Phils Make Late Charge But Fall To Mets In Series Finale
The Phillies did not have a good series offensively against the New York Mets. In fact, if it wasn’t for a late rally on Monday night, they would’ve been swept by their rivals from up I-95. Today’s game was somewhat of a microcosm of the entire series, as the Phils big bats were quiet early, and a late run did occur, but ultimately wasn’t enough to take the get away game. Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott may be the only Phillies writing home about this afternoon’s contest, as both went 2-4, Castellanos with 2 doubles and Stott with a pair of singles and a pair of RBIs. Outside of those 2, the bats were stifled by Max Scherzer, which is not a phrase that is being typed for the first time. Regardless of who the opposing pitcher was, though, it is still noticeable how much the top of the lineup is struggling. Bryce Harper did have a late home run, but he and Kyle Schwarber have been largely noneffective since opening day. While there should be little doubt that those guys will heat up eventually, some slight impatience is certainly setting in.
The hitting wasn’t the only issue in this one, though. The Phillies allowed 9 runs on 9 hits, a less than ideal performance, especially considering they did not commit an error in the game. Aaron Nola made his 2nd start of the year and only made it 3.1 innings before he was removed from this one. His final line showed 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 earned with 3 walks and 5 ks. He actually danced out of a couple jams that could have made his line look even worse, but it was a troubling outing from Nola. Last year was a rough rough season for the former Phils’ ace, and this did not exactly hint towards a bounce back season. His issue has been 2 strike approaches, and today was another example of being bad deep in the count. The bullpen was also subpar, despite having a good start to the season outside of this game. Of the 5 relievers that saw action in this one (Dominguez, Jones, Brogdon, Alvarado, Falter), only Jose Alvarado did not exit the game with an earned run. So much for new year, new pen, huh?
Here’s the good news: the Phillies now embark on a pretty enviable road trip over the next two series. They’ll play the next 4 games in Miami against the Marlins, which, ignoring history, is a very winnable series. Then they’ll fly to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies, who are once again a lower end of the League team. The next 7 games are a get right stretch, and the Phils could use one of those, despite it being early in the year. Next game will be tomorrow night in Miami as Kyle Gibson will face Sandy Alcantara.
