Phillies lose 6-3 against Mets despite José Urquidy’s best efforts to buoy thin pitching staff
Urquidy introduced himself with 4⅔ scoreless innings, pitching his way out of a bases-loaded jam and setting down 10 of 11 batters.
NEW YORK — José Urquidy lost one job Tuesday, found another Thursday, and was barely seated in the Phillies’ bullpen here Friday night when he got told to warm up.
“Hired gun,” interim manager Don Mattingly said.
Swell.
How many more can the Phillies find?
Because with eight games left in the season, 11 days before the start of the wild-card miniseries, they are down one ace starter (Jesús Luzardo) and one setup reliever (Jonathan Bowlan). A pitching staff that was never deep in the first place is leaking oil.
And even though Urquidy introduced himself with 4⅔ scoreless innings, the Phillies lost, 6-3, to the Mets on three first-inning runs against opener Tim Mayza and Juan Soto’s three-run homer in the sixth against embattled Orion Kerkering.
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The Phillies (85-69) stayed tied for the top National League wild card because the Cubs (85-69) blew a one-run lead in the sixth inning in Cincinnati. But the Padres (84-69) could force a three-way tie with a win at home over the Marlins.
How’s that for putting the “wild” in wild-card race?
The Phillies used Mayza as an opener last Saturday night in Atlanta after scratching Luzardo with an inflamed left shoulder. In that case, Mayza delivered three scoreless innings.
This time, he faced five batters and got only one out.
Soto and Bo Bichette ran up Mayza’s pitch count with back-to-back 10-pitch at-bats. Carson Benge smashed an RBI single against him. And by the time the Phillies could get Urquidy ready, the bases were loaded with one out.
Nice meeting you, too.
A.J. Ewing greeted Urquidy by lining a two-run single to open a 3-0 Mets lead. But Urquidy set down 10 of the next 11 batters, and the Phillies set about chipping away against lefty Zac Thornton.
Edmundo Sosa singled and scored on Bryson Stott’s double off Ewing’s glove in center field in the second inning. And Sosa homered to cut the margin to 3-2 in the sixth.
Urquidy got the Phillies through five innings and was finished after 64 pitches. On came Kerkering for his first appearance since last Saturday night because of turf toe.
“I think he’s ready to go, even though he hasn’t been used,” Mattingly said. “It’s just because the game wasn’t in his spot. Yeah, I think he’s ready to go.”
But Kerkering gave up an infield single, a one-out single, and hung a sweeper to Soto to effectively put the game out of reach.
