Phillies swept by the Mets in doubleheader
The Phillies have been able to re-tool a lot of things coming into the 2021 season, getting wins during double headers was not one of them. Chase Anderson pitched well but not deep enough in game one and Aaron Nola didn’t have his best stuff in game two. Not that it mattered for Nola, the Phillies didn’t score a run and lost 4-0.
Toss on LCD Soundsystem “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” and let’s check out a miserable day in Philadelphia Phillies baseball.
GAME ONE
The Phillies lost game one of the doubleheader thanks to the Mets rallying in the eighth inning with two home runs. Since the game was scheduled for seven innings, the team’s were awarded a baserunner on second to start the extra frame. The Phillies would break a 2-2 tie thanks to an infield single by Didi Gregorius.
Phillies’ starter Chase Anderson didn’t pitch bad, but the Phillies could have definitely used a longer outing. Anderson let up a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Mets an early lead. On the day, he pitched four innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three.
The bullpen pitched well in relief of Anderson, with JoJo Romero, Jose Alvarado and Connor Brogdon all turning in scoreless innings. Brogdon got himself into a mess by allowing the first two batters of the frame to reach base on a walk and a hit by pitch. From there, he settled in striking out Brandon Nimmo, getting Lindor to pop out, and then striking out Dominic Smith.
In the end, Hector Neris couldn’t close the game out, allowing three hits and two earned runs. Alonso singled to score Lindor to tie the game and Villar singled to left to score McNeil. The Phillies lost the game 4-3 and went 3-for-12 with RISP. The only time they did score, was on two infield singles. They struck out 14 times and at the top of the order, McCutchen and Hoskins combined for a miserable 0-7 from the plate.
GAME TWO
Marcus Stroman was on the mound for the Mets and pitched extremely well. He threw six shutout innings and gave up just four singles while walking none and striking out three. Offense was a problem all night for the Phillies and Nola struggled on the mound.
Whether it was Haseley struggling to read fly balls, the umpires botching a call at first base that we really didn’t get to see thanks to ESPN interviewing Jim Brown, or hitting the Mets backup catcher that has had zero hits on the year, game two was pretty miserable.
There is a huge problem with the centerfield position that has pretty much been dead offensively so far this season. Entering today’s games the number eight hitters in the Phillies lineup were batting .065/.121/.065. Even the Phillies number nine hitters, who are slashing .259/.310/.370, have performed better than the number eight slot for the lineup this season.
It’s one thing if the Phillies aren’t getting offense from their center fielders. It’s another if they cannot catch the balls hit right at them or properly run the base paths and make smart decisions in the rare instance that they do reach base. If I had any say in the Phillies’ roster, Odubel Herrera would be starting in centerfield tomorrow for the Phillies, but I digress.
Spencer Howard did make an appearance, which I really didn’t agree with at all. It’s already a tough situation for Howard to be called up as the Phillies’ 27th man due to the doubleheader and it’s clear as day that he’s not ready to pitch at the Major League level. We are talking about a guy who has battled injury throughout his career and has yet to pitch in a Triple-A game. At 24 years old, there’s still time for Howard, but that time shouldn’t come until 2022. Howard ended the night throwing one inning and allowing two hits, and one earned run, while striking out one and walking one.
The Phillies fall to 6-5 on the season and slide back into second place behind the 4-3 New York Mets. Nothing to be concerned about yet. The series continues on Wednesday night with Zack Wheeler (1-1, 2.31) on the mound for the Phillies against lefty David Peterson (0-1, 13.50).
Hit Streak: Didi Gregorius is now on an 11 game hit streak. Fun.
Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY
[…] To make matters worse, Haseley, who was hitless in his last 10 at-bats entering the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Mets, continued to struggle in the field and misjudged a routine fly ball to centerfield. In the same inning, Aaron Nola allowed four runs and the Phillies lost the game 4-0. […]