Phillies’ bats go quiet in a 3-2 loss to the Nationals

WASHINGTON — It was another lackluster offensive showing for the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. They combined for just two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. But it was a good day for the backups.

Utility man Whit Merrifield made the start in left field, Cristian Pache started in center, and Edmundo Sosa filled in for Bryson Stott at second base. Sosa drove in both of the Phillies’ runs, going 2-for-2 with a home run — his first of the season.

Pache went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, but he made a great catch in the first inning on a sinking liner from Joey Gallo, with two outs and a runner on second, that surely saved a run from scoring. Merrifield went 1-for-3 with a run, a stolen base, and a strikeout.

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The other starters had less luck. J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm all went hitless. Bryce Harper went 1-for-4, and is now hitting .450/.476/.1000 over his last five games.

The Phillies have historically hit well against Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore — to the tune of a .373 team batting average over three starts in 2023 — but they struggled on Sunday. Gore’s velocity has increased significantly since last season. He was averaging 97.2 mph on his fastball on Sunday, compared to 95 mph last year.

“He’s got good stuff,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “Fastball’s got life, and he’s got extension on it. We chased a little bit today. But Sosa had a good day. Swung the bat very well.”

After Sunday’s loss, the Phillies are 4-5. Here are a few more takeaways.

After a strong start against the Reds last Monday, left-hander Cristopher Sánchez had a tough outing on Sunday. He didn’t have his trademark control or command, allowing three walks through 4⅓ innings. He also didn’t induce nearly as many swings-and-misses as he normally does. Sánchez finished his day allowing three runs on six hits with just one strikeout.

“Behind in the count, walked three guys, which was uncharacteristic of him, and not many strikeouts,” Thomson said. “What did he have, one strikeout? So, command was a little bit off today. Didn’t have the changeup with depth. So, I think he was behind and they were just sitting on him.”

Sánchez did not have answers to his struggles. “I don’t really know,” he said. “Because my pitches felt good in the bullpen. Once I got in the game, they just weren’t going for me.”

The bullpen did a good job behind him. Yunior Marte inherited runners on the corners with one out in the fifth — one of which scored on Riley Adams’ sacrifice fly to break a 2-2 tie — and allowed no hits and one walk with one strikeout in 1⅔ innings. Matt Strahm allowed one hit through one inning of work, and so did Seranthony Domínguez.

When Kyle Schwarber was caught stealing second base in the fifth inning, the Phillies took the lead in all of baseball in that area with six. It was a much better day on the base paths for the Nationals, who stole five bases — three by Lane Thomas.

Three of those five steals came when Sánchez was on the mound.

“They were just running first move,” Thomson said. “So that’s something we’ve got to pay attention to.”

It’s an area the Phillies will need to improve on. They’ve shown more patience at the plate to start the season, and have done a good job of getting on base as a result. But running into outs, particularly inning-ending outs, defeats the purpose.

“We made some outs on the bases again today,” Thomson said. “It’s something we’ve got to focus on, because most of the time, in most games, our offensive power is going to be better than most teams. Our pitching power is going to be better than most teams’ offenses. So, we have to control the running game. Because that’s a big part of how teams beat us.”

Thomson said it will be addressed. He doesn’t want his baserunners to lose their aggressiveness but wants them to use it within reason. This can be a difficult balance to strike.

“I think you’ve just got to be a good baserunner, know when to pick your spots, and know when it’s OK to make outs,” Turner said. “Or when you can’t afford to give them away. I think everyone in here is different. But just because you’re a fast guy or a slow guy, or anything in the middle, doesn’t mean you can’t be a good baserunner.

“There’s plenty of ways to get extra bases. And I think we want to do that as a team. Right now, I feel like we’re a little out of sorts there. But I know we have an emphasis on it, and we’re going to work on it, talk about it, fix it, and get to where we need to be. We still want to be aggressive, but we’ve got to have the right spots.”