Categories: 2021 Postgame Recaps

Nick Maton shines in painful Phillies defeat

Final Score: Blue Jays 10, Phillies 8

The Phillies limped into Sunday’s game and it showed on the scoreboard.

Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Didi Gregorius and Andrew Knapp were all ruled out due to injuries. Thank goodness the game was played under American League rules because the Phillies were out of bench players by the first inning. That is until Harper came into the game in the sixth for an injured Scott Kingery after a talk with Joe Girardi. His shoulder bothered him and it was clear that he was unable to throw or swing normally. Harper bunted in his at-bat in the eighth and swung away in the ninth in an attempt to give the Phillies the lead.

Nick Maton went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in Sunday’s game. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire)

A mediocre outing from fifth starter Chase Anderson would have given the Phillies a win. Instead, he threw one of the worst outings of his career. He was pulled after an inning and a third with seven earned runs on his line.

Nick Maton was a bright spot in today’s game. The 24-year-old slammed his first-career home run in the fifth and his second the following inning. He drove in two more runs on a single with two outs in the eighth.

Top Plays

Rafael Marchan struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the first inning. The weird thing is that Marchan was not a part of the original lineup card and was the only healthy player on the bench for the Phillies. Knapp was scratched from the game after experiencing tightness in his left side, according to the broadcast.
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette added on to the Phillies’ misery by going back-to-back to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Jays scored five runs on six hits in the second inning. Anderson was pulled for Hale with the bases loaded and one out. Hale, who is paid to eat innings when a Phillies starter exits from the game early, gave up a double to Randal Grichuk. He was bailed out when Grichuk was caught off the second base bag on a fly ball to right field from Rowdy Tellez.
In more positive Phillies news, Maton crushed his first career big-league home run in the fifth. The Phillies dugout desperately needed something to smile about. Andrew McCutchen added with a home run of his own in the next at-bat. At the beginning of the inning, John Kruk said it was “Our inning.” They scored three runs. At least the offense showed some life.

Maton came through again with his second home run in as many innings. In the short term, they may have to rely on him to start at shortstop as there is a decent chance that Gregorius could go on the injured list with an elbow injury.

Toronto added another one in the seventh off of Ranger Suárez to make it a five-run game. With the bases loaded, Tellez scored on a fielder’s choice. Maton kept the ball in the infield and Segura, despite making numerous mistakes in the infield this series, did a great job staying on the bag at second to secure the second out.
Maton did it again. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, the Phillies infielder drove a sinker into right-center field for a two-run single.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his third home run of the series to the schoolyard in left field off of Brandon Kintzler to give the Jays a four-run lead.

Brad Miller drove in the Phillies’ seventh run of the game on a line-drive shot to right field.
Odúbel Herrera was inches away from tying the game in the ninth. His long single scored another run and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in Harper, who struck out swinging with a sore shoulder.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Robbie Ray: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 3 HR, 112 pitches

Toronto doesn’t have much of a bullpen, so Robbie Ray was stretched to the max in this game. The Phillies lineup couldn’t help but swing at his slider that drifted outside and as a result, Ray induced 25 swing-and-misses during his outing. He hung a few pitches near the end and Maton and McCutchen made him pay.

Chase Anderson: 1 1/3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2 HR, 56 pitches

The Phillies needed Anderson to at least reach the fourth or fifth inning with a depleted lineup. Sunday’s outing turned out to be the shortest of his career. He gave up five extra-base hits, which is impressive considering he only faced 10 batters.

The bullpen ate up some innings in this one. Here are the pitching lines:

David Hale: 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 54 pitches
Ranger Suárez: 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 33 pitches
Brandon Kintzler: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 21 pitches

Postgame Notes

Following a missed double-play ball in the first inning, Girardi confronted Segura in the dugout. Cameras caught an unhappy Segura yelling in Girardi’s direction. Realmuto, Herrera, Juan Castro, Dusty Wathan and Zack Wheeler all came over to calm Segura down. After the game, Girardi said, “The bench conversation is meant for the bench.” Numerous reporters tried to follow up on an initial question about the confrontation, but Girardi did not want to speak on the topic. “Next question,” Girardi said when asked if it was a conversation or confrontation.
Girardi called Knapp’s pregame injury “a rib cage issue.”
Kingery left the game after experiencing dizziness after running into the right-field wall on a couple of fly balls.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Marcus Semien

The Phillies needed a shortstop this offseason and while they were heavily connected to Andrelton Simmons and Gregorius, there wasn’t much traction between the Phillies and Semien. The 30-year-old is off to a decent start at the plate, as he went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Just saying.

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