D-backs get the first and final laugh on a tough night for Phillies

PHOENIX — Fans were lined up outside in the Arizona heat hours before Saturday’s game to claim a replica ring that honored the Diamondbacks’ National League Championship Series win over the Phillies last year.

The Phillies will have to wait a little longer to get revenge for that, as they dropped their second straight to the Diamondbacks — this time, an 11-1 blowout — and allowed Arizona to even up the season series.

The Phillies trailed the entire game, but Arizona blew it open with a seven-run seventh inning. Relief pitcher Yunior Marte gave up six hits, including two home runs, and was removed after only securing two outs.

“You try to switch the plan to see if you can get outs, but it just felt like they weren’t taking any bad swings, and it just kept going from there,” said catcher Garrett Stubbs. “Anytime another team puts up a crooked number, it’s not good. And obviously the one they put up was pretty big. So just have to make some adjustments and plan for that not to happen again.”

It didn’t help that the Phillies went cold when it mattered. They had opportunities to even the score before the game was out of reach — they stranded the bases loaded in the first — but failed to capitalize. The Phillies finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.

“It all gets back to the fundamentals,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “You got to get the strikes, first of all. You have to be able to use the field. You got to make contact. And we’re not doing that right now. We’re chasing a little bit. We’re trying to do too much. Just got to settle in and get back to the basics.”

The Diamondbacks hit Phillies starter Aaron Nola fairly hard. Across five innings, Nola allowed nine hits, two home runs, and issued three walks. Ketel Marte homered on a Nola knuckle curve to put Arizona on the board in the first.

“I just wasn’t getting ahead. Not gonna ahead all night, pretty much, just kind of hurt me,” Nola said. “It’s hard to pitch when you’re not ahead in the count. And they didn’t miss much.”

Arizona tacked on another the next inning, after Nola gave up a ground rule double to Geraldo Perdomo and walked Jose Herrera. Nola induced a ground ball to second base that would have been a textbook double play, but Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper dropped the throw, which allowed Perdomo to score.

Jake McCarthy hit two home runs, teeing off on a Nola cutter that got too much of the plate, and crushing a slider from Yunior Marte.

“[The Diamondbacks] are well balanced,” Thomson said. “They’ve got power, they got speed. They can do a lot of things. They can create a lot of runs.”

Harper redeemed himself two innings later, saving a run with a big stretch at first to snag an errant throw. He also drove in the Phillies’ only run, cashing in Kyle Schwarber with an RBI groundout in the fifth inning.

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Max Lazar made his major league debut with one out left in the seventh. Rob Thomson planned to get a low-leverage inning for the righty reliever, and a 10-run hole qualified. Lazar only needed two pitches to induce a flyout to Kevin Newman. He returned for the eighth and retired the side in order.

“He filled up the zone for sure,” Stubbs said. “Having Joc Pederson as your first strikeout is probably a cool one to have on the mantle. But I was glad for him to be able to get in there today and get his feet wet, and in a game that was a little bit more spread out, because coming in there in big spots as a debut can be tough sometimes. So I’m glad he got in there.”

The Diamondbacks had some poor injury luck. Ketel Marte exited the game in the fourth inning with a left ankle contusion after his leg got caught beneath a diving Stubbs at second base. Starter Zac Gallen was hit in the foot by a 101.9 mph comebacker from Harper in the first inning but remained in the game until the fifth, when he was removed due to cramping.