Ever have one of those nights? The kind where you trip over the dog, spill the milk, and the doorbell rings just as you’re settling in to watch your favorite TV show, only to find it’s a rerun anyway? That’s the kind of evening it was for the Phillies Friday at Citizens Bank Park.
On Trea Turner Bobblehead Night, the Phillies repeatedly bobbled the baseball, committing a series of errors, mental lapses, and unforced misplays.
Defensive Mistakes and Unforced Errors
On the annual Christmas in July theme night, the Phillies were in the holiday spirit, giving away at least four extra outs to the Guardians. Twice, starter Cristopher Sánchez picked off runners but didn’t get an out, once due to his own poor throw. Both runners scored, and a second misfire in the fourth extended the inning long enough for Cleveland to tack on an insurance run, leading to a 3-1 loss for the suddenly floundering Phillies in front of a sellout crowd of 44,448.
The Phillies have now lost seven of their last 10 games and are 12-13 since June 24.
“We’ve got to clean it up,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I’m not sure what it was. Our pregame work was crisp. Guys had a lot of energy coming off the off day. But we have to throw the ball accurately. We have to cover all our assignments. We made a couple of mental errors and a couple of physical errors.”
Early Signs of Trouble
The pattern emerged early. Cleveland’s second batter, right fielder Angel Martinez, reached on an infield hit. When he tried to steal second, Sánchez threw behind him, trapping the runner between first and second. But when first baseman Bryce Harper threw back to second, Bryson Stott was in front of the base, and shortstop Trea Turner was behind it, allowing the runner to reach with what was scored as a stolen base.
Thomson noted that Harper probably should have thrown to Stott earlier but held onto the ball when Martinez stopped and then broke again for second. At that point, Turner should have been at the base but wasn’t.
Errors by Turner in the second and Sánchez in the third didn’t come back to bite the Phillies, but another mistake that technically wasn’t an error did in the fourth.
After second baseman Andres Gimenez led off by bunting for a hit, he broke for second while Sánchez was still set. The left-hander appeared to have the runner caught, but his throw to second was off-line. Credited with a stolen base, Gimenez went to third on a single by shortstop Bryan Rocchio and scored on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Bo Naylor. Rocchio came around on a two-out base hit by right fielder Angel Martinez.
Offensive Struggles Continue
That was all the runs the Guardians needed. The Phillies went hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position. Their only run came on a Stott homer in the fifth.
The Phillies have scored two or fewer runs in five of their last 10 games. They were largely shut down Friday by right-hander Blake Lively, who spent four years in the Phillies' organization, including going 4-9 with a 4.81 earned run average in parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons before being claimed on waivers by the Royals.
Now 32, Lively is having the best season of his career after signing with Cleveland as a free agent last winter. In his first start ever against the Phillies, he gave up one run on three hits in six innings while walking two and striking out six. For the season, he’s 9-6 with a 3.44 ERA and six quality starts.
Questionable Calls and Ejections
Lively also benefited from at least three questionable calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake. In the bottom of the third, hitting coach Kevin Long was ejected by Drake after Turner was called out on a pitch that, on replay, appeared to be clearly outside.
Long’s frustration was fueled by the fact that Drake also rang up Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott in the second on pitches that appeared to be well outside the zone. Being unsure of where the strike zone is can put extra pressure on hitters.
“I think it’s tough on guys,” Thomson said. “But they have to try to make the best adjustment they possibly can. They can’t let that bother them. You can’t control those things. You’ve got to clear your mind, go out and play defense, come back in for your next at-bat. That’s difficult. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out where the strike zone is. But you’ve got to overcome things you can’t control.”
Looking Ahead
There’s no shame in losing to the Guardians, who have the best record outside of the Delaware Valley. Still, the Phillies beat themselves as much as they were beaten, and that’s happened a little too often for comfort lately.
“I think it’s just the ebbs and flows of the season,” Thomson said.
Logic suggests he’s probably right, but in the end, only time will tell.
UP NEXT: Former Phillies prospect RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-8, 5.32), who was traded to Cleveland as part of the deal that fetched Cliff Lee at the 2009 deadline, will start against RHP Tyler Phillips (2-0, 2.81) Saturday at 6:05 p.m. Lee helped the Phillies make it to the World Series that year, and Carrasco has since won 113 big league games for the Guardians.
It will be RHP Xzavion Curry (0-2, 4.98) vs. LHP Ranger Suárez (10-5, 2.87) in Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. series finale.