Wasted opportunity in 7th leads to another crushing loss

With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the seventh, the Phillies had a golden opportunity to retake the lead against the Pirates. Alec Bohm hit an opposite-field double on a high fastball against starter Andrew Heaney. With the count 2-0, the left-hander Heaney, who cruised through six innings against the Phillies lineup, was lifted from the game with an apparent injury following a wild pitch. Bohm advanced to third on the play.

In came rookie right-hander Isaac Mattson with a tall task: Keep the Phillies off the board with a runner at third and nobody out while already being down in the count 2-0. Give Mattson credit for getting it done, but the lack of execution from the middle of the Phillies lineup is an indictment of just how bad the offense has looked over the last few weeks. Castellanos struck out looking, J.T. Realmuto popped up to shallow right field and pinch hitter Bryson Stott flew out to center to end the inning.

It’s bad — and it’s only going to get worse if the Phillies lineup outside of Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner continues to struggle. On the day Bryce Harper was placed on the injured list with right wrist inflammation, the Phillies dropped the second of three games to the Pirates 2-1. The offense wasted a spectacular seven innings from Ranger Suárez. The Phillies left-hander got the loss after allowing only two runs. It’s the third time this season the Phillies have lost a game where the starter throws seven innings.

The Phillies’ only run of the game came on Schwarber’s 20th home run of the season in the top of the first.

Triple-A standout Otto Kemp made his MLB debut on Saturday, batting seventh and playing third base. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

The Phillies (37-27) have lost eight of nine and are in danger of getting swept by a last-place team. They’ll face Paul Skenes on Sunday in the finale. Cristopher Sánchez gets the start for Philadelphia.