Mountain of miscues cost Phillies in 7-6 loss to Pittsburgh Pirates
The Phillies blew a 4-1 lead, rallied, but fell short on Saturday night.
PITTSBURGH — Even as he conceded that the time had come to drop struggling Trea Turner out of the No. 2 spot in the Phillies’ batting order, manager Rob Thomson held firm to a core belief.
“Our best lineup,” Thomson said, “is when [Turner] is hitting and he’s hitting in the two spot.”
The proof came later Saturday night. Nick Castellanos, the first choice to move into Turner’s vacated spot, came up with two out and the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning, and chased a low-and-away curveball to punctuate an 0-for-5, three-strikeout game in a 7-6 loss to the Pirates at sold-out PNC Park.
“Just been no-good, man, honestly,” said Castellanos, 7-for-60 (.117) with 21 strikeouts since representing the Phillies in the All-Star Game. “Hard time just finding that consistent rhythm. Just been bad.”
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Castellanos’ rough game also included playing a fly ball to right field into a leadoff double in the Pirates’ two-run fourth inning. But let’s be clear: He was hardly was the lone Phillies culprit in an eyesore of a game.
A rundown of a few of the more egregious moments:
Aaron Nola couldn’t hold a 4-1 lead. He put 12 runners on base (nine hits, three walks), got only 14 outs, and didn’t complete five innings for the first time since opening day.
The Pirates needed a shutdown inning after cutting the margin to 4-3 in the fifth. Bryce Harper helped them get it. Harper got thrown out easily at second base trying to stretch a single. He explained that he was thinking “two out of the box,” but admitted also that he “thought I hit it better than I did.”
A half-inning later, Harper made his first error at first base, booting a grounder that could‘ve started a double play. Instead, it helped fuel the Pirates’ four-run rally. “That’s the one play, the double play, that kind of gets me going a little bit,” Harper said. “Just got to slow it down and make it next time.”
After stroking a double to clear the bases in the fourth inning, Brandon Marsh helped the Pirates do the same in the fifth. He was unable to knock down Endy Rodríguez’s sinking line drive to center field. It was scored a three-run triple to give the Pirates a 6-4 lead; it should’ve been a single and an error.
Oh, and with the tying run on third base and one out in the ninth inning, J.T. Realmuto grounded into a game-ending double play.
All together now: Ugh.
“I thought we could’ve caught a couple of balls in the outfield,” Thomson said. “The Harper error, he just rushed on it. It’s the body clock thing [at a new position] that he has to get used to.”
Thomson said he intends to stick with Castellanos in the No. 2 spot, at least until Turner finds his timing at the plate. Turner struck out on a slider with the bases loaded in the fourth inning but drew a walk in the sixth before singling and scoring in the eighth.
Castellanos insists he doesn’t feel any added pressure.
“Sometimes I find myself in a hole, I want to get out of it,” Castellanos said. “The harder I try, the deeper I get. Just got to stay at it, stay working.”
No, No, Nola
For all the miscues that took place behind him, Nola allowed a lot of hard contact, especially against the inexperienced bottom half of the Pirates’ order.
Rodríguez, Jared Triolo, Alika Williams, and Liover Peguero — the No. 6-9 hitters — came into the game with a total of 33 hits. They went 5-for-9 with two walks against Nola.
It was a 4⅔-inning slog for Nola. He allowed his league-leading 24th homer, a third-inning shot by Peguero. But he was bothered most by a lack of command. After going 20⅓ innings without walking a batter in his last three starts, he issued three walks to the Pirates.
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“Really didn’t have much command outside the first inning,” Nola said. “A lot of leadoff guys on and getting behind in counts a lot.”
Through 22 starts, Nola has a 4.43 ERA and one word to describe his season.
“Inconsistent,” he said. “The guys gave me runs tonight, and I didn’t produce for them. Couple of innings really got away from me.”
Another hit for Rojas
With the trade deadline looming at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Phillies are still hunting for a right-handed hitter to play left field. It remains their top priority.
But Johan Rojas remains an alternative worth considering.
Rojas wasn’t in the lineup against Pirates righty Quinn Priester. But he stayed in the game after pinch-hitting for Jake Cave against a lefty and robbed Andrew McCutchen of a hit in the sixth inning with the diving catch that Marsh was able to come up with in the fifth.
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In the eighth inning, Rojas chopped an RBI single against Pirates closer David Bednar, a nasty right-hander. Rojas, known for his defense, is 7-for-20 (.350) with four strikeouts since getting called up from double A two weeks ago.
“He’s having good at-bats. He’s playing well,” Thomson said. “Now, we’re going to ease him into this, so we don’t overexpose him, if there’s a chance of that, and pick our spots to play him. I like what I see. I really do.”