With two outs in the ninth, the Phillies staged a late rally, scoring three runs to cut the deficit to two, but couldn't complete the comeback. Rather than putting in a pinch-hitter with the game on the line against a left-hander, Pete Mackanin opted to let Ryan Howard hit. The Big Piece struck out on three pitches to end the game. The Phillies skipper did the same thing on Wednesday night, leaving Howard in to bat against Mets left-hander Sean Gilmartin with runners on the corners and just one out in the seventh inning. With the success that Jeff Francoeur has had as a pinch-hitter, it's beginning to become a head-scratcher as to why Howard is put in these positions, whether it be out of respect from his manager or not.
The Phillies have now lost eight of their last 11 games since taking three out of four from the Marlins on August 20-23. Phillies starter Adam Morgan looked better than what his line ended up being, showing great signs of command on the mound, striking out David Ortiz twice.
Morgan. got into some trouble in the first, but wiggled his way out of it by allowing just one run. Mookie Betts doubled, Brock Holt singled and then Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI-single to left, driving in Betts to make it 1-0 with no outs. Morgan got David Oritz to strike out looking, Travis Shaw to line out to left and then induced a fly out off the bat of Allen Craig to limit any further damage.
The Phillies took the lead in the second. Cesar Hernandez singled to lead off the inning and Aaron Altherr reached after getting hit by a pitch. A Ryan Howard groundout moved the runners over and Darnell Sweeney bounced an RBI-groundout to first, scoring Cesar to tie things at one a piece. Darin Ruf plated Altherr with an infield RBI-single to deep short, giving the Phillies a 2-1 advantage.
Boston retook the lead in the fifth. Ryan Hanigan singled to start things off and Jackie Bradley Jr. followed with a walk. Mookie Betts laced a double to right, scoring Hanigan to tie the game at two. Brock Holt hit a liner to center for a sacrifice fly to score Bradley from third, giving Boston the lead back, 3-2. Morgan struck out Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz to end the inning.
In the seventh, the Phillies failed to get a run to cross the plate despite putting two on with none out. Meanwhile, the Red Sox tacked on an insurance run in their half of the frame. Jackie Bradley Jr. blasted a solo home run to deep center field, extending the Red Sox lead to two, 4-2. Boston made it 5-2 on a fielder's choice off the bat of Xander Bogaerts to plate Mookie Betts. They weren't done though. David Ortiz belted an RBI-double off the wall in center field and he scored on a single off the bat of Travis Shaw, thanks in large part to a Darin Ruf missed catch error on the cut-off throw, making it a 7-2 game.
The Phillies made things a little closer in the ninth, but couldn't stage a full-out rally. With two down, Freddy Galvis lined a single to right field. Odubel Herrera followed with a two-run homer to right center field, cutting the lead to three, 7-4. Up next was Cesar Hernandez . He singled and then Aaron Altherr doubled to score Cesar, bringing the Phillies to within two. The Red Sox called upon a lefty to face Ryan Howard and it paid off as the veteran first baseman struck out on three pitches. This is the second time in as many games that Howard hasn't been lifted for a pinch-hitter against a left-handed pitcher because of the meeting him and Pete Mackanin had a month ago.
Starting Pitcher Report:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adam Morgan |
6.1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4.42 |
|
Joe Kelly |
6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4.84 |
- Morgan (L, 5-5): 97 pitches, 67 strikes; 7 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 29 batters faced
- Kelly (W, 9-6): 106 pitches, 61 strikes, 6 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 24 batters faced
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Jeanmar Gomez (7th): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.97 ERA
- Colton Murray (8th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA
Red Sox
- Alexi Ogando (7th): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.65 ERA
- Tommy Layne (7th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.07 ERA
- Noe Ramirez (7th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA
- Junichi Tazawa (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 3.65 ERA
- Jean Machi (9th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 5.77 ERA
- Robbie Ross Jr. (9th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.83 ERA
At the Plate:
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 3-5, HR, R, 2 RBI's, K, .298 avg
- Aaron Altherr: 3-4, 2B, R, RBI, K, .271 avg
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-4, 2 R, K, .270 avg
Red Sox
- Mookie Betts: 2-3, 2 2B's, 2 R, RBI, BB, .277 avg
- Xander Bogaerts: 2-4, R, 2 RBI's, K, .321 avg
- Jackie Bradley Jr.: 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, .287 avg
What's Next:
Saturday, September 5th at Boston Red Sox, 4:05 PM
- RHP Alec Asher (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. LHP Joe Kelly (10-10, 4.57)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
