Categories: 2022 Postgame Recaps

Phillies make it interesting, but comeback falls short against the Mets

Bailey Falter allowed five runs (three unearned) over three innings in Friday’s loss. (Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

Final Score: Mets 8, Phillies 6

The Phillies dropped their seventh game of the year against the Mets on Friday night. Down 7-0, the Phillies sent nine men to the plate and scored six runs on five hits in the sixth, including a three-run home run from Garrett Stubbs. The rally, however, did not lead to a miraculous comeback. They are now 21-25 and 8.5 games out of first place in the NL East.

Bailey Falter, who is the Phillies’ proverbial sixth starter for the time being, labored through three innings. It turns out the Phillies digged themselves into too deep of a hole to climb out of.

Bad defense leads to early deficit

From the get-go, bad defense put the Phillies in a self-inflicted early hole. Mets leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo swung at the first pitch of the game and hit a ground ball to Bryson Stott at shortstop. The throw sailed over Rhys Hoskins’ head at first. A single and a walk loaded the bases. Both Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar hit sacrifice flies to right field. Nick Castellanos had a decent chance to get the runner on each play, but both throws sailed wide.

Bailey Falter, who was expected to go five innings according to the broadcast, threw 32 pitches in what was a stressful first frame. Many of those pitches came from a ten-pitch at-bat from Mark Canha, who singled in the third run of the inning for New York.

Mets take advantage of Falter’s command issues

Speaking of Canha, the Mets left fielder hit six foul balls with two strikes in that at-bat. Not putting hitters away efficiently was Falter’s biggest issue in the outing. He walked four batters and threw at least seven pitches to four batters. Falter was pulled after three innings and 82 pitches.

As Ruben Amaro Jr. mentioned on the broadcast, much of Falter’s repertoire runs glove side. He doesn’t really have a pitch that can run away from hitters and when he struggles to command the pitches he does have, trouble ensues. Alonso’s two-run home run in the third is a good example of that. The catcher Stubbs sets up on the outside corner for a slider. The pitch drifted down and inside and Alonso caught the barrel and extended the Mets’ lead to five.

Garrett Stubbs hits one to Utley’s Corner

Manager Joe Girardi kept Stubbs in the game to hit with two runners on and two out in the top of the sixth. Buck Showalter opted to go with left hander Chasen Shreve to get the final out with three runs already in against Carlos Carrasco in the inning. The move to keep the left-handed hitting Stubbs in the game was questioned, especially with J.T. Realmuto on the bench.

But Stubbs ended up making Girardi look like a genius. The Phillies backup pulled a 1-2 splitter for a three-run shot to bring the Phillies to within one.

After not hitting a home run through the first three years of his big league career, Stubbs now has two in one week. Baseball.

Another questionable bullpen move by Girardi

Girardi’s tendency to stretch out his reliever’s outings came back to haunt the Phillies again. After Nick Nelson looked dominant in his second inning of work in the fifth, Girardi went back to him after a long layover following the six-run rally. Nelson walked the first batter and Girardi took him out in favor of Andrew Bellatti, who allowed the inherited runner to score on a groundout.

With a well rested bullpen, it’s frankly inexcusable that Girardi tried to squeeze another out from Nelson. Of the nine earned runs Nelson has allowed this season, seven of them have come after his first inning of work in the outing.

Shibe Vintage Sports Notes

Prior to the game, the Phillies optioned left hander José Alvarado to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Alonso is batting .351 with five home runs in 42 plate appearances against the Phillies this season.

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