assignment with the AA Reading Fightin Phils on Thursday. And Trea Turner, out since May 3 with a hamstring injury of his own, is close to returning to action. They’re both sorely needed in the lineup, especially with J.T. Realmuto expected to miss about a month with a knee issue.
Ranger Suarez (10-1, 1.81 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies on Friday against Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish (2-0, 2.62 ERA).
