Harper, Kapler ejected as Phillies swept by Red Sox

The Philadelphia Phillies (76-72) have been swept by the Boston Red Sox (79-70) in the penultimate home series of the 2019 season. Bryce Harper and Gabe Kapler were both ejected in the fourth inning in an all-around frustrating afternoon of baseball.

A sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi was the ultimate blow that led to Saturday night’s defeat. Benintendi would lead-off the first in today’s game with a base hit and score on yet another Boston sacrifice fly, this time off the bat of J.D. Martinez.

The Red Sox first lead of the day would not last long. Rick Porcello, who has given up four home runs in his last two starts, would give up another round tripper when Rhys Hoskins reached up in the zone for a middle-of-the-plate fastball to drive in his 28th home run of the season:

The Red Sox retook the lead and then some in the third. On his 24th pitch of the inning, Vargas gave up a grand slam home run to Christian Vázquez that just cleared the wall in left, giving the Red Sox a 5-1 lead. Vargas left the game after pitching just three innings and allowing five four earned runs:

Things would get even worse for the Phillies. Home plate umpire Gabe Morales made a highly questionable strike three call on Bryce Harper on the outside part of the plate. Harper did not like the call and he made sure Morales knew about it. Harper was subsequently tossed out and seconds later, manager Gabe Kapler was ejected after leaving the dugout to argue on behalf of his star player:

César Hernández knocked in a run home in the bottom of the fifth on a single to right that scored Scott Kingery to cut the lead to three. The Sox would reclaim their four-run lead a half inning later on Vázquez’s second home-run of the game, earning his first career multi-home run game:

Once again, the Phillies bullpen was phenomenal. Nick Vincent and Cole Irvin combined to give up only one hit in four shutout innings. Mike Morin’s only hiccup was the solo home run to Vázquez and Jared Hughes held off the Sox in the top of the ninth.

The Phillies offense was not. The only other run the team would score was off a Jean Segura RBI single in the sixth.

They will have an off-day on Monday and head to Atlanta to begin a three-game set against the Braves at Suntrust Park on Tuesday. Vince Velasquez will pitch for the Phillies. Dallas Keuchel will get the ball for the Braves.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance:

Jason Vargas: 3.0 IP, 3H, 5R, 4ER, 1BB, 6 SO

When the Phillies acquired Vargas at the trade deadline, it was expected that he would provide some stability in a rotation that was nothing but stable. That has not been the case as it just seems Vargas has done well at blending in with the rest of the starting arms that do not have the last name Nola. The curveball he threw that ended up in the seats for a grand slam was not a terrible pitch, but the fact that he was in a bases loaded situation with a rising pitch count in the third was the problem that ultimately led to Vargas getting pulled after three innings.

Rick Porcello: 5.0 IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 6 SO

Surprisingly, Porcello was pulled after only throwing 76 pitches. His 2019 season will definitely not go down as one of his best, but this was a solid outing from the former Cy Young award winner nonetheless.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Christian Vázquez

Vázquez is certainly not the premier hitter in the Red Sox lineup, which is one of the best in baseball. However, on a day when Mookie Betts is out of the lineup, guys like him need to step up and that’s exactly what Vázquez did. His first home run, which was the grand slam off Vargas in the the third, was the blow in this game. His second home run off Morin secured his first multi-home run game of his four-year long big league career.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Tuesday, September 17th, 7:20 vs. Atlanta Braves at Suntrust Park
• NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Sportsradio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)