The MLB-best Phillies returned from the All-Star break with a three-game weekend series in Pittsburgh against an improving young Pirates team. The Phillies lost on a walk-off hit in the series opener Friday, were dominated by Pittsburgh starting pitcher Luis Ortiz in a loss on Saturday night and tossed their own shutout in the Sunday finale. Here is what jumped out from this set:
José Alvarado blows save, allows walk-off in series opener
Aaron Nola sputtered in his first start out of the break, blowing a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning and finishing with four earned runs in just five innings of work. But the Phillies' offense — powered by home runs from Trea Turner and Weston Wilson as well as a two-run double from Nick Casetallnos -- did enough to win the game.
Despite a rare poor outing from Orion Kerkering — who, according to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia, allowed multiple runs in a single outing for the first time in his major-league career — the Phillies entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a 7-6 lead. Phillies Manager Rob Thomson called upon All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman for the eighth inning, and rather than going to fellow All-Star Matt Strahm for the ninth, he called upon Alvarado, whose struggles of late have been extreme.
Five batters, one out and two runs later, the Pirates were celebrating a walk-off victory.
Alvarado entered Friday night's save situation having allowed five earned runs across his five July outings, and at least one earned run in three of those appearances. The lefty flamethrower had trimmed his ERA down to 2.96 by June 5 after a disastrous Opening Day performance tainted many of his numbers. But by the time he walked off the mound on Friday night, it was up to 4.35.
Alvarado has always been a player who has occasionally struggled with command for several outings at a time, but it is still a genuine concern — even though he also is capable of performing like the most dominant left-handed reliever in the sport for several outings at a time.
All that matters is that Alvarado is healthy and in a rhythm once October comes around, and Thomson is in a luxurious position having three viable high-leverage arms in Hoffman, Strahm and Kerkering at his disposal if he ultimately decides to scale back Alvarado's role until the southpaw finds his groove again.
Like many managers, Thomson often gives struggling relievers a chance to bounce back in a low-pressure situation, so on Sunday he gave Alvarado the bottom of the eighth inning with the Phillies holding a five-run lead, and the Phillies' skipper will hope it did the trick: Alvarado allowed a leadoff single before retiring the top three hitters in Pittsburgh's lineup in order, including emphatic swinging strikeouts of All-Star Bryan Reynolds and the dangerous Oneil Cruz.
J.T. Realmuto returns from injury, Rafael Marchán optioned to Triple-A
Just short of six weeks since his last game, the Phillies' trusted backstop made his return to action on Saturday night. It is, of course, a major lift for the Phillies' offense, which did a solid job of performing in his absence.
Realmuto drew a walk in his first plate appearance, but then truly announced he was back in the only way he could: throwing out a base-stealer with a perfect dart to second base.
Realmuto will slot into the fifth spot in the batting order on a consistent basis behind Kyle Schwarber, Turner, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm, who are firmly entrenched in the first four spots in the lineup — and rightfully so. Realmuto's return will relieve some of the Phillies' middle-of-the-order bats of pressure, including Castellanos amid a down season and the struggling Bryson Stott.
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Garrett Stubbs was serviceable during Realmuto's time on the Injured List, but Rafael Marchán drew the most attention with his play, slashing .294/.345/.549 in 56 plate appearances. However, it was Marchán, 25, who was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Realmuto.
Nothing about either player's production indicates that Stubbs is currently, in a vacuum, a better player than Marchán. But the Phillies appear to be trusting the veteran whose importance within the clubhouse is not a secret while also giving Marchán a chance to see daily at-bats.
Offense silenced in loss on Saturday night
In the first loss of the series, the Phillies did enough to win the game. That was not the case the following night.
Despite an imperfect but reasonable outing from Cristopher Sánchez (5.2 innings pitched, two earned runs), the Phillies lost on Saturday night by a score of 4-1. Their only run of the game came on a solo shot from Bryce Harper with one out in the top of the ninth inning.
The Phillies mustered just four hits and six baserunners across nine innings, and allowed Ortiz to throw seven shutout innings while only allowing three hits and two walks despite only striking out a pair of Phillies hitters.
The only time this offense appeared to have life was when Realmuto led off the top of the seventh inning with a base hit as the Phillies trailed 2-0. Stott, whose offensive production has simply been dreadful for multiple months, promptly grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
The Phillies never posed another serious threat to make inroads on Pittsburgh's lead.
Phillies avoid sweep behind strong outing from Tyler Phillips on Sunday
The Phillies were on the verge of being swept for the first time all season, but in just his second major-league start, Phillips came up large to ensure that did not happen.
Phillips tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out three, as the Phillies defeated the Pirates, 6-0.
In his first start, Phillips, 26, cruised through six innings and ran into trouble to begin the seventh inning. Thomson did not make the same mistake twice, calling it a day for the rookie starter after six innings and 85 pitches on Sunday.
Weston Wilson gave the Phillies a lead in the top of the second inning with a sacrifice fly, and Stubbs came to the plate next and added on with a two-out, run-scoring base hit. It was 2-0 Phillies at that point, and the team never looked back. The Phillies added plenty of insurance in the seventh inning after what should have been an inning-ending double play turned into an error by Cruz: Turner drove in a run with a single, Harper chipped in with a run-scoring groundout and Bohm hit an RBI single of his own. Castellanos pulled a solo shot to left field with two outs in the top of the ninth inning for good measure.
Through three appearances with the Phillies after a call-up that was somewhat surprising, Phillips has an impressive 2.81 ERA in 16.0 innings pitched. He has limited action on the bases to an extreme degree, posting a 0.88 WHIP. He compensates for a lack of overwhelming velocity with excellent movement on his pitches.
With Taijiuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull on the shelf due to injuries and Michael Mercado failing to take advantage of his opportunity — struggling mightily and ultimately being sent back to Triple-A after a strong initial outing — the Phillies were desperate for Phillips to at least be serviceable. He has been as good as the team could have possibly hoped for, and certainly appears to have the No. 5 starter role locked up until one of Walker and Turnbull is available.
Up next: the Phillies will head from Pittsburgh to Minnesota for a three-game series against a strong Twins team that currently holds a Wild Card spot in the American League. Ranger Suárez will look to bounce back as he kicks off the series on Monday night, with Zack Wheeler returning to the mound on Tuesday night.
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