Phillies narrowly avoid being no-hit in first game following playoff berth
The Phillies narrowly avoided being no-hit and were shutout by the Astros 10-0 just one night after clinching their first playoff berth in over a decade.
Astros (105-56) Beat Phillies (87-74)Â
- Winning Pitcher: Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75)
- Losing Pitcher: Ranger Suarez (10-7, 3.65)
- Save:
The Phillies being no-hit just one night after finally vanquishing a decade plus playoff drought quite possibly would have been the most Philadelphia story ever. Instead Garrett Stubbs, who was previously an Astro, broke up the bid with no outs in the 9th inning on a 2-2 slider from reliever Will Smith.
In a strange turn of events, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm followed Stubbs with back-to-back singles to load the bases in the 9th with nobody out and of course the Phillies failed to push a run across.
To be honest this game was strange from the start. It appeared Ranger Suarez may have been feeling the negative effects of consuming a large amount of champagne and Miller Lite. Ranger allowed a walk and four extra base hits to the first 5 Astros hitters he hit, and after throwing just 10 pitches the Phillies were down 5-0.
Ranger only lasted three innings, giving up 6 earned runs and setting the tone for what would be a tough day after for the entire Phillies clubhouse.
To be fair, some of the Phillies struggles can surely be blamed on Justin Verlander. The 39-year-old who never seems to age cemented his case as the front-runner for the AL Cy Young award by tossing five hitless innings and striking out 10. Unsurprisingly, Verlander was pulled after just 77 pitches with the Astros in pursuit of a greater goal and partly because he already has 3 no-hitters on his resume.
For the Phillies this ultimately means nothing. Is it better that they weren’t no-hit tonight and then painfully roasted in the media for the next 24 hours? Absolutely, but this game wont matter come Friday when Kyle Schwarber steps to the plate at either Citi Field or Busch Stadium with a World Series championship just 13 wins away.
With the San Diego Padres winning comfortably tonight over the Giants it looks like the Phillies will be headed to St. Louis to take on the Cards on Friday.
Despite the loss, tonight we still RING IT!
LETS GOOOOO!
Pena crushes a two-run shot off Ranger Suarez to put the Astros on top in the 1st inning.
2-0 Astros
Kyle Tucker crushes a Ranger Suarez pitch in the 1st inning for a three-run shot to deep to right field.
5-0 Astros
Martin Maldonado takes Ranger Suarez deep for the third time tonight. Sheesh.
6-0 Astros
Up Next for the Phillies
The Phillies will take on the Astros looking to win the series in the final game of the 2022 regular season.
Bailey Falter (6-4, 3.90) will toe the rubber facing off against Framber Valdez (16-6, 2.89) with the first pitch scheduled for 4:10 pm.
NBC Sports Philadelphia will carry the broadcast of the game.
Mandatory Photo Credit: Philadelphia Phillies
