Phillies drop first series under interim manager Don Mattingly with 9-4 loss to Reds
Homers by Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa cut the Phillies' deficit to one in the sixth, but the Reds, who totaled 15 hits, quickly rebuilt a comfortable lead.
Right away, José Alvarado knew it was gone.
The Phillies reliever let out a shout of frustration on the mound as soon as the ball left Sal Stewart’s bat. Alvarado had brought Stewart to an 0-2 count, but then hung a cutter, and the Reds rookie promptly sent it to the second deck in left field for his fourth hit of the day.
The Phillies trailed Cincinnati since the second inning on Wednesday, and, despite homers from Edmundo Sosa and Alec Bohm making things interesting, their bullpen couldn’t keep the game close. Stewart’s 441-foot two-run homer was the final blow in the Phillies’ 9-4 loss.
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The Phillies dropped their first series since Don Mattingly took over as interim manager.
Starter Aaron Nola was tagged for four runs on eight hits. He tossed a 1-2-3 first, using just 11 pitches. But the first three batters he faced in the second inning all reached — double, single, double — and all came around to score.
The Reds tacked on another run in the fourth. Nola left a fastball over the middle of the plate for Blake Dunn, who tripled and scored on a single.
In total, Cincinnati racked up 15 hits against Phillies pitchers.
The Phillies, who had six hits, were aggressive on the basepaths: Trea Turner had two successful steals against lefty starter Andrew Abbott, García had one, and Marsh added another on lefty reliever Brock Burke. Turner’s speed helped manufacture a run in the first inning. He swiped second, advanced to third on a throwing error from Reds catcher P.J. Higgins, and came home on a sacrifice fly from Bryce Harper.
The throw home from Reds right fielder Will Benson was on line, but Turner snuck his hand around the tag with a perfect slide.
Bohm and Sosa homered in the sixth to pull within one run of the Reds. When he deposited his fifth home run of the year in the camera well just inside the left-field foul pole, Bohm extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games. But Cincinnati scored two runs in the seventh to put more distance before Stewart’s homer in the ninth.
Orion Kerkering inherited a runner from Tim Mayza and allowed a single and a two-run double.
There’s never not a good reason to talk baseball with Terry Francona. But with his current team (the Reds) in town, and because two of his former clubs (the Red Sox and Phillies) recently fired their managers, there's no better time to invite the future Hall of Fame manager for a conversation on "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast. Watch here.
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