Phillies blow a six-run lead to get swept out of Miami
The Marlins scored eight unanswered runs from the fifth inning on to keep the Phillies reeling as they head to Baltimore days before the trade deadline.
MIAMI — When the offense poured on six runs in the first five innings, it felt like the Phillies were back on track, at least for the moment.
But it didn’t take long for another of the team’s weaknesses to become magnified.
A bullpen collapse led to an 8-6 Phillies loss, as Miami secured the sweep. The Marlins had entered this series on a franchise-record 12-game losing streak.
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Interim manager Don Mattingly opted to go with righty Seth Johnson in a pivotal spot in the seventh inning, and he struggled to command his pitches. After he left a slider up in the zone for Xavier Edwards, who capitalized with a two-run single, the Phillies’ 6-0 lead had been completely erased.
And an inning later, Miami delivered the knockout punch against Jonathan Bowlan when pinch-hitting Griffin Conine sent a two-run homer out of the deepest part of the ballpark.
The offense had shown some promising signs early. By the end of the fourth inning, the Phillies already had more hits than the night before. It was an admittedly low bar to clear, as they had managed just four on Tuesday in a 1-0 shutout loss to Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins.
Trea Turner, who started at designated hitter with Kyle Schwarber unavailable due to a gastrointestinal illness, started things off with a leadoff single in the first. He was promptly erased when Bryce Harper grounded into a double play, but the Phillies were not done there.
Consecutive singles from Justin Crawford and Edmundo Sosa at the bottom of the order in the third set the stage for Bryson Stott’s bases-clearing double. He pounced on a fastball from Marlins righty Bryan Gusto and sent it into left field for a 2-0 Phillies lead.
They tacked on another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Bryan De La Cruz, and put together another rally in the fifth. Turner started it off with a solo home run, before Harper tucked an RBI triple just inside the right field foul line. Harper scored on a single up the middle from Alec Bohm. But that proved to be the Phillies’ final hit of the game.
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Even so, Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo had a solid buffer to work with. But a few mislocated pitches in the fifth helped Miami halve the Phillies’ lead.
Esteruy Ruiz hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on an RBI groundout. Heriberto Hernández then sent a two-run home run 416 feet. Both extra-base hits came off Luzardo’s changeup.
He got into more trouble in the seventh. Ruiz started things off again, this time with a leadoff single. He stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error from catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Luzardo walked the nine-hole hitter, Jakob Marsee, and Otto Lopez singled off a changeup below the zone to score a run. That was the end of the line for Luzardo, who left two inherited runners for Johnson.
After Miami had come all the way back, Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the Phillies’ latest deflating loss.
Jim Bowden spent 16 years as a general manager with the Reds and Nationals before becoming an MLB analyst and commentator. And with the trade deadline approaching — Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. — he joined Phillies Extra to discuss the Phillies’ needs, some potential targets, and what it’s like to be a GM in the frenzied days leading up to the deadline. Watch here.
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