Phillies Go Cold With Runners in Scoring Position, Drop Opener to Giants
Jul 7, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) visits the mound to talk to pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Image
In April, when the San Francisco Giants came to Citizens Bank Park, they were a much different team. They were hitting the ball and pitching well enough to win games. Wilmer Flores was leading the league in RBI, Tyler Fitzgerald was a thorn in the side of the Phils, and Jung Hoo Lee was the talk of baseball after torching the Yankees in the series before.
What a difference 2-1/2 months makes. Flores cooled off, Fitzgerald is in the minors, and Lee is hitting under .250. Since then, their president, Buster Posey, pulled the trigger on the first blockbuster trade of the season, adding perennial AL MVP candidate Rafael Devers, but it has yet to stop the offensive free-fall the Giants have been on since June started.
In tonight’s game, neither team was able to hit with runners in scoring position until the 8th inning, when the Giants took advantage of a wild Orion Kerkering inning and the home plate umpire, Phil Cuzzi, not having his best game to win the opening game of this series, 3-1. I feel like I’ve said this too much this season, but the Phillies’ lack of offense wastes another outstanding start by a Phillies starter.
These teams have quite a bit in common, despite being on opposite sides of the country. Clutch hits have been hard to come by, though a little easier for the Phils. Starting pitching is a strength for both teams. Both have two aces at the top of the rotation, Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez for the Phils, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray for the Giants, a good third and an improving option as the fourth starter, and a scary fifth starter. Both bullpens have been streaky, with a slight edge going to San Francisco and a push in for the closer by committee.
When this series started, the expectation was that this would be a pitchers’ series, and whoever scored 2 runs would be in the driver’s seat, and tonight’s game proved that point. This game proved that the expectation was right.
Cristopher Sanchez pitched well, throwing 7 innings with the only knick on his record tonight was in the second inning when he loaded the bases and Luis Matos hit a ground ball to Trea Turner that he could never get a grip on. Had he been able to grip the ball and go to second, they could have kept the Giants off the board.
Things started getting strange in the 8th. Bryce Harper was hitting against one of the quirkiest pitchers in baseball, Tyler Rogers, the lanky submarine pitcher who is nowhere near a comfortable at-bat. Harper had 2 very questionable strike calls that painted the whole inning after that. The Phils couldn’t get in a groove after that.
In the bottom of the 8th, Kerkering started the inning by hitting Willy Adames, then with Matt Chapman at the plate, the strike zone contracted for Kerkering; there were two pitches, clearly strikes on hit trax, and both broadcasts, but in the eyes of Cuzzi, they were not. That gave Chapman an extra chance, and he hit a ground ball single.
Casey Schmitt up next battled, and hit a ball to Turner, and could have been a double play, but Bryson Stott wasn’t in position, and they could only get one. In the next at bat, Harper tried to get the run at the plate, and tried to do so from his knees, but with Chapman running, that was the wrong play.
In a game like this, a playoff atmosphere, limiting mental mistakes is a must. The offense wasted an outstanding performance by Sanchez. The clutch hitting hasn’t been there for the Phillies since Friday. They are 0-24 since then with runners in scoring position. The Giants’ pitching didn’t make that easy tonight, but the Phils need to start hitting, especially against playoff-caliber pitching staffs like the Giants. The Phils don’t want to come to San Francisco to play a series in October — since 2018, they are 3-18 at Oracle Park.
Tomorrow, Taijuan Walker will be up against one of the best starting pitchers in the National League, Ray, so the task doesn’t get any easier for the Phillies’ offense. Hopefull,, the offense can thaw out, but that hasn’t happened much for the Phillies at Oracle Park in recent history. Rob Thomson and Kevin Long have their work cut out for them over the next two games to try to get the Phils’ offense back on track.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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