Phillies squander run-scoring chances, lose despite another strong start from Sanchez
Phillies squander run-scoring chances, lose despite another strong start from Sanchez originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Cristopher Sanchez made his best in a string of solid starts out of the No. 5 spot for the Phillies but the offense fell flat Friday night in a 2-1 loss to the visiting Nationals.
The Nats scored both of their runs in the second inning when Stone Garrett homered after a Trea Turner throwing error. The Phillies answered with an RBI single from Alec Bohm in the bottom half but came up short in their many opportunities with runners in scoring position the rest of the night.
They squandered a prime opportunity in the bottom of the sixth when Turner and Nick Castellanos singled and Turner stole third to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Bryce Harper popped out weakly to third base, J.T. Realmuto popped out weakly to second base and Bryson Stott struck out to end the inning without a run.
Harper and Realmuto are both stuck in ruts. Harper hasn't homered in 131 plate appearances, the longest drought of his career. Realmuto, who has alternated between red-hot and ice-cold all season, is 2-for-25 with nine strikeouts and no RBI in his last seven games, with most of those at-bats involving chases and weak contact. Because he doesn't walk, Realmuto's skids look a lot worse than Harper's.
In the seventh, Bohm doubled to put another man in scoring position with nobody out before Brandon Marsh and Kody Clemens struck out and Kyle Schwarber grounded out.
In the eighth, Realmuto grounded out to end the inning as the potential go-ahead run.
The Phils (43-38) have not lost much lately. They're 18-6 since June 3 and have won seven of their last eight series. They'll have to beat Washington (33-48) Saturday and Sunday to claim another.
Sanchez has been money this month at the back of the Phillies' rotation. Since being recalled from Triple A, he has allowed four earned runs and 14 baserunners in 15 innings with 15 strikeouts. Of the 18 outs he recorded Friday, six were strikeouts, nine came via groundballs and one runner was caught stealing. The Nationals barely left the infield.
"It's been going on for a while, the last 3½ weeks, we've had a really good rotation," manager Rob Thomson said. "They've gone deep into games, pitched well and I feel a lot of stability, knock on wood."
Sanchez' next start will likely come Thursday at Tampa Bay with Thomson indicating before the Washington series that the Phillies will stay on rotation despite the upcoming off-day Monday. They could have pushed Sanchez back a day to face the weaker Marlins lineup instead with Zack Wheeler pitching against the Rays, but the Phils' head-to-head games with the Fish are very important as Miami is four games ahead and currently occupies a wild-card spot.
Out of the All-Star break, the first five times the No. 5 spot in the Phillies' rotation comes up are against some of baseball's worst offenses — the Brewers, Guardians, Pirates, Marlins and Nationals. Those teams rank 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th and 27th in the majors in runs per game.
Matching your fifth starter up against lesser lineups can work. It did for the Phillies late last summer when Bailey Falter filled in for injured Zach Eflin and posted a 2.52 ERA across six starts, four of which came against the lowly offenses of Pittsburgh and Miami.
Wheeler, who has allowed one or no runs in four of his last six starts, is on the bump Saturday afternoon at 4:05. The Nationals will go with left-hander Mackenzie Gore, their best arm.
