Phillies Lose Two of Three In New York Ahead of Home Opener
The Philadelphia Phillies headed to the Bronx after being swept out of Texas to open the season. In New York, the Phillies showed signs of the team they were built to be while still struggling. Philadelphia dropped the opening and final game of the three-game set, putting their record at 1-5.
In game one of the series, Taijuan Walker made his Phillies debut. On the Yankees’ side, Nestor Cortes took the mound. The tone of the game and the series were set in the bottom of the 1st with the Yankees lead-off hitter DJ LeMahieu at the plate.
Lemahieu ripped Walker’s 3-2 pitch into centerfield. Centerfielder Brandon Marsh misplayed the ball and it rolled to the fence for a stand-up triple. The miscue along with three walks in the inning allowed the Yankees to put up a two-spot in the 1st.
The Phillies were finally able to get on the board in the top of the 4th when Edmundo Sosa singled home, Alec Bohm. New York would put the game away in the next inning, when they scored five runs in the 5th, sealing the game. The Yankees would go on to win the game 8-1 and take the series opener.
In game two, the 0-4 Phillies would turn to Matt Strahm to lead them to their first victory. Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies the lead just two batters into the game and they would never give it up.
The Phillies scored just four runs on ten hits, but it didn’t matter. The pitching was so dominant that four was plenty to take home the win. Strahm gave up just one hit and one walk in four innings of work. The combination of Andrew Bellati, Jose Alvarado, and Connor Brogdon combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen.
Craig Kimbrel then came into the game to close the game in the 9th. Kimbrel was a bit shaky in the outing, giving up a home run to DJ Lemahieu. Yet, he was still able to hold on and the Phillies would win 4-1.
In the series finale, it was a pitching battle throughout. Aaron Nola faced off against Gerrit Cole. Despite Nola’s tremendous day, it wasn’t enough to outdo Cole.
The Yankees put one run up on Nola in the first inning thanks to a single, stolen base, and then another single. New York added on again in the 6th. In the 7th, the Phillies threatened. With bases loaded and one out, Jake Cave came to the plate. Cave drove a ball to left field that was caught for a sacrifice fly.
The Phillies now were down 2-1 with the bases loaded and two outs. Christian Pache’s spot was up in the lineup. Rob Thomson decided to pinch-hit Josh Harrison in Pache’s spot. Harrison hit a slow roller to 3rd base that would be secured and forced out at 3rd for the final out of the inning.
In the next half inning, Aaron Nola was lifted from the game after a lead-off walk. Gregory Soto would give up a two-run home run, virtually putting the game and the series away. The Yankees would win 4-1.
Here are three takeaways from the trip to the Bronx.
Pitching Finds Its Groove…Somewhat
The Phillies’ opening series against the Rangers was nothing short of a pitching disgrace. In the first two games of the series, they gave up a combined 27 runs. The final game of the series gave the staff some hope. Bailey Falter pitched excellent, but the Phillies still came up short.
Heading to New York, this was something that needed to be fixed. Game one against the Yankees was not a good sign of this. Taijuan Walker walked three in the first and Yunior Marte gave up four runs in .1 innings of work. The pitching continued to look abysmal.
Matt Strahm gave the Phillies the performance they were starving for. Strahm thrived against the Bronx bombers and was able to eat up some innings along the way. The bullpen was strong behind him as well.
In game three Aaron Nola had a great performance, but Gregory Soto somewhat spoiled it.
What we learned from the pitchers in this series is that they can pitch great games. It is just a matter of execution and all pitchers working together to make a clean game. It takes just one bad performance to spoil an entire game.
Home Runs Improve Slightly
In Texas, Philadelphia hit just one home run. The homer came from Alec Bohm in the 2nd inning of the first game of the series. The team would not hit another home run until the 1st inning of the second game against the Yankees, a 34-inning drought.
The Phillies were able to get some more home runs against the Yankees, although they are not anywhere near what the projected lineup is supposed to be doing. Kyle Schwarber hit one in each of the final two games of the road trip. Brandon Marsh also added one in the second game.
To be optimistic, the Phillies tripled their amount of home runs in this series. To be realistic, three home runs in a three-game series simply aren’t enough for what’s supposed to be one of the most powerful lineups in the game.
It could be argued that the cold weather of April, East Coast baseball is what is preventing the Phillies offense from breaking out, but the team can’t wait until June and a manager change to wake up this season. Hopefully, the home stand gets the bats going.
Injuries Pile Up
The Phillies are coming back to Philadelphia with a bit of a limp. After losing Rhys Hoskins before leaving Clearwater, the Phillies now have even more injuries.
So far this season, the team is down Ranger Suarez for the first few weeks. This will hurt the pitching depth. Nick Nelson is also sidelined.
In New York, Darrick Hall and Brandon Marsh both ended the series missing all or the end of the third game. Marsh is said to have a mild ankle sprain and is day-to-day. This opened the door for Pache to start the third game.
Darrick Hall left the third game in the 5th inning. His injury is unknown at the time, but the Phillies have already called up Kody Clemens to take his place on the roster.
The depth is definitely being tested in the early going of the season and at this point, the team is testing its limits.
The trip to New York certainly only made the injury situation worse.
What’s Next?
The Phillies will welcome the Reds to Citizens Bank Park for a three-game set to open home play for the defending National League champions. The home opener was originally planned for Thursday, but the weather has postponed it to Friday.
The 1-5 Phillies will look to gain energy from the home crowd in the six-game home stand to rebound from a tough first road trip.
