A lot of fireworks, not all of them pleasant.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The key word there is pursuit. You can pursue happiness and still not find it. Ask the Phillies, who spent their Independence Day afternoon doggedly pursuing the happiness that comes with victory, yet walked away empty-handed.
The game started off with a bang, that, while not as loud as those that will ring out over the Ben Franklin Parkway’s fireworks show tonight, still resonated: TJ Friedl hit a bloop to center, where a surging, diving Johan Rojas caught it and knocked the wind out of himself. Luzardo put the other two Redlegs down on strikes, looking like he was in a hurry to get to the barbecue.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott found himself beset by firecrackers, putting Turner aboard with a bloop to right and Harper with a single right through the left-side infield gap. A subsequent sacrifice fly from Alec Bohm put the Phils up one early. Not content to settle for just a one-run lead, Nick Castellanos sent a curveball arcing over the left-field wall, scoring two and surely inducing some happy reminiscing from Phil and Phillis, visiting Citizens Bank Park from the retirement home where they send defunct mascots.
Luzardo started the second by striking out ex-Phil Austin Hays. But then things got hairier than Uncle Sam’s chin, as he walked two and surrendered a single to load the bases. Rece Hinds grounded the ball right back to Luzardo, who tossed it home to avoid the run. Realmuto’s throw to first ought to have resulted in a twin killing, but it bounced off Hinds’ hindside and into shallow right, allowing a run to score.
Luzardo’s struggles got worse in the third, allowing each of the first six baserunners to reach— bunt single, walk, single, double, double, single, four runs. The second double landed perfectly on the third base line, spraying a puff of chalk into the air like dandelion seeds; one of those just-so hits that tells you that either everything or nothing will go your way, depending on what side of it you’re on. Luzardo was pulled for Joe Ross, who inherited two baserunners and no outs. A sacrifice fly soon brought one of the baserunners home; a double play eventually ended a thoroughly ugly inning.
Turnabout is fair play, though. The Phillies launched an attempted revolution in the bottom third, putting the first three base runners (Harper, Schwarber, Bohm) aboard on singles. With all the bags full, Nick Castellanos grounded into what ought to have been a run-scoring double play; the run scored, but Castellanos managed to beat the throw by the barest of margins.
Ross, unfortunately, did not fare much better than Luzardo. The fourth and fifth saw Cincinnati clog the basepaths with a stream of Cincinattis, scoring three more.
But the Phillies, like the plucky Continental Army of old, would not go away. In the (seventeen seventy) sixth, Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh made it to base on a walk and single respectively, and a Kyle Schwarber double (that just missed being a homer) scored the both of them, narrowing the deficit to three.
Things quieted down after that. Daniel Robert and Jordan Romano kept the Reds from setting off any more sparklers. In the eighth, the Phillies loaded up the bases with Marsh, Turner, and Harper, but Bohm, representing the go-ahead run, went down looking. He threw his bat to the ground in disgust.
Max Lazar took the ninth, navigating it easily. The Phillies, underdogs just like the American revolutionaries, took their last licks down by three. The first two Fightins made outs; Otto Kemp kept hope alive, if only just, by singling. But Bryson Stott popped out, and the game was over. There are plenty of things to celebrate today, but a Phillies victory is not among them.
The Phillies are 51-37, and return to action tomorrow at 4:05. Enjoy your July 4th celebrations!