Final Score: Padres 3, Phillies 0
Kyle Schwarber entered play Tuesday night in a five-way tie for the National League lead in home runs. However, outside of his nine home runs, Schwarber has had a rough go of things so far in the first year of a four-year/$78 million deal. That trend continued this evening, as Schwarber struck out three times and had a key defensive miscue, which led to the Philadelphia Phillies dropping their series opener to the San Diego Padres.
In fairness to Schwarber, he was emblematic of how the Phillies played as a whole Tuesday; they didn’t hit or field well, leading to a deflating loss following a 5-2 West Coast roadtrip.
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In the top of the fifth inning, the Padres got on the board first on an Austin Nola RBI fielder’s choice. While the Phillies had an outside shot at turning Nola’s ground ball to Jean Segura into a double play, Bryson Stott dropped the ball during the transfer from his glove while attempting to throw to first base, allowing the game’s first run to score.
Mind you, Robinson Canó, the prior batter, reached on a ball that dropped between the trio of Stott, Roman Quinn and Kyle Schwarber. Myers, who would later score on Nola’s groundout, read the bloop by Canó well and went first to third on a play that the Phillies probably should have made.
Two innings later, Canó hit what should have been a single. And technically, it was just a single. But Schwarber whiffed on the ball in left field, allowing Canó to advance to second base and Myers to score all the way from first, giving the Padres a 2-0 lead:
The Padres would tack on their third run of the evening in the seventh inning, more than enough insurance on a night where the Phillies mustered just five hits and were shut out for the fourth time this season.
Before the night was out, Schwarber struck out a fourth time, part of an extremely frustrating game for the former All-Star.
“You know, he had an OK roadtrip, he was on base three times Sunday night. It’s just, he’s missing his pitches when he gets it is what’s happening,” Joe Girardi said of Schwarber after the game. “Like, he hit the home run foul. He missed it, in a sense. It’s just, he didn’t swing well tonight.”
With the loss, the Phillies drop to 17-19 on the season, and 9-10 in games played at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies will continue their series against the Padres Wednesday, with Zack Wheeler slated to square off with former American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
- Mike Clevinger was excellent in the five innings that he pitched in the series opener, allowing just one hit and keeping the Phillies off the scoreboard. The 31-year-old looked like the pitcher who was a star in Cleveland for a few seasons tonight.
- Zach Eflin pitched very well Tuesday in his first start since May 1. Over six frames, Eflin limited the Padres to five hits and one run. Eflin now leads all Phillies starting pitchers with a 1.0 fWAR, while also posting a 3.94 ERA and 2.59 FIP.
- Wednesday, May 18 vs. Padres at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:45 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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