Categories: 2023 Postgame Recaps

Phillies struggle in all three phases, lose to Padres as top Wild Card lead shrinks

Nick Castellanos grounded into three double plays in Tuesday’s loss. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)

SAN DIEGO — In case you needed yet another reminder of Trea Turner’s importance to the Phillies’ lineup the past couple weeks, Tuesday offered a harsh one.

Turner went on the paternity list on Tuesday after a month of lighting the world on fire. Into his No. 2 spot in the lineup stepped Nick Castellanos.

Baseball has a funny way of exposing weaknesses. Consider the Phillies’ weakness on Tuesday — their lack of Trea Turner — very exposed.

Castellanos stepped to the plate three times in the first six innings. Three times, he did so with at least one man on base. Three times, he bounced into a tailor-made double-play.

The three GIDPs for Castellanos on the day set a career-high and fell one short of tying the Major League record. He’s hitting .219 in the second half with an OPS under .650. And while we’re on the topic of Castellanos and Turner, here’s a half-fun fact about the polar opposite directions in which their seasons have headed the past couple months:

But it’s hard to pin Tuesday’s outcome solely on Castellanos. Michael Lorenzen continued his post-no-hitter struggles by allowing six earned runs (seven overall) on eight hits in six innings. In four starts since that historic Phillies home debut, Lorenzen has an 8.14 ERA.

Lorenzen was actually quite effective through three innings, facing one above the minimum. But his outing took a turn for the worse in the fourth when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 431-foot solo homer on his bobblehead day — and the day after a solo blast one foot farther off Taijuan Walker.

The Padres tacked on a couple more in the frame, when Manny Machado singled, Xander Bogaerts doubled and both scored on a poor decision (and execution) by Bryson Stott.

The first six batters reached against Lorenzen in the sixth — three walks and three singles — to make it 6-0, which eventually became a 7-0 deficit before the end of the inning. With the Phillies’ bullpen taxed after using five relievers the previous two days, Lorenzen’s 94th pitch of the day finished the sixth before he handed the mop over to Dylan Covey for the final two innings.

Meanwhile, Pedro Ávila carved up the Phillies’ offense, blanking them on two hits over 6 2/3. He did walk four: Two were erased on Castellanos double plays, one was stranded on a Castellanos double play and one was erased on an Alec Bohm double play.

The Phillies didn’t hit well. They didn’t pitch well. They didn’t field (throw) well. They’re 2-3 in September. The sky is not falling — not yet — but their lead over Chicago for the National League’s top Wild Card spot is. The Cubs won again on Tuesday, defeating the slumping San Francisco Giants for their 30th win in their last 43 games. The Phillies are now just 1 1/2 games up on the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot and 4 1/2 games up on a playoff spot altogether.

Twenty-four games remain. They’re 76-62.

Ticket IQ Next Game