Joe Girardi livid over the blown call on Andrew McCutchen | Extra Innings

The Phillies lost two out of three games to the Mets to drop two games below .500 for the first time this season. In their lone win, they scored their only two runs on a passed ball after their starting pitcher struck out. They had one of their key relievers suspended, lost a game when umpires were unable to review a blown call, and then lost again when the umps were able to review a blown call.

It was a tough weekend for the Phils, but it won’t get much easier as their next 13 games are against the Brewers, Braves, Nationals and Blue Jays. This could be a defining stretch.

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— Matt Breen (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

Joe Girardi had no problem with the replay review that changed the outcome of Sunday night’s 8-7 loss to the Mets, but he was still bothered before the game by what had happened Saturday.

Girardi did not get an explanation from Major League Baseball or receive any reasoning from the umpire for why he ruled Saturday that Andrew McCutchen left the base path in a crucial sequence that helped decide Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Mets.

But he wasn’t quite holding his breath for that information, either.

“I don’t think there’s any explanation needed. It was a poor call,” Girardi said before Sunday’s loss. “I mean, there’s nothing McCutchen did that could possibly warrant even considering that. It’s one of the poorest calls that I’ve seen in my tenure. I’m sure there’s other ones that are really tough to swallow.”

Umpire Jose Navas ruled McCutchen out for leaving the base path while eluding a tag on his way from first to second. But replays showed that McCutchen never strayed from running a straight line. The league’s rule book says a runner can move three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged, but McCutchen did not seem to even take those three feet.

“There’s nothing he did wrong. Nothing,” Girardi said. “When you tell players the shortest distance between two points is a straight line and the guy runs a straight line, you’re like ‘Yeah, he did what we told him to.’ And that’s called? I don’t know.”

The umpires used replay to review the play, but they were allowed to look only at the throw Lindor made to first as Matt Joyce was initially called safe. They overturned the call at first, ruled Joyce out, and ended the inning on a double play. They could not review McCutchen’s play as the decision is deemed a subjective decision by the umpire or a “judgment call.” Girardi would like to see that changed.

“If we have the ability to get the calls right, we need to get them right,” Girardi said. “People are going to talk about the game slowing down. I’ve said all along that there should be someone who can buzz the umpire and say ‘Hold on.’ We shouldn’t have to throw a flag or put our hands up. If there’s a call that’s not right, let’s just change it. Right?”

Umpires are allowed to use video for certain baserunning plays, such as if a runner passed the runner ahead of him, if a runner scored ahead of the third out, and if he touched the base, left too early on a tag-up, or even caused interference while running. But they were not allowed to review McCutchen’s play on Saturday night as it was the judgment of the umpire. The play stood.

“There’s some calls that are judgment calls that you can’t change, but that one is probably as clear as any call that I’ve ever seen that’s a judgment call that could’ve been changed,” Girardi said. “It may have cost us a game. We had Rhys [Hoskins] coming up, a runner on second, two outs. Maybe we score a run or two. Even if we score one, we’re still playing in the 10th inning. I know we don’t want to slow the game down more, but that’s too simple for me.”

Phillies reliever José Alvarado appealed the three-game suspension he received for ‘inciting a benches-clearing incident’ on Friday night. “They felt that he instigated, but that doesn’t cause everyone to run out of the dugout, right?” Girardi said.

Sam Coonrod is off to a strong start this season. His secret? Playing catch. Scott Lauber has the story on the hard-throwing reliever.

The minor-league season starts this week. Logan O’Hoppe grew up a Yankees fan and lived and died with Girardi’s teams in the Bronx. He met Girardi in 2010 in Manhattan and keeps a signed ball by Girardi at home on Long Island. Now he’s a Phillies prospect and Girardi is a fan of his. “I think this is a guy who can be a front-line catcher,” Girardi said.

Tonight: Vince Velasquez faces Brewers RHP Adrian Houser, 7:05 p.m.

Tomorrow: Aaron Nola starts against the Brewers, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday: Chase Anderson faces his old team, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday: Zack Wheeler pitches the series finale vs. the Brew Crew, 1:05 p.m.

Friday: Phillies open a three-game series in Atlanta, 7:20 p.m.

Hoskins came a few inches Sunday night from hitting his 100th career home run, but he’ll have to wait. If he hits one in his next 40 games, he’ll be the third-fastest Phillies player to reach 100 career homers.

Sunday night’s loss to the Mets was Hoskins’ 432nd game. Ryan Howard hit his 100th homer in his 325th game, and Chuck Klein needed 390 games. Mike Schmidt, the franchise’s home-run king, is the third-fastest, as he hit 100 homers in 472 games.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @matt_breen.

Question: The minor-league season starts this week. Who are some players to watch? — Wes H. via email

Answer: Thanks, Wes. Bob Brookover wrote over the weekend about some key minor-leaguers and you can read that piece here. For me, I’m keeping an eye on three of the team’s top prospects: right-hander Mick Abel, shortstop Bryson Stott, and center fielder Johan Rojas. Abel and Rojas will be in low-A Clearwater, while Stott goes to high-A Jersey Shore. It will be all three prospects’ first full seasons, and the Phillies have high hopes for all of them.