A pitcher’s duel is a beautiful thing. But having two great moundsmen on tap isn’t enough to make one happen. You need the pitcher’s teammates to contribute as well, adding sharp defense to keep the game tidy and tight, along with just enough offensive punch to make it clear that the duel is about the success of the pitchers, rather than failings of the offenses. Today’s matchup of Cristopher Sánchez and Hunter Greene had the hurlers for a good pitchers duel. Greene had the benefit of good play from
his teammates. Sánchez did not. As such, what we saw wasn’t dueling, but instead dismaying.
Both starters lived up to their reputations in the early going: Sánchez allowed just a single baserunner through the first two innings, and Greene allowed none. The Phillies got their first baserunner on in the third as Bryson Stott reached out and swatted a low pitch into right field for a single. Trea Turner advanced him with a bloop into shallow left, and the Phillies had a runner in scoring position with two out and Kyle Schwarber up. The situation called for a signature Schwarbomb, but unfortunately the mighty slugger went down on three pitches, two of which were called strikes right in the heart of the zone.
After another scoreless inning from Sánchez—what else is new— the Phillies had an odd turn of events when J.T. Realmuto was supposedly hit by a pitch. After an awkward moment where it wasn’t entirely clear what had happened (“it hit something”, said someone caught by the broadcast mics), Realmuto was awarded first. But the call was challenged, and replay quickly revealed that the ball had struck the beloved backstop’s bat rather than his hand. Not only was he forced to leave first, he was forced to return to the dugout: the ball had deflected off his bat and into the glove of Reds’ catcher Tyler Stephenson, making for a foul tip and third strike.
The bad breaks for the Phillies didn’t stop there. With two outs in the third, Sánchez walked Austin Hays, then allowed a line drive to left by Noelvi Marte. The ball bounced away from Brandon Marsh and Hays had enough time to round third and score. Marte tried to take advantage of the failed play at the plate to reach third, but Realmuto’s toss to Otto Kemp was in time to put him out and end the inning.
The Phillies put their first runner on third in the sixth, as Schwarber smacked a two-out double and took another base on a passed ball. But Greene won a hard-fought battle with Bryce Harper, and the Phillies took to the field after yet another scoreless frame.
The bottom of the sixth induced some dejá vu: the Reds put a runner on (Elly De La Cruz, single to left), and then, with two outs, the Redlegs posted a double, this time from Austin Hays. Marsh tried to corral the ball but overran it, and De La Cruz, faster than a caffeinated cheetah, made it home. Noelvi Marte slapped the ball into left to score Hays (again), then tried to reach third (again). This time, the outcome was different: a throwing error from Sánchez put the ball scooting behind third base, and Marte scored. Bryson Stott was deemed to have interfered with Marte’s progress to third, so he would’ve been safe regardless of the error; whether or not this makes the overall situation more or less embarrassing is for you to decide.
The Reds, now with a four run lead, pulled Greene after a gold star night and replaced him with Graham Ashcraft; the Phillies faired no better against him.
In the home half of the seventh, with Jordan Romano on the mound, the Philadelphias found themselves in trouble with two outs: this time, the Reds loaded the bases. Romano dueled with Miguel Andujar, falling behind 2-0 with a fastball way outside and a slider in the dirt, then working his way back to 2-2 with sliders better placed. Andujar fought back, fouling off the next two, also sliders. The seventh pitch of the at-bat was a slider too. This one was sent towards the Cincinnati skyline. Marsh backtracked, put his glove up, and for a moment it looked like it might not have the distance.
It did. Romano bent over in the universal signal of pitcher anguish. The game was 8-0, and the Phillies were now playing only to avoid the indignity of a shutout.
But they did not avoid it. They went quietly in the eighth, and quietly in the ninth, and thus surrendered the series in the Queen City.
The Phillies are 69-51. They begin a four-game set in Washington tomorrow at 6:45.
