The Phillies’ bats stayed sleeping on Sunday.
There are many platitudes that can be deployed in the event of a baseball team’s extended swoon. You have heard most, if not all, of them before; they can offer neither solace nor novelty. Therefore, let us move on to detailing the events of today’s showdown between Paul Skenes and Cristopher Sánchez.
Skenes mowed down the Phillies in order in the top of the first; Sánchez couldn’t quite replicate the feat (he allowed a hit to old friend Andrew McCutchen, his 2200th, then another to Bryan Reynolds), though he prevented any runs from coming home. He could not do the same in the second, as Ke’Bryan Hayes singled and Jared Triolo doubled to score him.
Brandon Marsh was the first Phillie to crack the Skenes code, singling to right. Rafael Marchán advanced him to third with a double, and a misaimed relay throw from Bucco second baseman Nick Gonzales sent him home to tie the game. Marsh, not content to make an impact with just his bat, then proceeded to make a terrific leaping grab to rob a hit from McCutchen in the third.
Skenes and Sánchez traded blows for the next few frames, the game swiftly proceeding along largely unencumbered by baserunners. The fifth saw Otto Kemp work a walk, only to be caught stealing. The Pirates couldn’t put a runner on in their half of the fifth, and both Keystone State squads went down in order in the sixth. The Phillies might’ve put one on in the seventh, had Hayes not caught a howling liner from Nick Castellanos.
Both halves of that play immediately swapped sides in the bottom seventh, as Hayes slapped a single to right, with Castellanos making an excellent cutoff to keep it a one-base affair. Hayes, intent on getting that extra base, would steal second, only to be sent back to the dugout by the trio of Marchán, Bryson Stott, and the replay officials. Once more, an inning ended without runs.
Skenes came back out for the 8th, with his pitch count still in double-digits. He quickly induced a pair of groundouts from Max Kepler and Kemp, and was then pulled from the game; the manager was met with boos as he entered the field, and Skenes was met with cheers as he exited it. Braxton Ashcraft was his replacement. Marsh earned a free pass, but Ashcraft got a groundout from Marchán to end a fifth straight scoreless inning for the visitors.
Sánchez, like his counterpart, came out for the eighth. And like his counterpart, he did not finish it, pulled after walking the first batter, Oneil Cruz. Orion Kerkering was tapped as the replacement, soon finding himself in trouble as Cruz stole second. McCutchen then knocked a ball just past a diving Stott to score Cruz. A strikeout of Reynolds took a bit of the pressure off, a walk of Nick Gonzales added it back, a strikeout of Henry Davis took it away again. Then a plunking of pinch-hitter Adam Frazier added it back. The Phillies were thus on the verge of both escape and disaster, with two outs and the bases loaded. Kerkering brought the count to two and two gainst Hayes, then placed a sweeper on the outside edge of the plate to punch him out.
Disaster avoided. But the Phillies still had a series of troubling numbers to face: down by one, three outs left with which to work, and five consecutive innings without a run. Ashcraft returned to close out the game, with the Phillies starting fresh with the top of their lineup. Stott hit a sharp grounder to first, but Triolo corralled it for the first out. Trea Turner faired better, lining the ball to left and reaching second. The Buccos decided they’d rather not let Kyle Schwarber hit, giving him the honor of an intentional walk and Alec Bohm the insult of being the man they preferred to face. Bohm was unable to make them regret it, grounding into a twin killing to end the game and complete the sweep.
The Phillies are 37-28. They return home to start a series against the Cubs tomorrow at 6:45.