Jhoan Duran blows his first save with the Phillies in loss to Nationals: ‘I’ll be ready for tomorrow’
Duran, who converted his first six save chances since his trade to the Phillies, gave up two runs in the ninth. But he quickly moved on. “Sometimes we do good, sometimes we do bad. That's the game."
Jhoan Duran stood behind the mound for a beat. He exhaled.
He had just allowed his first two runs in a Phillies uniform, and had blown his first save after entering Friday a perfect 6-for-6 since the trade last month. After he took Nationals center fielder Jacob Young to a full count, catcher J.T. Realmuto jogged out to the mound to speak with him, and give him a moment to breathe.
Duran toed the rubber again, and fired a 98.7 mph splinker past Young to end the inning. He had limited the damage to two runs, but it ended up being enough. The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to fall to the Nationals, 5-4.
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“Even after some things didn’t go his way, he still answered the bell and kept the game at one run there for us, and was still his dominant self,” Realmuto said. “It just didn’t work out for us tonight.”
After Duran jogged out to the beat of “El Incomprendido,” lights flashing in the stadium around him, he struck out Luis Garcia Jr. on three pitches. But then Dylan Crews caught up to a 101.9 mph fastball on the edge of the zone, sending it to right field for a double.
Daylen Lile singled to left, and the throw to the plate from Brandon Marsh hit a sliding Crews and bounced away. An uncharacteristic throwing error from Realmuto trying to catch Lile stealing third scored the go-ahead run for the Nationals after the ball ended up in left field.
“I probably shouldn’t have thrown the ball, in hindsight,” Realmuto said. “Because curveball away, I didn’t really get to set my feet and get around the runner, so I did have to throw it over his head in that situation. I mean, it’s tough to do, but I probably should [have] just eaten it, let them have their base and give Duran a chance to strike the next two guys out, which he ended up doing.”
Even facing a one-run deficit, it seemed like the Phillies had a good chance for another comeback. Bryson Stott — who had hit a game-tying homer earlier in the game — was due up, followed by Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. But Stott popped out, Turner struck out, and Schwarber lined out on the first pitch to seal it.
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Standing in the clubhouse afterwards, Duran said he had already moved past the result of the outing.
“Sometimes we do good, sometimes we do bad. That’s the game,” he said. “Tomorrow, I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
The Phillies had trailed early, after starter Taijuan Walker allowed a three-run home run in the first. Walker allowed the first four batters he faced to reach base — though he erased leadoff hitter James Wood with a pickoff at first — and needed 38 pitches to finish the first inning.
But he settled in after returning for the second, and Walker faced the minimum through the next four innings. He made an adjustment to his wrist when throwing his cutter, and was able to be consistent with the pitch. He was helped out by his infielders turning a double play, and helped himself, too, by picking off Lile at first.
“After the first inning, I started getting the zone more, and it seemed like they started to be more aggressive and trying to put the ball in play more,” Walker said.
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Walker’s two pickoffs gave him seven on the season. He is tied with the Yankees’ Max Fried and trails the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd by one for the National League lead. Fried and Boyd are left-handed, while Walker is a righty.
The Phillies’ offense chipped away in the second inning, when Nick Castellanos and Stott strung together singles and Castellanos scored on a forceout. Castellanos finished the game 3-for-4 with a double.
Stott tied the game in the sixth with a two-run shot, and Realmuto put the Phillies in front, 4-3, in the seventh with a solo homer. It marked his third home run in the last four games.
“This year, definitely the best I’ve felt, best I’ve seen the ball, for sure,” Realmuto said. “Just feel like I’m getting my A-swing off more often than not. Usually when I’m doing that, I’m in a good spot.”
Walker was lifted in the sixth for Tanner Banks, who threw a scoreless inning. José Alvarado (seventh) and Matt Strahm (eighth) followed with scoreless innings of their own to set the stage for Duran.
Manager Rob Thomson has no concerns about his closer’s first blown save. During his tenure on the Yankees coaching staff, Thomson had a front-row seat to Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s career.
“Mariano had 80 of ‘em [blown saves],” Thomson said. “So it’s going to happen every once in a while.”