Facing Paul Skenes, Phillies waste another strong outing from their starter in loss to Pirates
Facing Paul Skenes is a tall task for any lineup. For one struggling as mightily as the Phillies’, it’s a nearly impossible one.
Tasked with facing Skenes on Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Phillies had a tough time against the right-hander in their 2-1 loss to the Pirates, wasting yet another strong outing from their starter and resulting in being swept by Pittsburgh.
Heading into Sunday’s series finale against the Pirates, the Phillies, as a collective, were hitting .206/.278/.334 over their last 11 games. Only the Rangers had a lower OPS than the Phillies (.613) in that sample. Those numbers didn’t get much better on Sunday.
Rob Thomson’s lineup could only muster one run on two hits against Skenes, whose day was complete after 7 2/3 innings and 97 pitches. The lone run plated against Skenes was unearned. Brandon Marsh scored on a throwing error by Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales in the third inning. Gonzales was trying to throw Rafael Marchán out at second base following a hit into right field, but his throw was off the mark and got away from shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Marsh, already standing at third base, took advantage of the ball bouncing away with no other Pirate in the area.
Meanwhile, Skenes’ counterpart, Cristopher Sánchez, was also dealing. The Phillies starter struck out nine hitters across seven innings, inducing 21 swings-and-misses. He was charged with two runs on six hits with two walks. Sánchez would go on to suffer the same fate as that of Ranger Suárez on Saturday: being handed a loss after a really good performance.
Like Sánchez, Suárez allowed two runs across seven innings. But after a wasted opportunity in the top of the seventh, the Phillies’ offense let their left-handed starter down on Saturday, also a 2-1 loss.
The second of Sánchez’s walks came at the start of the bottom of the eighth inning, putting Oneil Cruz on first base. Thomson would pull Sánchez in favor of Orion Kerkering. The Phillies reliever gave up a run one batter later.
Cruz stole second with Kerkering on the mound and Andrew McCutchen in the batter’s box. McCutchen then broke his bat on a swing at a down-and-in 2-2, 98 mph sinker from Kerkering. The ball was looped into right field for a hit; it brought a stumbling Cruz around third and eventually home to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
The Phillies would threaten in the top of the ninth inning. But it was for nought.
Following a one-out double by Trea Turner, the Pirates intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber — the go-ahead run — to get a right-on-right matchup with Alec Bohm at the plate and Braxton Ashcraft on the mound. Bohm pounded the first pitch he saw into the ground for a game-ending double play.
The Phillies are now 3-9 over their last 12 games. They’ve lost five straight, tied for their longest losing streak of the season. They limp home following a 1-5 road trip to face one of baseball’s best teams, the Cubs, for a three-game set that begins on Monday.