Phillies fall to Braves, 5-4, after defensive miscue on ‘perfectly placed ball’

The ground ball skipped to the mound Saturday night, the perfect result for José Alvarado after staring down Freddie Freeman with the game tied.

The Phillies thrust Alvarado — the hard-throwing reliever they acquired this winter — into the seventh inning of a 5-4 loss to Atlanta, asking him to strand the runners on first and third base. It was no easy task, but Alvarado seemed to be working toward completing it as he fielded Freeman’s grounder.

And then he turned to second base, where no one was covering the bag. Didi Gregorius, standing on the grass after charging the grounder, pointed toward home plate. It was too late. Alvarado’s throw home had no chance to get Ehire Adrianza, who broke from third when Freeman made contact to score the deciding run.

Joe Girardi said he no problem with Alvarado’s initial reaction to try for an inning-ending double play as the reliever had no way to know Gregorius was not standing on second.

Gregorius said he didn’t think the ball was hit hard enough for a double play, especially since the middle infielders were playing in with runners on the corners. The ball, Gregorius said, was in “no-man’s land.”

“It’s a pitcher’s instinct. Ground ball to him, turn a double play,” Gregorius said. “But the ball wasn’t hit hard enough. You can’t blame that on him because he’s trying to make a play.”

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The team’s defense has not been crisp this season as last season’s deficiencies seem to linger. The at-bat before Freeman’s ended with Alec Bohm and Andrew McCutchen colliding in shallow left field as Bohm caught a fly ball that belonged to the outfielder.

But the Phillies blamed Freeman’s fielder’s choice more on bad luck than poor judgment. Girardi called it the “perfectly placed ball.”

“I thought he had a chance to turn the double play, but Didi reacted to where the ball was hit and went at the ball thinking if it got past Alvarado,” Girardi said. “It’s an instinctual play for Didi. I don’t have a problem for either one.”

“You want to make every play in the game, especially in that situation,” Gregorius said. “We came up short right there.”

The Phillies started the season with a sweep of the Braves, but that opening statement no longer seems so strong as they look Sunday night to avoid being swept in Atlanta.

Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen both homered Saturday night and Gregorius put the Phillies up two runs in the first inning, but that was not enough.

The offense seems to be missing a punch. Girardi, in need of a right-handed bat off the bench, used J.T. Realmuto as a pinch-hitter to start the seventh inning against left-hander Sean Newcomb.

Girardi said last week that he doesn’t like to use his catcher as a pinch-hitter, but he has done it twice in six games. His other right-handed option was light-hitting infielder Ronald Torreyes as Roman Quinn had already been used to lift Adam Haseley.

“This is what we have and we’ll make it work,” Girardi said.

Zach Eflin allowed extra-base hits to the first three batters he faced, throwing 22 pitches in a three-run first inning. The Phillies needed Eflin to give the bullpen a breather on Saturday after starters averaged less than five innings in their previous four games.

It didn’t look as if he was going to be able to, but then Eflin settled in. He pitched into the sixth inning before allowing a two-out, game-tying double to Dansby Swanson. Eflin wasn’t perfect, but he kept the Phillies in it and allowed Girardi to manage his bullpen.

“I just knew that I probably had to step on the gas a little more,” Eflin said. “I’m more just disappointed about pitching us out of the game twice.”

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Along with a right-handed bench options, the Phillies are also seeking production in center field. An underwhelming spring-training competition has yielded to underwhelming in-season results.

Haseley went 0-for-2 before being replaced by Quinn, who went 0-for-2. Haseley, the team’s starter on opening day, has started six of the first eight games with Quinn starting the others. They’ve combined to hit just .129. It’s been a rough start, but the samples are limited as Haseley has had just 19 at-bats and Quinn has 12.

If the Phillies decide to make a change, they have options waiting at the alternate site as Odúbel Herrera, Scott Kingery, and Mickey Moniak are in Allentown. Girardi and his staff can watch a live feed of the players training there, but a move does not seem imminent.

“It’s still way too early,” Girardi said before the game. “I think when you get around 50 to 75 at-bats, you can judge a sample size a little bit. But we’ve seen really good hitters have a rough month and then seem to bounce back. But I think it’s way too early to judge them.”

Girardi started the seventh inning with Archie Bradley, who allowed the first two batters he faced to reach. Adrianza doubled and Ronald Acuña Jr. singled. Bradley retired Ozzie Albies on the ball Bohm and McCutchen battled for, but the Braves still had runners on the corners with one out and Freeman coming to the plate. That was it for Bradley.

Alvarado entered from the bullpen as the stadium lights darkened, seeming to make an ominous entrance as the Phillies’ night was soon dim.

“He does a great job of getting Freddie Freeman to hit a ball on the ground and it’s frustrating,” Girardi said.