PHILADELPHIA _ Say this for Jerad Eickhoff: He managed to do something on Monday night that hadn't been done in the 137 seasons that the Phillies have existed.
But it might wind up costing him his job.
Eickhoff allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs to open a rain-delayed game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It marked the first time that the Phillies ever gave up three consecutive long balls at the start of a game and earned Eickhoff derisive applause when he finally recorded an out in the first inning.
In all, Eickhoff gave up five homers and the Phillies allowed eight _ a franchise record for the Diamondbacks and tied for the most ever hit by a visiting team in a game at Citizens Bank Park _ in a 13-8 loss that dropped the Phillies into a first-place tie with the surging Atlanta Braves. And it continued an epidemic that has plagued Phillies pitchers all season _ and Eickhoff, in particular, over his last half-dozen starts.
The Phillies also went deep five times and the teams combined to set a major-league record with 13 homers in the game. But the Phillies have allowed 108 home runs this season, more than any National League team. Eickhoff has given up 16 to lead the club, a feat that is as remarkable as it is ignominious considering he didn't allow any homers through 31 innings after getting called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in mid-April.
Eickhoff's fastball barely cracks 90 mph, which means he has less margin for error than most harder-throwing pitchers. But when he's at his best, he makes up for it by changing speeds with his curveball and slider.
The Diamondbacks weren't fooled by anything. Jarrod Dyson crushed a first-pitch fastball in the first inning. Ketel Marte went deep on a curveball before David Peralta hit a slider. It marked only the fifth time ever that a team hit three consecutive homers to begin a game, according to Baseball Almanac, and the first since the Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis for the Baltimore Orioles against the Texas Rangers on May 10, 2012.
Eduardo Escobar and Alex Avila smashed two-run homers against Eickhoff in the fourth inning after the Phillies had rallied to take the lead, 7-3. And as he trudged off the mound, Eickhoff received boos from the sparse and soaked crowd.
Eickhoff became the first Phillies pitcher to allow five homers in a game since Dustin McGowan on June 16, 2015 at Baltimore. He also was only the first Phillies pitcher since Vicente Padilla on April 19, 2005 to allow five homers while recording nine outs or fewer.
All this is to say it was the worst start of Eickhoff's career, and it's part of a six-start stretch in which he has allowed 27 runs in 27 1/3 innings. It also raises the question of whether the Phillies can really allow Eickhoff to make his next start, which is scheduled for Sunday in the finale of a big series in Atlanta.
After Eickhoff allowed three home runs in a May 30 start at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Gabe Kapler said he wasn't in danger of being removed from the rotation. But with Vince Velasquez having moved to the bullpen, the Phillies also lacked a viable alternative beyond Triple-A lefty Cole Irvin.
Two weeks later, Irvin remains the best in-house solution. He pitched Sunday for Lehigh Valley and could conceivably enter the rotation Sunday if the Phillies choose to call him up.
The Phillies hit five home runs, including two by sizzling Scott Kingery. Jean Segura, Rhys Hoskins and Jay Bruce also went deep. In addition to the five homers against Eickhoff, Ranger Suarez allowed homers to Escobar and Ildemaro Vargas, while fellow lefty Austin Davis gave up a homer to Vargas.
The game was delayed 30 minutes at the start, and even once it began, heavy rain fell in the early innings. But Eickhoff gave up Dyson's leadoff homer on the first pitch of the game. Marte went deep on the seventh pitch and Peralta on the 13th.
Eickhoff retired the next nine batters and seemed to be settling into a rhythm. The Phillies rallied to tie the game on solo home runs by Segura and Scott Kingery and a third-inning run that was manufactured by Segura's hustle on the bases and replay challenges that resulted in overturned calls on back-to-back plays.
But Eickhoff walked Adam Jones to open the fourth inning and gave up a tie-breaking two-run homer to Escobar. The Phillies didn't get anyone up in the bullpen until after Eickhoff walked Christian Walker, which preceded a two-run shot by Avila that gave the Diamondbacks a 7-3 lead.
