The Phillies cannot get the eighth inning right. They’ve tried several pitchers as the team’s primary setup man this season, and all of them have proven unable to do the job consistently. On Sunday, they gave rookie Alex McFarlane a shot at the role.
He also did not succeed.
McFarlane gave up a game-tying three run home run to Ronald Acuna, Jr, and the Braves scored another in the ninth, sending the Phillies to a gut-punch of a loss.
The story of the game should have been Aaron Nola. The rejuvenated
veteran pitched seven strong innings, scattering four hits, to give up a single run. If not for an epic 15-pitch at bat against Mike Yastrzemski in the third, Nola might have been able to pitch another inning. (If only.)
The Phillies’ offense started off well, taking advantage of a Braves error in the first to score a couple of runs via Luis Arraez sacrifice fly and Alec Bohm double.
But after they couldn’t score on a first-and-third, one out spot in the third, Braves starter Tyler Mahle settled in for the next few innings.
Mahle exited after six, and the Phillies celebrated by going deep against reliever Dylan Dodd. First, Derek Hill sent one into the left field seats.
Then Kyle Schwarber lined one out to right.
That lead seemed comfortable, but with one out in the eighth, McFarlane gave up consecutive hits. He got ahead of Acuna 0-2 but chose to throw five straight fastballs after that. It’s nice to be able to throw 101 MPH, but when Acuna is fouling them off, an off-speed pitch or two might be warranted. (Catcher Garrett Stubbs deserves his share of the blame here too.) Instead, McFarlane left one where Acuna could do some damage.
Jhoan Duran tried to keep the game tied in the ninth, but he hasn’t always been at his best in tie games and that continued on Sunday. A leadoff single followed by a triple gave the Braves their first lead of the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, Bryson Stott led off with a single and made it to third base with one out. But Bryan De La Cruz hit a line drive right at the shortstop, and Edmundo Sosa predetermined that he was going to swing no matter what, and the Phillies stranded the tying run at third.
The Phillies will need to quickly shake off this gut punch. The series concludes with a Labor Day matinee, and if they want to preserve any realistic chance at winning the division, they’ll need to salvage a split of the series.
