Final: Marlins 4, Phillies 3
WP: Steve Cishek (1-1, 8.64 ERA) LP: Ken Giles (1-1, 0.87 ERA)
Miami, Fl – Having lost three out of their first four games on their current, ten-game road trip, the Philadelphia Phillies (8-16) were determined to get back to winning ways this evening. In what was second baseman Chase Utley's 1,500th career game, the Phillies failed to accomplish such feat as they dropped the first of a three game set against one of their NL East divisional foes, the Miami Marlins (11-12).
The first hit of tonight's game came in the bottom of the second inning, when Marlins' center fielder Marcell Ozuna doubled for the fifth time of the year. The next batter, first baseman Michael Morse, grounded out to short to allow Ozuna to advance to third base with only one out. Catcher J.T. Realmuto followed with a sacrifice fly RBI, the first run of the game.
Marlins' starting pitcher Tom Koehler had retired the first nine Phillies' batters almost at ease. The top of the fourth inning was a much different story, however. After left fielder Ben Revere and center fielder Odubel Herrera singled on ten combined pitches, Utley blasted his third home run of the season, and his first since April 14, to give the Phils a 3-1 advantage.
Later in the top-half of the fourth, the bases were loaded with starting pitcher Jerome Williams up to bat. Williams put the ball in play, however the Marlins threw first baseman Ryan Howard out at home plate. The play was challenged by Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg, but the ruling on the field was upheld to end the inning. Sandberg is now 2-6 (33.3%) on challenges this season.
The score remained intact until the bottom of the fifth for the Miami offense. With one out, former Phillie Reid Brignac walked on seven pitches. Second baseman Dee Gordon, son of former Phillies' closer Tom Gordon, followed with a single. The next batter, third baseman Martin Prado, cut the Phillies' lead to just one run, as he came up with a two-RBI single to center field. The next batter, right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, doubled for his sixth time of the year to score Prado and even the game up at three.
Both of tonight's starters were pulled after five innings of work, with three earned runs charged to each on their lines. For the Phillies, Williams yielded seven hits and two walks over 95 pitches. Koehler of the Marlins was slightly more effective, having allowed four hits and two walks over 83 pitches.
.@BenRevere9 with the juggling act! Here’s a look at his diving catch in the 6th: http://t.co/yGNzzZUT3P #Phillies pic.twitter.com/KPg65QOICB
— Phillies (@Phillies) May 2, 2015
Offense-wise for the Phillies heading into the top of the ninth, they largely struggled. They went down in order six times and picked up only four hits, all of which came in the top of the fourth inning with three combined singles from Revere, Herrera and Sizemore, as well as Utley's 231st career home run.
Five innings later, they finally delivered with another hit, just their fifth (and what turned out to be final) of the game.
With two outs against Marlins' closer Steve Cishek, third baseman Cody Asche tripled, the second tripple-bagger of his career and first since August 26, 2013 at Citi Field. Catcher Carlos Ruiz failed to bring in the go-ahead run, as he grounded out to end the inning.
In relief of starter Jerome Williams, the Phillies' bullpen was efficient heading into the bottom of the ninth. Right handers Jeanmar Gomez, Luis Garcia and Ken Giles combined for three shutout innings, allowing five hits and one walk.
Unfortunately, things unraveled for Giles in the ninth, as he came out for his second inning of work and not Papelbon since the score was stilled knotted-up at three. After Stanton walked to begin the inning on six pitches, Ozuna doubled for the third time tonight, seventh this season, to bring home the game-winning run. Phillies' manager Ryne Sandberg requested a challenge, as Ruiz nearly tagged out Stanton at home plate, but the ruling on the field was upheld.
This was Ken Giles' first earned run allowed this season over 11 appearances and 10.1 innings. His last allowed earned run was 15 appearances ago on September 17, 2014 against the San Diego Padres.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Williams | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.08 |
| Tom Koehler | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4.67 |
- Williams: ND; 95 pitches, 56 strikes; 9 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 24 faced batters
- Koehler: ND; 83 pitches, 52 strikes; 3 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 20 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Jeanmar Gomez (6th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.70 ERA
- Luis Garcia (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.53 ERA
- Ken Giles (8th, 9th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.87 ERA
Marlins
- Brad Hand (6th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.75 ERA
- A.J. Ramos (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.32 ERA
- Mike Dunn (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 5.59 ERA
- Steve Cishek (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 8.64 ERA
NL East Standings
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets | 16 | 8 | - | 5-5 | W1 | 11-1 | 5-7 |
| Atlanta Braves | 11 | 12 | 4.5 | 3-7 | W1 | 5-6 | 6-6 |
| Miami Marlins | 11 | 12 | 4.5 | 8-2 | W3 | 7-6 | 4-6 |
| Washington Nationals | 10 | 14 | 6 | 3-7 | L1 | 5-5 | 5-9 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 16 | 8 | 3-7 | L4 | 6-6 | 2-10 |
What's Next
Saturday, May 2, 2015: at Miami Marlins, 4:10 pm
- LHP Cole Hamels (1-2, 3.19 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Haren (2-1, 3.38 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
