Final Score: Diamondbacks 13, Phillies 1
All good things come to an end, and in the case of the Philadelphia Phillies‘ nine-game winning streak, things came to an end in a pretty ugly fashion Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Whether it was a series of defensive miscues in the top of the first inning, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto failing to come through with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning or pitching issuing 11 walks, there was plenty about the performance of the Phillies Sunday that was frustrating to the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
Perhaps the only silver lining was that catcher Drew Stubbs pitched for the Phillies in the ninth inning, a rare case of the novelty of a position player pitching. Stubbs did allow a solo home run to Jake McCarthy that traveled 395 feet, but wasn’t awful, all things considered.
The Phillies will begin a three-game series with the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park Monday, with Aaron Nola and Sandy Alcantara set to face off in a matchup of All-Star candidates.
Phillies’ Defense — Or Lack Thereof — Rears It’s Ugly Head In First
The Diamondbacks had just one hit in the top of the first inning, a single that Josh Rojas flared into left-center field. They went 0-5 with runners in scoring position, as Bob Wankel of Crossing Broad noted.
And yet, the Snakes entered the home half of the first inning with a 3-0 lead thanks in large part to a couple defensive miscues from the Phillies.
With the first two runners on base and no one out, Ranger Suárez induced a ground ball to third base off the bat of Ketel Marte. Instead of either tagging Jordan Luplow coming towards him or immediately firing to second base to try to turn a double play, Alec Bohm got caught in between and the Diamondbacks were safe all around:
After Christian Walker lined out to third base, Pavin Smith grounded the ball back to Suárez, seemingly setting the Phillies up to escape the first inning without allowing any runs. But as Suárez attempted to set J.T. Realmuto up to fire to first base after getting the first out at home plate, the catcher missed the throw home altogether, allowing two runs to score:
Suárez walked two batters in the first inning, so it’s not as though he was pitching like June 2011 Cliff Lee to open the game, but having to get five or six outs in an inning isn’t fair for a pitcher. Two of the three runs were unearned, but as Harry Kalas would say, who cares.
Shibe Vintage Sports Pitching Performance
- Kyle Nelson was used as the opener for the Diamondbacks Sunday. With the exception of a walk to Rhys Hoskins, the 25-year-old lefty pitched a clean first inning.
- Ranger Suárez lasted just 4 1/3 innings in the series finale, allowing four hits and four runs, two of which were earned. 35 of Suárez’s 88 pitches were balls, and he walked four batters. It’s the fifth time in 12 starts that Suárez has walked three or more batters. A year ago, he walked three or more batters just twice in 12 starts.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Monday, June 13 vs. Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park
- 7:05 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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