Outfield misplay looms large as Phillies drop series to Nats

Ranger Suárez’s five-run outing in Sunday’s series finale against the Washington Nationals was, given the southpaw’s incredible month of June, an aberration.

One key play that helped four of those five runs come to be was not.

Stone Garrett’s grand slam in the top of the third was just the second career slam Suárez has allowed in his career. The Nationals had loaded the bases with the help of back-to-back walks, which almost never happens on Suárez’s watch.

But the whole rally got started with the continuation of an all-too-familiar trend. With one out and the bases empty, Derek Hill lifted a fly ball into left center field, an expected batting average of .090. It seemed like it would hold up long enough for Brandon Marsh to grab it, but Marsh, seemingly miscommunicating with Kyle Schwarber as the two outfielders closed in, took an awkward route, stumbled and let the ball drop no more than a couple feet in front of him.

It was a ball that should’ve been caught, and given that Garrett’s homer came with two outs, perhaps the Phillies would’ve left the inning unscathed. Instead, it helped give them a deficit they’d never erase in a series-losing 5-4 loss to the now 34-49 Nationals.

There aren’t exactly numbers to quantify it (though Schwarber’s -18 defensive runs saved might tell part of the story), but miscommunication feels like a continued problem for Marsh and Schwarber this season. On Sunday, it bit the Phillies, hard.

The offense — in predictable fashion, given last night’s explosion — also blew its fair share of opportunities. They put two on with no outs in the sixth, then two on with one out in the seventh and eighth, but double plays by Darick Hall, J.T. Realmuto and Marsh, respectively, soiled or ended those rallies.

That runner on second in the seventh was Nick Castellanos, who had doubled home Schwarber to cut the lead to one.

Castellanos also got the scoring started with a solo blast in the first. His 12 homers and 26 doubles trail his 2022 regular season totals by just one each, through 83 team games this season.

Realmuto — whose double play ended that seventh-inning rally — had helped build the early Phillies lead with a two-run homer of his own in the first, a 110-mph laser.

But Major League teams, even the basement-dwellers, will punish mistakes more often than not. The Phillies made a big one in the third inning, and it ultimately cost them the series.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Tuesday, July 4 vs. Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field
• 4:10 p.m. Eastern
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP, WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION

1. Phillies 2023 Walk-Up Songs
2. Zack Wheeler Admits ‘He’s Gotta Step It Up’ In Second Hal Of The Season
3. Fifth Starter Shouldn’t Be A Priority For The Phillies At Trade Deadline
4. Darick Hall, Andrew Bellatti Both Pushing For MLB Returns
5. Phillies Trade Dalton Guthrie To NL Team
6. Kyle Schwarber Takes Accountability For Key Miscue, But Phillies Need Much Better Play In Left Field
7. Phillies Could Deal From Organizational Outfield Depth As They Look To Make Upgrades This Summer
8. Nick Castellanos Playing His Way Into All-Star Consideration
9. As Relocation Materializes, Oakland Fans Grapple With A Ballpark’s Mortality And A City’s Betrayal
10. What’s Your Favorite Phillies Uniform? Bryce Harper & More Give Their Picks