Phillies manage just 3 hits, fall to Giants

The 2019 Philadelphia Phillies haven’t won more than four games in a row at any point in large part because they can never seem to snowball in a positive direction after victories that feel season-defining. Friday night, Bryce Harper launched two mammoth home runs, helping the Phillies to one of their best victories of the season. Saturday afternoon, the Phillies could only muster three hits.

Things actually started off very well for the Phillies Saturday, with Corey Dickerson launching a solo home run off of Giants starter Jeff Samardzija in the top of the first inning:

Corey Dickerson obliterated this ball to give the Phillies the early lead: pic.twitter.com/9TRumRuKZP

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 10, 2019

The problem for the Phillies was that they wouldn’t get another hit off of Samardzija until the eighth inning.

During the 2008 World Series, some Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park chanted “Eva” every time that young Tampa Bay Rays star Evan Longoria came to the plate. Now 33 and a San Francisco Giant, Longoria appeared to exercise any remaining demons from that series with a second inning home run off of Vince Velasquez that traveled 438-feet:

Ball, bye. ?
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/kqnpsDBjOF

— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) August 10, 2019

Three innings later, in the home half of the fifth, Kevin Pillar hit his second home run in as many days. Pillar, 30, has always been a tremendous defensive player, but he’s burned the Phillies with his bat in this series:

OUTTA HERE!
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/nUVyZE5wX3

— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) August 10, 2019

The Pillar home run proved to just be icing on the cake, as Samardzija turned in a gem for Bruce Bochy in the Giants, allowing just one run on two hits over eight frames, while striking out five.

Harper, a day after perhaps the finest game of his young Phillies tenure, went 0-4. In his defense, he hit a fly ball to the warning track in the top of the third inning, and his ninth inning strikeout against Giants closer Will Smith certainly happened in part because of a called strike two that clearly wasn’t in the zone.

In any event, the Phillies have dropped two out of their first three games in a four-game weekend set with the Giants. In those two losses, they have just four combined hits. Tomorrow, Jake Arrieta will get the ball for the Phillies as they look for a series split on Sunday Night Baseball.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Vince Velasquez wasn’t great Saturday afternoon, but if you’re holding him to the standards of a back-of-the-rotation arm, he certainly gave the Phillies a chance to win. He did allow home runs to both Evan Longoria and Kevin Pillar, but only one other hit besides that. Given that he only threw 77 pitches, Velasquez probably could have pitched at least one more inning, but after stranding runners on the corners to end the bottom of the fifth, Kapler elected to pinch-hit for him. Velasquez was noticeably upset after being lifted from the game, as he punched the ceiling in the dugout.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Jeff Samardzija

With all due respect to Kevin Pillar, Samardzija was the easy choice here.

After surrendering a home run in the top half of the first to Corey Dickerson, Samardzija went on to pitch eight innings, allowing just one more hit the rest of his time in the game. The former Notre Dame wide receiver retired 20 consecutive batters at one point, summing up what was a frustrating day for the Phillies offensively.

The 34-year-old righty has limited the Phillies to just five hits in 14 innings of work in two starts in 2019. It’s been a nice bounce-back season for the former National League All-Star, as his ERA in 2019 now sits at 3.55.

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