Phillies’ struggles against lefty pitchers continues in 4-2 loss to Dodgers in series opener
The Phillies didn't manage a hit off Los Angeles starter Justin Wrobleski until the sixth inning, when Kyle Schwarber hit a home run. Zack Wheeler allowed four runs, all on solo homers.
LOS ANGELES — All season, the Phillies’ kryptonite has been the same.
It has spanned two months and two different managers. And it was exposed again in their 4-2 loss to the Dodgers on Friday, when Justin Wrobleski became the latest left-handed starter to confound the Phillies offense.
The Phillies faced Wrobleski as a reliever last September, and tagged him for five runs while he recorded just one out. But Friday was a very different story. Wrobleski, who moved into the Dodgers’ rotation this year, held the Phillies to one hit over seven innings.
“He was on the attack,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “I thought we just didn’t really get on the fastball tonight. I think, as much as anything, he threw a lot of fastballs, and we just got behind in the count a lot, and he stayed on the attack.”
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Zack Wheeler, on the other hand, allowed five hits, and four of them were solo home runs. Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani, and Will Smith each took Wheeler deep.
Three of them came on fastballs over the middle of the plate, while Ohtani homered on a splitter.
“I was just a little out of whack, so I wasn’t as sharp,” Wheeler said. “Some pitches didn’t get where they need to be, especially against this type of lineup. So just a combo of being out of whack and pitches not going where I want.”
It ties a career-high for home runs allowed in a start for Wheeler. Across his first six starts this season, he only allowed one homer.
Wheeler said he felt more like himself in the sixth inning. He retired Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Kyle Tucker in order to end his outing on a higher note.
“It’s baseball, it’s a weird sport, and things happen,” Wheeler said. “Sometimes you feel out of whack, and you do well, sometimes you don’t. So just little frustration, is all. It’s good lineup and a good team. You want to come in here and do well.”
Meanwhile, Wrobleski took a perfect game into the fourth, when Tucker dropped a fly ball in right field. Trea Turner reached second base on the error, but was promptly stranded there when Bryce Harper struck out and Alec Bohm grounded out.
The Phillies’ first hit against Wrobleski remained elusive until the sixth inning, when Kyle Schwarber turned on a fastball and sent it 411 feet beyond the center field wall. But that was all they mustered against him until Dodgers manager Dave Roberts — who has been cautious with Wrobleski’s workload — lifted him after seven innings and 88 pitches.
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“[Wrobleski] seemed like a different style of guy, too,” Mattingly said. “He has a little bit of angle, but not a ton. But we just didn’t get on the fastball. Took us a while to get going with the fastball, and he kind of trusted what he was doing.”
The Phillies struck out nine times against Wrobleski, whiffing 13 times on his four-seam fastball.
“I like our offense,” Schwarber said. “I know that the results aren’t there, and I think that we all have the most confidence in each other. Obviously, the guy went out there, he had a really good game against us. Felt like he was getting ahead, putting the ball in really good spots the whole game.”
Once Roberts went to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez for the eighth, the Phillies tacked on another run. Brandon Marsh doubled off the center field wall, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a single from Steward Berroa, who was called up earlier on Friday. But Schwarber struck out swinging against lefty Alex Vesia to end the rally.
Tanner Scott — another lefty — earned the save for the Dodgers, retiring Turner, Harper, and Bohm in order. Harper finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
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“You look at pitching all around the league, it’s really good. That’s not an excuse,” Schwarber said. “We want to keep finding ways to get guys on base, and keep trying to find ways to produce runs, not just be a home run, whatever it is. But if you look at our last 20-something, whatever it is, we’ve been finding ways to win games, and that’s what we need to continue to do.”
The Phillies are desperate for right-handed hitting. Mike Trout bats right-handed. But Trout also has full no-trade rights and has never asked the Angels to move him. Joe Maddon, Trout's manager for three years, joins "Phillies Extra" to answer the most important question: Why? And will this be the year that Trout asks out? Maddon also shares his thoughts on the Phillies' managerial change, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, and more. Watch here.
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