Phillies’ pitching struggles in series loss as woes in the desert continue
Ross Franklin/AP Photo
The Phillies have never played well at Chase Field in Arizona, and it showed in the first two games of this series. Aside from game three, the bats were silent, the defense was poor, and the pitching had all sorts of issues.
Game summaries
Chase Field became a tornado for the Phillies’ defense as they played horrifically in their worst loss this year against a bad Diamondbacks team.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez had something going on the mound for the first three innings as he cruised by without allowing a hit. But an inning later, things got out of control.
Suarez pitched 5 innings, allowed two earned runs, and struck out four batters.
The Phillies got off to a 7-0 lead, but the bottom of the fourth to the last out of the game became a nightmare for the Phillies’ pitching. The Diamondbacks were patient at the plate and made contact with the ball a ton throughout the game which put them in the driver’s seat fast.
Phillies’ reliever Christopher Sanchez took over for Ranger Suarez in the bottom of the fifth, trying to end the madness that Suarez made. But it didn’t go well as Sanchez continued to make mistakes similar to Suarez and allowed the D-Backs to keep adding on.
It seemed that every pitcher given an opportunity for the Phils struggled to command their fastballs, allowing the D-Backs to put a whopping 13 runs on the board.
Following game one of three in the desert, the Phillies lost on Tuesday night once again. Their performance offensively was putrid, and they couldn’t get any runs in scoring position. Ultimately, The Diamondbacks tortured the Phillies for the second night in a row by blowing past the Phils, 13-2.
The Phillies started Aaron Nola, and he didn’t have what it took to be sharp on the mound. Arizona put together a total of five runs in the bottom of the second, and Nola lasted just four innings in what was his worst performance in 2022.
The bullpen’s struggles continued, and Rob Thomson was forced to turn to Nick Maton to end the ballgame.
Meanwhile, Brandon Marsh hit his first career home run as a Phillie. He crushed a three-run home run off of Arizona’s Noe Ramirez, the only offensive production from the Phillies.
After a dreadful start to the Phillies’ three-game series out in the desert versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, they started to really be themselves again as they powered through Arizona in the series finale on Wednesday evening.
The Phillies started Bailey Falter, and he pitched another amazing game. Falter pitched six solid innings, struck out six batters, gave up five hits, and one earned run. It was one of the best outings in his career with the Phillies. He seemed locked in inning by inning with a lot more velocity than we have seen in the past.
The Phillies tallied eighteen runs and absolutely destroyed baseballs all game. The Phillies were fortunate enough to avoid a sweep by a bad Diamondbacks squad.
Phillies Brandon Marsh had an excellent game as he had two hits including an RBI triple. Everyone hit which took away Arizona’s chances in a big way.
The Phillies routed the Diamondbacks with a final score of 18-2, and they went 15-for-29 with runners in scoring position. The offensive effort was a sign that this team still has the heart to beat good teams with this stellar offense.
Marsh warming up
Brandon Marsh is turning into a big asset to this Phillies ball club. He swung the bat well in the series, which is absolutely awesome to see. When the Phillies made that move to grab him earlier in the season, they thought he would be a great contributor and it’s definitely showing game by game. If Marsh can keep it going, he would be a huge asset for the Phillies as the chase for Red October comes down to the final lap.
One and done for the ‘pen?
The Phillies bullpen needs to find a way to make sure what happened late Monday evening will never happen again. The Diamondbacks’ offense just got the best of the Phillies bullpen. Christopher Sanchez needs to find a rhythm in his pitching velocity and strike zone. The pitching performance was putrid and needs to be fixed as soon as possible if this Phillies team wants to make a push for the playoffs.
This team needs to learn how to pitch consistently against teams that aren’t above .500 like Arizona. Something needs to be fixed as soon as possible for this team to be legit deep contenders in the playoffs.
