Ninth inning homers lead to painful Phillies loss

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Philadelphia Phillies 5 ❖ Attendance: 53,110

Los Angeles, CA — Going into last night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers (13-12), the Philadelphia Phillies (11-11) were looking to tie the series at two games apiece. For most of the game, it seemed that the Phils would secure the win. That all changed in the ninth inning. Phillies starter Zach Eflin threw seven excellent innings, allowing only two runs on four hits. Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless eighth and handed the game to unofficial closer Hector Neris. He promptly allowed back-to-back-to-back homers to tie the game, and it was a runner that he had allowed to reach base that ended up scoring the winning run. To say the ninth inning was painful would be an understatement. It's further proof that the Phillies do not have a reliable closer, despite manager Pete Mackanin's claims that he has two pitchers (Benoit and Neris) that could fit that role.

There were a few positives on the offensive front. Rookies Brock Stassi and Andrew Knapp each homered, combining for four RBI. Knapp's home-run was the first of his Major League career, and the catcher finished a triple short of the cycle. Freddy Galvis extended his hitting streak to 11 games. However, there were plenty of opportunities to score more runs that were squandered. Ultimately, the bullpen was to blame, not the bats, but one can only wonder if this game would have ended differently if the offense had been able to put a few more runs on the board.

WP: Grant Dayton (1-0, 0.00 ERA) ❖ LP: Hector Neris (0-1, 4.97 ERA)

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
PHI	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	1	0	5	13	0
LAD	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	6	11	1

The Dodgers' bats struck first in the game. In the bottom of the first, center fielder Andrew Toles homered to dead center to give his team an early 1-0 lead. Phillies starter Zach Eflin rebounded nicely, retiring the next three batters in order and not allowing the home-run affect him.

The Phillies fought back in the top of the fourth. Maikel Franco and Michael Saunders led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Left fielder Daniel Nava flied out to center, allowing Franco to move up to third. This brought Brock Stassi to the plate. He homered to left-center field to give the Phils the lead. Andrew Knapp singled to left and after a strike-out by Eflin, Cesar Hernandez walked to put runners on first and second with two outs. Freddy Galvis popped out to end the inning, but the damage had already been done.

The next inning brought more offense for the Phillies. Odubel Herrera led off the inning with a double to left field. Franco and Saunders were retired on a ground out and a pop-up, respectively. Just when it seemed like another runner in scoring position would be stranded, Nava singled to center field to score Herrera and bolster the Phils' lead. The Dodgers recorded the final out, but Nava's clutch hit tacked on another important run.

Both teams failed to take advantages of offensive opportunities over the next few innings. That came to a halt in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Cody Bellinger hit his first Major League homer over the right field wall to tack on another run for the Dodgers. Eflin was able to retire the next two batters to end the frame.

The Phils got that run back in the top of the eighth. Knapp led off the inning with his first Major League homer, a line drive over the wall in right-center field. Pinch-hitter Andres Blanco and Hernandez both reached base. Galvis moved them up to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. Both runners were left stranded, however, as Herrera struck out and Franco grounded out to end the inning.

The Dodgers weren't going to go out without a fight. In the bottom of the ninth, they battled against Phillies reliever Hector Neris. Right fielder Yasiel Puig, Bellinger, and pinch-hitter Justin Turner hit back-to-back-to-back homers to tie the game at five runs apiece. The blown save meant that the would-be win for Eflin was turned into a no decision. After allowing another hit, Neris was removed in favor of Joely Rodriguez. He got the second out of the inning easily, but then it all fell apart. Corey Seager hit a single to left field to put the winning run at second base for Adrian Gonzalez. He singled on a grounder that deflected off of the glove of Franco and trickled into left field, scoring the winning run.

Back to Hub

Starting Pitchers