Phillies Offense Goes Quiet As They Fall To Red Sox Behind Two Boston Homers
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering looks down at a fresh baseball after giving up a two-run home run to Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The long ball was on full display in this one, but unfortunately, the Phillies were on the wrong side of it.
Following a gritty defensive and dominant pitching performance in Game 1 of the series, the Phillies were unable to mount enough offense in Game 2, falling to the Boston Red Sox 3-1. The Phillies could only muster up three hits, with one of them being a solo home run from Justin Crawford, his second of the year.
Trevor Story also smacked a solo bomb in the second inning, but a pinch-hit two-run bomb off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela was the difference maker in this one. Wilyer Abreu also added three hits in the win for Boston.
Offense has been a struggle point at times for the Phillies this season, but as of late, the numbers have improved mightily compared to the first 30 games of the season. Heading into the Red Sox series, the Philies were ranked first in average, home runs, and slugging percentage, second in runs, and third in OPS since Don Mattingly took over as the interim skipper.
However, Fenway Park has proved to be a worthy adversary for the Phillies, as the Fightin’s have scored just three runs and have recorded seven total hits. Two of the three runs came on solo home runs as well.
Sonny Gray was on the mound for Boston, and he’s seen his fair share of games against the Phillies during his time in Cincinnati and St. Louis, taking a 2-2 record, a 4.65 ERA, and 46 strikeouts into tonight’s start.
Right away, Gray went to work, sending the Phillies top of the order down to open the game up. Andrew Painter, who has struggled over his last few starts after starting hot to open his major league career, was on the mound opposite Gray, and ran into trouble in the bottom of the second as Trevor Story smoked a one-out, 106 mph solo home run to deep left field, clearing the monster, making it 1-0 Red Sox.
However, that lead was short-lived for Boston as in the following inning, Crawford smoked a one-out solo bomb of his own to center field, tying the game at one.
Painter once again ran into trouble in the bottom half of the third after hitting Mickey Gasper and allowing a single to Wilyer Abreu, but a big double play from Alec Bohm ended that affair. The defense continued to help Painter get through the middle of the game as his fellow rookie, Crawford, made a ridiculous play in center field.
In the fifth, Painter struck out the side, ending his night at just 62 pitches, with Mattingly deciding to end his night on a positive note. However, in relief for Painter in the sixth inning was Orion Kerkering, facing a pinch-hitter, Rafaela. Rafaela worked the count, and Kerkering left a heater over the middle of the plate, and Rafaela smoked it over the moster for a two-run homer to take the lead.
Now trailing, the Phillies’ offense continued to struggle in the seventh and eighth innings, failing to get any movement on the basepaths. With just three outs left and the top of the order due up, the Red Sox called on one day Hall of Fame closer Aroldis Chapman to finish off the game.
However, Chapman walked Kyle Schwarber to lead off the inning, but managed to strike out Bryce Harper and Adolis Garcia for two straight outs. Trea Turner, who had the night off with an illness, stepped off the bench to pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh and worked a walk to put the tying run on base.
With two outs and two runners in scoring position, Bohm dug in with a chance to tie the game up. Unfortunately for him, Chapman was too much, scorching a fastball past Bohm to end the game, with the Red Sox winning 3-1.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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