Phillies rally in ninth, but fall short in extra innings after Ranger Suárez struggles in season debut
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber got all of a hanging Shelby Miller splitter, sending it deep into the right-field seats for his 11th home run of the season, and bringing the Phillies within a run of the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the ninth of Sunday’s series finale.
Nick Castellanos followed Schwarber with a single, and was pinch-run for with Brandon Marsh, who scored from second two batters later on an Alec Bohm single that followed a J.T. Realmuto walk. The comeback to tie the game, all with two outs, was complete.
The ninth-inning rally was for naught, though. The Phillies fell to the Diamondbacks, 11-9, in 10 innings.
With the Phillies having burned through most of their bullpen, José Alvarado stayed in the game to pitch the 10th after pitching the ninth. Arizona plated two runs against the big left-hander in the extra frame before Carlos Hernández took over on the mound, allowing another run to score.
Weston Wilson started the Phillies’ come-from-behind efforts with a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth. An inning later, Realmuto singled Bryce Harper home to cut Arizona’s lead to 7-6. Schwarber’s homer would’ve tied the game had the Diamondbacks not scored on a two-out double by Randal Grichuk in the top of the ninth.
The Phillies’ being short on bullpen arms and need for a comeback was a result of Ranger Suárez’s struggles. The left-hander, making his season debut after starting the year on the injured list with a back issue, allowed seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings.
The bottom third and the top two of Arizona’s batting order did all the damage against Suárez. Jose Herrera, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll — 9, 1, 2 in the D-Backs’ lineup — combined to go 6-for-8 with all seven RBIs against the 29-year-old. Eight-hole hitter Garrett Hampson walked twice and scored two runs, too.
After a strong start to his afternoon, Suárez ran into trouble in the third and fourth innings.
Suárez struck out Perdomo and Carroll to start the game. Both went down looking. The left-hander started the second inning with another set of back-to-back strikeouts; Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor went down swinging. The first seven batters the Phillies starter faced failed to reach base.
But in the third, Arizona’s bats woke up. Four batters into the frame, Perdomo doubled off the half-wall down the left-field line, driving home Hampson and Herrera. Carroll then singled to right, giving Arizona a 3-1 lead.
In the following inning, after Suárez recorded two quick outs, the bottom and top of the Diamondbacks’ lineup came through again. Seven-hole hitter Tim Tawa singled. Hampson drew his second walk. Herrera doubled both home on a ball Nick Castellanos couldn’t track down.
Herrera scored one play later on a ball misplayed by Bohm. Carroll, who had been relatively quiet this series, then added his third RBI against Suárez on a single up the middle. Suárez’s day was done after that.
The Phillies (19-15) finished their homestand 4-2. They’re off on Monday before starting a three-game series against the Rays in Tampa on Tuesday.