Phillies lose to Red Sox, waste Aaron Nola start once again as bats go cold

Rhys Hoskins rounded first base on Saturday night, the roar of the crowd behind him, as he and the fans watched his fly ball soar to deep right field.

The Phillies, clinging to slim playoff dreams, were desperate for a big hit. So was Hoskins, who had homered in just one of the last 17 games. And so were the fans at Citizens Bank Park, who have not seen playoff baseball in eight years.

For a moment, this felt like the one. But then the eighth-inning fly ball died near the warning track, landing in the glove of J.D. Martinez, and the Phillies were headed to a 2-1 loss to the Red Sox. The Phillies could not find a big hit against Boston, and another loss makes it increasingly difficult to find a path to October.

The Phillies are 3½ games behind the Cubs for the National League’s second wild-card spot. They have 15 games remaining and would need to go 11-4 against a difficult schedule if the Cubs managed to play .500 baseball the rest of the way against much easier opponents.

They, then would need the Brewers, who lead the Phillies by 2½ games, and the Mets, who lead the Phillies by a half-game, to stumble, too. The Phillies, according to FanGraphs, have a 1.7-percent chance to reach the playoffs.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it and say we have a bunch of time left,” starter Aaron Nola said. “Because we really don’t.”

Nola allowed just one run in seven innings, but the Phillies lost his start for the fifth-straight time. The Phillies are thin on pitching, but they have an ace in Nola. Failing to win his starts, especially when he pitches the way he did on Saturday, is not the best way to reach October. He struck out nine and held the Red Sox to four hits.

Boston scored a run in the ninth against Hector Neris, but the game was lost by the Phillies’ failure to supply run support for Nola. They were stymied by left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and his change-up, as he struck out 12 batters in 6⅔ innings.

The Phillies mustered five hits all night, struck out 15 times, went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and left eight runners on base. They loaded the bases in the seventh, but their only run that inning came on a bases-loaded walk. Hoskins’ fly out in the eighth came with runners on first and second and one out. Scott Kingery followed with a fly out. The Phillies had their chances.

“Every loss feels heavier, and every win feels a lot better,” Hoskins said. “A big one tomorrow to obviously try to split a series, try to create some momentum to go on the road. We know the teams that we’re playing are good, but ... if we can play our game and obviously pitch the way we did tonight and hit the way we know we can, we believe and are confident that we can beat anybody. Home or away.”

The Red Sox scored a run off Nola in the seventh, but then allowed their starting pitcher to bat with two outs and the bases loaded. Rodriguez had just 20 plate appearances before Saturday night, none of which ended with him on base or even hitting a ball out of the infield. He’s an American League pitcher.

Rodriguez had quieted the Phillies offense enough that Red Sox manager Alex Cora believed he could win the game, 1-0. Rodriguez struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning. It turned out that the Red Sox just needed one more run. Brock Holt and Andrew Benintendi, the pinch-hitters Cora could have used against Nola, were dispatched in the ninth to beat Neris.

“We have to find ways to scratch out runs for Nola,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It’s tough. It’s definitely something that we have to correct.”

Nola was dominant until the seventh, when he seemed to run out of gas. The Red Sox loaded the bases, and Nola had thrown 98 pitches. Mike Morin was warmed in the bullpen. This seemed like the end.

Instead of Kapler lifting him, pitching coach Chris Young went to the mound for a brief chat. Nola forced Gorkys Hernandez to ground out to third base. The Phillies had two outs, and the Red Sox allowed their pitcher to hit. The Phillies still had a chance. An inning later, Hoskins thought his fly ball did, too.

“I thought I got it enough to at least get it over his head,” Hoskins said.

The crowd moaned as Hoskins’ fly ball was caught, the slugger threw up his arms in disbelief, and the chances became even slimmer that Philadelphia will enjoy playoff baseball this October.

“It’s go time,” Hoskins said.