Phillies fall to Dodgers, still win series

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4 ❖ Attendance: 18,735

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies (61-92) came close to completing a rare four game sweep of the playoff-bound Los Angeles Dodgers (97-58) in this afternoon's game. Ultimately, it was a combination of suspect defense and bullpen struggles that handed the Phils the loss. Mark Leiter Jr. had a solid outing, allowing three runs (one earned) over six innings. Reliever Ricardo Pinto's lack of command led to the Dodgers tying and later taking the lead in the seventh inning. Hoby Milner, Victor Arano and Edubray Ramos finished the game without allowing any more runs.

The Phillies' offense had a few bright spots, but not many. Nick Williams hit a two-run homer and Rhys Hoskins knocked in two runs of his own with a double. J.P. Crawford stole his first base in the Majors and reached base three times today. For the most part, though, the Phillies failed to take advantage of the opportunities they were given.

For the Dodgers, third baseman Justin Turner was hit on the thumb by a pitch in the first inning. He originally stayed in the game, but was taken out in the second inning. The x-rays were negative for a break, and they called it a right thumb contusion.

WP: Walker Buehler (1-0, 10.13 ERA) ❖ LP: Ricardo Pinto (1-2, 7.89 ERA) ❖ SV: Kenley Jansen (39)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LAD	1	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	5	7	1
PHI	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	7	2

Phillies starter Mark Leiter Jr. didn't get off to a good start against the Dodgers' lineup. Chris Taylor led off the game with a single that was misjudged by left fielder Aaron Altherr the ball ended up getting past him and getting to the wall. Taylor ended up on third base on the two-base error. Justin Turner was then hit on the thumb by a pitch. It looked severely swollen, but he stayed in the game. He ended up exiting the game in the second inning. This put runners on first and third for Cody Bellinger. He lined out to third base for the first out. Yasiel Puig hit a sacrifice fly to score Taylor. Curtis Granderson grounded out to end the inning.

The Dodgers added on in the third inning. Leiter got the first two outs easily, retiring Taylor and Austin Barnes on a ground out and a strike-out, respectively. Bellinger and Puig then hit back-to-back singles. Granderson hit a ball that was deflected by first baseman Rhys Hoskins, and it appeared that Cesar Hernandez would have made the out at first base if Hoskins hadn't interfered. At the time, it was ruled an infield single. The ruling was later changed and an error was given to Hoskins. Bellinger scored on the play and Puig went to third, while Granderson went to second on the throw home. Chase Utley was retired on a ground out for the last out of the frame.

The Phillies tied it up in the bottom half of the third. Hernandez led off the inning with a double to right field. Freddy Galvis grounded out to shortstop to move Hernandez up to third. Nick Williams followed with a homer to left-center field. Hoskins and Altherr were retired on a line-out and a ground out, respectively, for the final two outs.

The Phils' bats went to work against the Dodgers' bullpen in the fifth inning. Hernandez got it started with a single to left field. Galvis reached on a force attempt that resulted in an error being charged to Utley, who was playing first base. One out later, Hoskins doubled to left-center field to score both Hernandez and Galvis and give the Phillies the lead. Altherr and Odubel Herrera combined for the last two outs, leaving Hoskins stranded at second.

The Dodgers got one back in the sixth. After a strike-out by Puig, Granderson homered to left field. It was his 25th of the season and his second of the series. Utley was retired on an excellent defensive play by Hernandez for the second out. Yasmani Grandal kept the inning going with a double off the top of the right field fence. Logan Forsythe lined out and the Phillies were able to maintain their lead.

The Dodgers took the lead in the seventh inning. Andre Ethier led off the inning with a pinch-hit homer to left-center field to tie the game at four runs apiece. It was his sixth career pinch-hit home-run and 162nd of his career. Taylor followed with a triple off the center field wall that bounced away from Herrera. Austin Barnes grounded out to third, which kept the runner from scoring. The Phillies made a pitching change at that point to bring in Hoby Milner to replace Ricardo Pinto. Bellinger hit a ball to Hoskins, who took a look at home before getting the out at first. Taylor's speed and the fact that the ball was hit softly allowed him to score on the play. Puig struck out for the final out of the inning. That extra run was all that the Dodgers needed to get the win.

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