There were times Tuesday night when the Phillies produced in the clutch.
And there were times when they sat over themselves and looked like the Keystone Kops.
In the end, the Phillies could not play on their sloppiness. They played poorly in the field in the late innings and, of course, their punch-bag bullpen (10.19 ERA) coughed it up again. The result was the craziest and most demoralizing loss of the Joe Girardi era, a 10-9 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park.
“We kept coming back, but could not close the deal,” Girardi said afterward. ‘We had our chances. We made some mistakes that really cost us. I thought our boys did a great job fighting back offensively. Unfortunately we were one hit short. It’s just frustrating. That’s a game I think in many ways, we gave it away. ‘
Let’s count the ways the Phillies gave it.
Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler could not defend a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning.
Reliever Tommy Hunter came in seventh in a tie game and was able to hit three goals and two runs after the first three fights.
The Phillies took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on a pair of homers by Bryce Harper (two-run shot) and Segura (solo shot).
That was clutch.
Hector Neris was called on to close the gap on one run in the top of the ninth, but he was unable to do so. He then let the bandwagon be accused of two more when third baseman Segura stepped over the mound of the pitcher while following a pop-up that would have been the third.
No problem. Didi Gregorius tied the game at 8-8 with a two-run single at the bottom of the ninth. The Phillies were still alive despite Neris’ blown save.
Under MLB’s new COVID protocols, both teams started the 10th win with a runner-up on second base.
The Orioles scored quickly when Austin Hays – and we do not – provided a leadoff, two-run, inside-the-park homer. Phillies midfielder Roman Quinn tried to make a charge, diving on the ball. He missed it and rolled to the warning track when Hays ran the bases.
The Phils got one back in the bottom of the 10th, but left two men in scoring position.
Not enough.
Painful loss.
Sloppy loss.
The plays in which Segura and Quinn were involved led to four runs.
Segura called first baseman Rhys Hoskins on Pedro Severino’s pop-up in the middle of the infield. It should be Hoskins’ ball.
“I think it’s probably Jean’s inexperience on the third,” Girardi said. ‘He was once on short stops and reckoning. It did us last night.
‘Hector was a little off. I know he’s frustrated about it. But through it all, we still had a chance. We blow up a popup. ”
Hoskins called on the ball. In retrospect, he said he believed he should have shouted louder.
“I heard some of me right and typically these guys have priority over the first baseman,” Hoskins said. ‘I just need to be louder. I mentioned it probably a little too early. ”
In the 10th, Quinn should have earned the hit to Hays and played the ball on one hop.
“The effort is great,” Girardi said. ‘But it will be two runes where you have the chance to give up just one. That’s kind of frustrating. ”
Deolis Guerra appeared on cue near the post, and steered it past the goalie.
Harper saw the ball come through Quinn from the right field.
“You love the hustle,” Harper said. ‘You love the effort. You never want to take that from Q because he plays a big center field. But we need to be a little worse. I had to learn that too when I came to court right up front. I wanted to get every ball for my pitchers. But that’s a place, with a man in second place, where you have to keep the ball in front of you and hopefully keep that double play in order so that they hopefully only score one rune.
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda and we might be tied in the 11th. Like I said, I love Q’s effort. But that’s definitely a ball we have to keep in front of me and I think he knows that. ‘
Twelve games – if 20 percent – in the 60-game sprint, the Phillies are 5-7.
They have two more with the Orioles in this series. The O’s are 8-7 after losing 108 games last season.
“We have to win games,” Harper said. ‘This is win or go home, nice. With a schedule of 60 games we can make no mistakes. We need to count on the guys we know we can count on. It is difficult to enter the inning with a lead and lose a ballgame. ”
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