Letdown at the Bank | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Phillies rallied for two runs in the ninth inning and had the potential winning run at first base, which only made the 4-3 loss to the Dodgers tougher to take for the fans at Citizens Bank Park last night.

Max Kepler and Trea Turner produced two straight groundouts and all the air went out of the ballpark at the end of Game 2. Now the National League Division Series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday and the Phillies look all but cooked with an 0-2 deficit.

Turner is trying to keep things positive. “This time of year, you never know what’s going to happen,” the shortstop said. “You’ve got to keep pushing, keep grinding, keep fighting, and make big things happen for you. And you can pull something off that’s pretty crazy.”

Just like in the first game of the series, the Phillies’ big guns were silenced on their home turf. Bryce Harper, Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber are 6-for-35, with 13 strikeouts, no homers, and four walks in the series. Marcus Hayes points out that these Phillies are facing more than elimination. They could be dismantled.

“Obviously, the writing’s on the wall,” Schwarber said after what might be his last home game for the Phillies. “We’ve got one game, right? You go from there.”

Aaron Nola will start Game 3 for the Phillies, with Ranger Suárez pitching behind him out of the bullpen, manager Rob Thomson said. It is an unconventional choice.

The loss took its toll on the fans, as the TBS broadcast captured them booing the entrance of closer Jhoan Duran.

The sons of the late Roy Halladay teamed up with former Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz to throw out the first pitch. Braden Halladay pitched in college at Penn State and High Point, but he wants to make his mark in baseball in the front office.

You can find more coverage of the Phillies-Dodgers series here.

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The Eagles won’t have much time to dwell on their collapse against the Broncos. Saquon Barkley’s old pals, the New York Giants, await on Thursday night. Although the running back showed up on the initial injury report Monday with a knee injury, it’s a safe bet he’ll get the ball more against New York than he did against Denver. Barkley saw only nine touches on Sunday.

One thing is for certain: The Eagles need to clean up the protection for Jalen Hurts, who was sacked six times against the Broncos.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spoke Monday about his team’s big missed opportunity against Denver, when Jalen Hurts’ long pass sailed out of reach of a wide-open A.J. Brown. Did Brown slow down? Did Hurts’ hesitation pump cause the misfire? Was it something else? Sirianni credited a key adjustment by the defense with blowing up the play.

“I’m not here to assign blame,” Sirianni said. “We’re just looking for solutions and that’s what we’re doing.”

The Flyers will open the season under new coach Rick Tocchet on Thursday, but top-pair defenseman Cam York could miss the game against the Panthers in Florida because of a lower-body injury.

The team set its 23-man roster on Monday and 19-year-old Jett Luchanko made the cut — at least for now.

James Franklin had more to say Monday about Penn State’s stunning loss to UCLA, which knocked the Nittany Lions out of the Associated Press Top 25.

“[I am] obviously disappointed with the result of last week’s game,” Franklin said. “[We] did not live up to our expectations or standards. Over our time here, we really haven’t had those types of games. So when that happens, it forces you to look at everything from the top down, starting with me.”

Union manager Bradley Carnell had an extra reason to celebrate when his squad captured the Supporters’ Shield as the MLS team with the best regular-season record. In a way, it was redemption for Carnell, who was abruptly dismissed from his two previous head coaching jobs.

Which pitcher holds the Phillies record for most career starts with 499? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Cole Hamels

B) Robin Roberts

C) Chris Short

D) Steve Carlton

We asked: What was the Eagles’ biggest problem in their first loss? Among your responses:

First of all if they played the second half the same way they played the first half they’d have won the game. Unfortunately the defense stayed in the locker room during the second half. Lousy play calling also! — Jill L.

... The excuses for their poor performance far exceed their points scored. Lack of effort, horrible play calling, the wrong Jalen Hurts, the hard-to-explain missing Saquon, the poor officiating, almost unbelievable 4th quarter total collapse of Vic’s always super defense, and maybe even the heat. My Philly area brother who is vacationing right now in So Cal pointed out that the Philly temp yesterday was 7 degrees hotter than Joshua Tree. — Everett S.

The Eagles’ major problems are three-fold. First off, the offensive coordinator has got to go. After five games it’s quite obvious that he doesn’t have a clue. ... It’s time to cut your losses and find someone more competent. Secondly, our quarterback continuously overthrows his receivers by at least 10 yards on most of his long passes. Obviously he doesn’t want to throw his first interception so he won’t throw it directly to the receiver and take a chance. Give the receivers an opportunity to catch the damn ball! ... No. 3, “The Barcley Situation.” Instead of looking at Sunday’s game film at what the OL did wrong, try looking at last year’s game film at what you did right. Last year’s #1 running back didn’t forget how run the ball. There’s just nowhere to run. — Ronald R.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Lochlahn March, Marcus Hayes, Matt Breen, Alex Coffey, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Jackie Spiegel, DeAntae Prince, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Greg Finberg.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading. Bella will be at the newsletter controls on Wednesday. — Jim