Game 2 Final: Marlins 5, Phillies 2
WP: Justin Nicolino (3-3, 2.65) LP: Alec Asher (3-2, 2.67) SV: Ramos (32)
Game 1 Final: Marlins 7, Phillies 6
WP: Clint Narveson (3-1, 4.45) LP: Ken Giles (6-3, 1.83) SV: Ramos (31)
Philadelphia, PA–It's rare you see a team try hard to avoid clinching. The Phillies certainly tried to keep winning and avoid sealing up the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, while their closest competitors the Cincinnati Reds embraced the tank in losing 13 straight games. Until tonight.
With the Phillies' 7-6 loss in the first game of today's twin-bill doubleheader and the Reds' 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates (coming just before the Phillies lost Game 2), Philadelphia has wrapped up the first overall pick in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft next June.
Game 1: In the first game, begun at 4:05, the Marlins took an early 4-0 lead, but a bases-clearing double from Cody Asche and a solo shot from Brian Bogusevic tied the game up before Odubel Herrera's single put the Phillies ahead 5-4.
Dee Gordon stole third and scored for the Marlins in the sixth on a Carlos Ruiz throwing error to tie it, but Freddy Galvis' sac fly put the Phillies ahead again.
Ken Giles blew a save in the ninth when Martin Prado tripled in Christian Yelich (who was 8-for-9 in the doubleheader) and was brought home by Marcell Ozuna's single. The Marlins pulled ahead 7-6, and kept the lead as A.J. Ramos closed out Game 1 for Miami.
Game 2: The Marlins came out swinging again, roughing up starter Alec Asher to the tune of three runs in two innings. With the score 3-0 after two, the Phillies brought Justin De Fratus in for mop-up duty, as De Fratus went three frames and gave up one run in the fifth.
Maikel Franco, making his first start since returning from the DL, homered to dead center off Justin Nicolino in the fourth, a promising sign for Phillies fans. He drove another run in on a single in the sixth, making the score 4-2.
Nefi Ogando and Ken Roberts pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Phils, but Colton Murray ceded a run in the eighth on a single by Miguel Rojas to make the game 5-2.
Adam Loewen kept the Phillies' deficit at 5-2 in the ninth, but A.J. Ramos picked up another save for the Marlins (despite putting runners on first and second with two out) who swept the doubleheader against the Phils.
Tomorrow is the last day of the 2015 season for the Phillies, as they take on the Marlins at 3:05 from Philadelphia. David Buchanan gets the start for the Phils against Adam Conley as the Phils look to avoid the 100-loss mark this season.
Game 2 Stats:
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Nicolino | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4.01 |
| Alec Asher | 2.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.31 |
- Nicolino: Win; 73 pitches, 51 strikes; 8 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 23 faced batters
- Asher: Loss; 44 pitches, 27 strikes; 2 groundouts, 1 flyout; 12 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Marlins
- Bryan Morris (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.14 ERA
- A.J. Ramos (9th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 2.30 ERA
Phillies
- Justin De Fratus (3rd): 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 5.51 ERA
- Nefi Ogando (6th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 9.00 ERA
- Ken Roberts (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 7.24 ERA
- Colton Murray (8th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 5.87 ERA
- Adam Loewen (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 6.98 ERA
At the Plate:
Marlins
- Christian Yelich: 3-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, .302 AVG
- Marcell Ozuna: 2-4, R, RBI, .261 AVG
- Justin Bour: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, .262 AVG
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, .279 AVG
- Darnell Sweeney: 2-3, R, 2B, .167 AVG
- Andres Blanco: 1-4, 2B, R, .293 AVG
What's Next
- Sunday, October 4: vs. Miami Marlins, 7:05 pm
- LHP Adam Conley (4-1, 3.84 ERA) vs. RHP David Buchanan (2-9, 7.54 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Theo DeRosa (@Derosatheo11) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
