Bryce Harper exits early, Phillies fall to Padres

Despite another solid outing from newly-acquired starter Jason Vargas, the Philadelphia Phillies were unable to score enough runs Sunday and fell to the San Diego Padres, 3-2. For the second straight day, the Phillies (64-60) jumped to an early lead but could not hold on as the Padres (58-65) won Sunday and completed a series victory.

Vargas ran into some trouble in the first after a leadoff hit to Manuel Margot and two-out walk to Hunter Renfroe, but he was able to induce an Eric Hosmer ground out to get out of the inning. Padres starter Joey Lucchesi got two quick outs to start the inning, but after Bryce Harper walked and moved to second on a wild pitch, Jean Segura laced a base hit up the middle to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

Vargas ran into some more trouble in the second inning, allowing two one-out baserunners, but was able to get out of it quickly when Lucchesi struck out on a bunt foul tip and J.T. Realmuto gunned out Luis Urias, who was caught between second and third base. After Lucchesi cruised through the bottom of the frame, he and Vargas traded 1-2-3 third innings to keep the game at 1-0 Phillies into the fourth.

After walking Hunter Renfroe to start the fourth, Vargas was able to get two quick outs and looked like he would get out of trouble again. However, Urias lined an opposite-field home run that just got over the right field wall, and the Padres took a 2-1 lead:

Gonna fly now ?@LuisUrias03 • #FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/MUMDH3SlrF

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 18, 2019

Meanwhile, Lucchesi continued to cruise. After struggling in the first inning, he retired 12 of 13 to keep the game at 2-1 in San Diego’s favor into the sixth inning. Vargas retired the Padres 1-2-3 in the fifth inning and got two quick outs in the sixth inning, but allowed a double to Hosmer and was removed for Jared Hughes, who got the final out of the inning.

The Phillies finally got something going against Lucchesi in the bottom of the sixth. After two quick outs, Adam Haseley – who came in for Harper prior to the inning – walked to bring up Jean Segura. Segura ripped a double into the left-center gap, and Haseley scored to tie the game, 2-2.

The tie didn’t last long, though. Hughes remained in the game, and after getting one out to start the seventh, he left a curveball hanging over the plate that Austin Hedges crushed into the left field seats, and Padres took a 3-2 lead:

Birthday BASH ?#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/zLGTxu3RFe

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 18, 2019

Mike Morin and Hector Neris each pitched a scoreless inning for the Phillies in the eighth and ninth, but it ultimately didn’t matter. The San Diego bullpen shut down the Phillies lineup for the second night in a row and kept the score 3-2 until the final out. Craig Stammen, Matt Strahm, Andres Munoz and Kirby Yates combined for three shutout innings for the Padres, allowing just one baserunner and giving the Phillies no chance to tie the game.

After Friday night’s win, it looked like the Phillies were finally set to go on a run, but the offense struggled greatly in back-to-back games, resulting in both losses. The Phillies have now dropped series to the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and Padres in the month of August, and sit only four games over .500.

The Phillies did catch a break Sunday, at least in a relative sense. While Harper had to leave after the fifth inning, he isn’t injured, he was dealing with dehydration. There’s no reason to think that Harper, who has eight home runs in August, won’t be ready to play Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Jason Vargas pitched well enough for the Phillies to win, which is all that general manager Matt Klentak had in mind when he acquired him. Unfortunately, the Phillies offense was unable to give Vargas the necessary run support, and the team is now 1-3 in his starts. His line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K,
• Joey Lucchesi struggled in the first inning, but really settled in afterwards. He allowed only one baserunner between the second and fifth innings and only five in total over six innings. He improved to 8-7 on the season with this win. His line: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Austin Hedges

• Hedges had a career .958 OPS against the Phillies coming into this game, and he continued to kill the Phillies Sunday. The catcher had four hits on the day including the game-deciding home run in the seventh inning, helping the Padres take the game and series with it.

TicketIQ Next Game

• Aug. 20 at Fenway Park
• 7:10 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

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