Kendrick, Bullpen Struggle in 14-5 Loss
Marcell Ozuna hits a grand slam in the Marlins’ 14-5 victory (Photo Credit: NBC Miami).
Kyle Kendrick’s winless streak continues. The right-hander has been without a win since August of 2013. In previous starts, the offense or bullpen could have been to blame, but tonight it was mostly his own doing. Kendrick allowed six earned runs in 5 and 2/3 innings. He surrendered seven hits, walked two, and struck out three en route to the 14-5 loss to the Miami Marlins.
The Phillies opened the gates with a 2-0 lead, courtesy of Ryan Howard’s RBI double and Marlon Byrd’s RBI single. The Marlins quickly evened it up in the bottom of the first inning. The Marlins played small ball for the first few innings, manufacturing runs on sacrifice flies, groundouts, and singles. They took a 3-2 lead until Tony Gwynn’s RBI single in the fourth tied the game at three.
In the sixth inning, the Marlins took a 6-3 lead on Christian Yelich’s RBI triple. The Phillies had a chance to take the lead an inning earlier, but Giancarlo Stanton made a diving catch that saved three runs. Despite the Marlins having the lead and Stanton’s incredible catch, the game was still within reach for the Phillies. That was until the seventh inning.
Trailing by three, Ryne Sandberg decided to bring in Jeff Manship. The plan backfired as Manship allowed a grand slam to Marcell Ozuna. The Marlins took a 10-3 lead on the questionable bullpen move.
Domonic Brown added a two-run shot in the top of the eighth, but shortly after, the Marlins put up another four-spot, this time against Luis Garcia.
The Phillies will try to rebound tomorrow at 12:40 PM with Cole Hamels on the mound.
