Marlins Hand Phillies their Third Consecutive Loss

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Editor

WP: Alcantara (1-0) LP: Gibson (1-1) S: Bender (2)

The Miami Marlins scored three runs in the 4th and one in the 5th to down the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in front of 31,184 fans at loanDepot Park in South Florida.  The Phillies third consecutive loss moves the Fightin’s below the .500 mark on the season.  The Phils have lost five of their last eight in loanDepot Park dating back to last season. 

It looked like the Phillies were going to jump all over Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara in the 1st.  Kyle Schwarber led off with a double and moved to third on a J.T. Realmuto single.  Bryce Harper hit a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Schwarber.  Three batters, one run.  But it stopped there until the Phillies half of the 7th.  

Alcantara settled in for the Fish and spread out seven Phillies hits over 6-⅓ innings.  He walked one and struck out five Phillies.  Alcantara was able, for the most part, to keep the Phillies hitters off balance.  

Early on it seemed like the Phillies and the Fish were headed for a pitchers duel.  

Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson came out throwing like he did in his last start against the Mets.  Gibson struck out all three Marlins he faced in the 1st and made it through the 2nd and 3rd facing six additional batters. Gibson looked to be cruising to another victory.  

Then the wheels fell off in the 4th.

Marlins outfielder Garrett Cooper deposited a Gibson curveball 412 feet into the left field bleachers of loanDepot Park to give the Fish a 1-0 lead. Jesus Sanchez followed up with a one out triple. Following a Avisail Garcia walk, Joey Wendle ripped a double to left field to clear the bases. Just like that it was 3-1 Marlins. 

The Marlins tacked on another run in the 5th when Sanchez singled to left to score Jazz Chisholm, whom had walked two batters before.  Sanchez was the last batter Gibson would face. He ended the night a 4-2/3, 5 H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 6K line. 

The Phillies would fight back in the 7th. Matt Vierling, hit by pitch, and Realmuto, walk, reached base with one out to set the table for Harper. Harper ripped a two run double to right scoring Vierling and Realmuto. The Phillies closed the gap to 4-3 but were unable to take further advantage. 

The Phillies would threaten in the 9th. Pinch hitter Alec Bohm reached on a single to start the inning but was erased when Schwarber grounded into a double play. Realmuto notched his fourth hit of the day, a single, to put the tying run on base with Harper at bat. Harper swung at the first pitch and flew out to left field to end the game. 

Scoring Summary

PHI, T1: Harper sacrifice fly to left, Schwarber scores (1-0)

MIA, B4: Cooper (1) home run to left (1-1) 

MIA, B4: Wendle doubles to left, Sanchez and Garcia score (3-1)

MIA, B5: Sanchez singles to left, Chisholm scores (4-1)

PHI, T7: Harper doubles to right, Vierling and Realmuto score (4-3)

Stars of the Game

PHI: C J.T. Realmuto, 4-for-4, BB, 1R, 1 SB

MIA: SP Sandy Alcantara, 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Next Game

Date: Friday, April 15 vs. Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park, Miami, Florida

First Pitch: 6:40 PM

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Radio: 94.1 WIP-FM and the Phillies Radio Network 

Probable Pitching Matchup: Zach Efflin vs. Pablo Lopez