Alec Bohm’s sophomore season got off to a rough start, but the Phillies’ young third baseman showed signs of life last night in a 5-4 loss to their NL East rivals. the New York Mets.

Bohm finished the night 3-for-4 from the plate, which included a game-tying, opposite-field, two-run home run in the sixth inning. It was Bohm’s first three-hit game this season and second multi-hit game of the week. Last Wednesday, Girardi sat Bohm after a slow start to the 2021 season. Since then, Bohm is batting .400 (6-for-15) with one double, one home run, three RBIs and a 1.067 OPS.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, who were playing without Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and Jean Segura, it wasn’t enough and a few questionable calls and defensive blunders were too much to overcome. Michael Conforto hit a solo home run to right field in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 5-4 advantage and ultimately the win last night at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies dropped to 13-14 and have not won consecutive games since starting the season 4-0.

Most of the damage on the Phillies end was caused by Andrew McCutchen. Zack Wheeler got off to a rough start for the Phillies, and the defense behind him didn’t help much. Cutch flat-out missed a line drive to left-center field that allowed two runs to score for the Mets in the early goings of the game. After a rough first inning for Wheeler, he was able to settle down and pitch seven innings, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, and a walk while striking out six Mets’ batters.

The other problem surrounding McCutchen wasn’t exactly his fault. After walking with one out in the seventh, Matt Joyce hit a ball into the Mets’ shift. Francisco Lindor fielded it, attempted to tag McCutchen running to second base but flat-out missed him, and threw the ball to first for the second out.

In a bizarre call, second base umpire José Navas ruled that Cutch ran out of the baseline to end the inning. Replays showed that Cutch literally ran in a perfectly straight line to second. The Phillies dugout was livid, including Bryce Harper, who wasn’t playing. The umpire then threw Bryce Harper out of the game.

Of course, we don’t know what would have happened if Cutch was called safe. But Girardi credited last night’s loss to the blown call by the umpires.

“There’s so much at stake in every game, I know people say, well, it’s April. Well, we were one game from making the playoffs last year.”

Nick “The Next Chase Utley” Maton Watch: Nick Maton continued his impressive play last night going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. On the season, he is averaging .357 with a .400 OBP and a .876 OPS. The Phillies will have to decisions to make when Segura returns to the lineup. It will be tough to remove one of the most consistent hitters the Phillies have so far this season out of the lineup.

Up Next: The Phillies will close out this series with a rubber match tonight. Zach Eflin (1-1, 3.58 ERA) will be on the mound facing Mets’ pitcher David Peterson (1-3, 5.59 ERA)

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