Phillies rally in the ninth, only to fall short (again) against the Braves in extra innings

For the majority of the season, the Phillies have prided themselves on come-from-behind wins, but they’ve hit a snag lately. They have managed a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the eighth or ninth inning five times in the last three weeks and haven’t won any of those games, according to researcher John Fisher. They have lost their last five extra-inning games.

On Tuesday, in a 7-6 loss to the Braves, we saw more of that trend. For the second time in the past three games, a Phillies’ slugger tied it up with a home run in the ninth, only to see his team squander it in extra innings. On Monday, in game one of a doubleheader against the Braves, it was Bryce Harper who hit the home run and the bullpen who squandered it.

On Tuesday night, it was Trea Turner who hit the home run, to tie the game at 6-6 in the ninth, and the bottom five hitters in the lineup who squandered it.

By the fifth inning, the Phillies had dug themselves into a 6-1 hole. But in the seventh, Turner hit a two-out RBI single to score Johan Rojas. In the eighth, Harper hit a solo home run to center field, his 17th of the season and the 1500th hit of his career. Nick Castellanos singled two at-bats later, and Bryson Stott drove him home with a home run of his own.

Pinch-hitter Brandon Marsh struck out swinging, Rojas drew a walk, and Kyle Schwarber struck out to end the inning. Jose Alvarado entered in the ninth to face the heart of the Braves’ order, and pitched 1-2-3 inning to keep the game within one run.

The top of the lineup took it from there. After Turner hit a home run against Raisel Iglesias in the ninth to tie the game at 6-6, Alec Bohm and Harper hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs for J.T. Realmuto, but Realmuto struck out. Castellanos then grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Manager Rob Thomson said after the game that he didn’t consider having Realmuto bunt.

“I’m not sure if he’s ever bunted before, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “You don’t ask somebody to do something that they can’t do.”

Craig Kimbrel came in for the tenth. He induced a groundout from Travis d’Arnaud, but then got squeezed by the home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso, who called Kimbrel’s third pitch to Eddie Rosario a ball, when it was a strike. Rosario hit an RBI single to score the ghost runner. Kimbrel induced a flyout to Orlando Arcia that landed just before the left field wall and another flyout to Michael Harris II, which Marsh ran down and just barely caught.

But the Phillies’ bottom three hitters were unable to get the job done in the tenth. Stott, who pinch-hit for Edmundo Sosa in the sixth, grounded out to move Castellanos to third. Marsh struck out and Rojas popped out to end the game.

“We can’t let it happen,” said Harper. “Especially this late in the season. We’ve got to win these games. Plain and simple. We’re playing some really good teams, and we’re going to play some more good teams down the stretch, but these are the games, especially at home, that we need to come out on top and win.”

Wheeler has easily been the Phillies’ most consistent starter this season, but on Tuesday night, he didn’t look like himself. His command wasn’t sharp. He wasn’t done any favors by Moscoso, who missed three strike calls in Wheeler’s third at-bat, which ended in a walk of Austin Riley. But Wheeler allowed two more walks and six earned runs after that.

He wasn’t nearly as efficient as he had been in the previous starts, throwing 96 pitches through five innings. Wheeler finished his night with seven hits, and six runs, of which all were earned, with three walks, four strikeouts and three home runs. He allowed a solo home run to Matt Olson in the fourth, a two-run home run to Ronald Acuña Jr. in the fifth, and a three-run home run to Marcell Ozuna in the fifth.

“Two good teams going at it,” Wheeler said. “Good pitching. Good hitting. Timely hits. These guys fought back tonight, like they always do. It was a good game. I put us behind the eight ball a little bit, we had to fight back, and we could have easily won that game.

“This one is on me. I’ve got to do better.”

It was the first time Wheeler has allowed three home runs in a game since April 20, 2021. He was one earned run short of matching his season-high (he allowed seven earned runs on June 2 in Washington D.C.).

It also forced manager Rob Thomson to dip into his bullpen a little bit earlier than usual.

With his team down 6-1 in the sixth, Thomson turned to Seranthony Domínguez. Domínguez, who has struggled with his command, was used in a different, lower-leverage role. He retired all three batters he faced in the sixth, including a two-out strikeout of Acuña that got him a loud ovation from the home crowd.

Domínguez came out for the seventh. He induced two flyouts from Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, and allowed a single to Matt Olson when he was pulled. Of his 24 pitches thrown, 18 were strikes.

Castellanos put his team on the board with a solo home run in the second inning. It was his first home run since Aug. 26. He has been going through a scuffle lately, hitting .196/.270/.268 over his last 14 games. But he has been taking better at-bats lately, and had a good overall night on Tuesday night, going 2-for-5.

Turner’s game-tying home run in the ninth was the 150th of his career. It was his 11th home run in his last 13 games. He went 3-for-5 on Tuesday, marking his fourth-straight multi-hit game. When asked if this is the most comfortable and confident he’s been at the plate, he said “yes.”

“Yeah, probably my entire career, for the most part,” Turner said. “I might have hit for better average or certain numbers here or there, but I’m hitting for power pretty consistently, so I feel like the last 30-40 games, I don’t know the numbers, but it feels as good as I’ve ever been.”