Phillies lose 3-1 to Dodgers as offense stalls out

After the electrifying 3-2 win a night ago, the Phillies were unable to keep the momentum rolling as the Dodgers evened up the series.

Aaron Nola took the mound for the 2nd time this season, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing 3 earned runs, but his issues with the longball again reared their head.

Nola allows 2 more HRs

It’s been the usual issues for Nola to start the season. In his 2 starts, he has already allowed 4 round-trip in just 11.1 innings. His first start against the Nationals was particularly rough. Nola only made it 5.1 innings and gave up 5 earned runs off of 2 and 3-run shots from Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell, respectively.

It was a similar but better outing for Nola today. He only threw 2 mistakes in his 6 innings, but per the usual, those mistakes ended up being a souvenir for a fan. The first came from Kiké Hernández in the top of the second inning. With Max Muncy on second base, Hernández went first pitch hacking and put the Dodgers up 2-1.

Kiké Hernández punches this one into the corner for a two-run homer ? pic.twitter.com/sb4iTwU1H6

— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2025

Later, familiar foe Michael Conforto doubled LA’s lead in the top of the 6th, making it 3-1. Nola threw arguably his worst pitch of the day, giving Conforto a middle-middle cutter which he’d send into the stands.

Michael Conforto tees off to extend the @Dodgers lead. pic.twitter.com/25ByM8gxPJ

— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2025

As for what this means for Nola it’s hard to say. 4 homers is the most he’s ever allowed in his first 2 starts of a season. You don’t want to overreact since it’s so early in the year, but everyone knows he’s going to need to get this at least somewhat under control. His next start is set to be against the Cardinals on the 11th as he’ll look to get it under control.

Phillies manage just 2 hits in innings 2-9

The Phillies were again able to score in the first inning to get off to a good start. Yesterday, Trea Turner benefited from a throwing error, and today, an Alec Bohm groundout allowed Kyle Schwarber to score from third. After this, however, the offense fell flat as Roki Sasaki had his best start of the early season.

Bohm gets us on the board pic.twitter.com/lcpaTToPCg

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 5, 2025

The middle of the lineup vanished as Bohm, Max Kepler, and Nick Castellanos combined to go 0-for-11 on the day. The entire game the offense failed to generate scoring chances as a whole. The best chance they’d end up having came in the 5th and 9th innings.

In the 5th inning, Schwarber came to bat with runners on the corners and 1 out with a chance to cut into the lead. Schwarber would do his part and would’ve scored J.T. Realmuto on a sac fly if it weren’t for Bryson Stott trying to steal second base and getting thrown out at first for a double play that ended the inning.

Later in the 9th inning, Bryce Harper managed a leadoff single against Dodgers closer Tanner Scott. Unfortunately for him, Bohm would go first pitch swinging into a double play to erase the hit. Bohm faced just 5 pitches in his 4 at-bats today. One pitch later, Kepler lined out, and the game was over. Scott threw just 3 pitches.

Final Takeaways

The biggest takeaway for me in this game was that the Washington start for Nola was not just opening day rust. His issue with the longball has not only not gotten better but so far looks to have gotten worse. There’s an argument to be made that in his 2 starts this season, he’s only thrown 4 bad pitches, but all of them have been home runs.

The only other smaller takeaway would be that the outfield needs to perform better than it did today. Bohm, Kepler, Marsh, Casty, and Edmundo Sosa, who came on to pinch hit, combined to go 0-for-14 today. I don’t think this will become a common trend. It was a rough game for them, but no reason to panic.

---

Use code PHILLYSPORTSREPORT for $20 off your first SeatGeek order

Click here to save 10% on any order at FOCO