Michael Mercado struggles as Phillies drop series in Atlanta
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The youngster Michael Mercado was given the mound as the Phillies were hoping to take the 3rd and final game of the NL East matchup, but his start quickly went off the rails
That combined with offensive struggles caused the Phillies to drop a crucial rubber to Atlanta
The Quest for a 5th Starter
After his excellent showing against the Cubs, hopes were high that the Phillies might have something in the 25-year-old.
It took not even 2 innings for these hopes to quickly be crushed. Mercado’s final line would be 1.2 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, and 3 home runs.
Tyler Phillips showed promise in his 4 innings on the mound as well. He began his major league debut by striking out the side!
Unfortunately, the no-hitter ended after a solo bomb from Eli White. Overall though, a very impressive debut going 4 innings, with 1 earned run, and 7 strikeouts.
Beaten up offense struggles
Missing the Bats of Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto the offense put up a goose egg in Atlanta.
Against the red-hot Reynaldo Lopez, the Phillies allowed him to pitch 6 scoreless innings allowing just 2 hits.
Dylan Lee and Pierce Johnson pitched scoreless 7th and 8th innings with the only notable event being Pierce Johnson throwing right into Trea Turner‘s head.
Aaron Bummer closed out the shutout for Atlanta after the Phillies failed to capitalize with runners on 2nd and 3rd.
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