It was fitting that the Phillies played their series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays in a spring-training ballpark because the lineup manager Joe Girardi sent out Sunday afternoon resembled something typically reserved for a Grapefruit League road game.
A loss to the young and powerful Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., was predictable, but the Phillies’ 10-8 setback was filled with countless subplots, including an unxpected return by Bryce Harper, a heated dugout discussion between Girardi and second baseman Jean Segura, and a three-hit, two-home run, four-RBI performance by rookie shortstop Nick Maton.
The game ended on a strikeout by Harper after the Phillies had closed to within two runs by scoring twice in the top of the ninth.
The first bit of drama occurred when the Blue Jays’ television feed captured a contentious dugout exchange between Girardi and Segura after the Phillies second baseman allowed a softly hit liner to fall in front of him for an error during the bottom of the first inning. It was the first of two errors by Segura.
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Girardi’s patience with his team’s defensive ineptness had grown thin Saturday night when the Phillies made three errors and it apparently boiled over when the shabby defensive play carried over into Sunday’s game.
“You know offense, you’re going to get shut down sometimes,” Girardi said after Saturday’s loss. “That’s going to happen. But catch the ball. Just catch the ball. That’s all we need to do. I don’t know what that is. They work every day. They do their stuff. It has to be they’re just not following the ball into their glove. It shouldn’t happen at this level.”
Harper (sore right shoulder), catcher J.T. Realmuto (sore left wrist), and shortstop Didi Gregorius (sore right elbow) all watched the start of the game from the dugout Sunday and a fourth player (backup catcher Andrew Knapp) was scratched just before game time with tightness in his left side. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Rafael Marchan.
Harper, after another discussion caught on camera with Girardi, actually talked his way onto the field in the bottom of the sixth inning as he replaced Scott Kingery in right field. The struggling Kingery left after striking out for the third time in as many at-bats and also appeared injured.
The extent of Harper’s shoulder soreness was revealed in the bottom of the sixth when he tracked down a Teoscar Hernandez double and soft-tossed the ball back into the infield. More confirmation came in the eighth when he went to the plate with runners on first and second base and popped out on a bunt.
In addition to all the injuries, the Phillies also have a decision to make about their fifth starter after another clunker from Chase Anderson, who has failed to pitch beyond the fourth inning in five of his eight starts.
Two Anderson pitches into the bottom of the first inning, the Phillies trailed, 1-0, after Marcus Semien hit a home run over the right-center field wall. Three pitches after that, it was 2-0 as Bo Bichette blasted a long home run to center field.
By the end of the second inning, it was 7-0 and Anderson’s eighth and briefest start of the season was over. He was replaced by David Hale with one out in the second after surrendering five straight hits, including a triple and two doubles, and walking a batter. Randal Grichuk greeted Hale with a two-run double to make it 7-0.
Anderson’s line -- 1 1/3 innings, eight hits and seven earned runs -- elevated his earned run average to 6.96 and left open the possibility that his next turn in the rotation could be taken by rookie Spencer Howard, who had another solid outing for triple-A Lehigh Valley Sunday.
Howard allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out eight batters in four innings against the New York Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate. In three starts with the IronPigs, Howard has allowed just one earned run on three hits and has struck out 13 batters in nine innings. He threw 58 pitches in Sunday’s game, so he should be able to give the Phillies at least 70 to 75 pitches in his next outing. Anderson’s next turn in the rotation is scheduled for Saturday against the Boston Red Sox.
With the help of a couple of home runs and a two-run single by Maton, the Phillies at least made things a little interesting in the later innings. The first home run of the rookie’s career got the Phillies on the board off lefty Robbie Ray in the top of the fifth inning and Andrew McCutchen followed with his sixth home run of the season and his fifth in his last 13 starts.
An RBI single by Alec Bohm made it 8-3 in the fifth and Maton’s second home run in as many innings made it 8-4 in the sixth. Maton got the Phillies to within 9-6 with his two-run single in the eighth, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a ball to Clearwater in the bottom of the inning and another Phillies road trip would eventually end with a losing record, not to mention a long list of concerning injuries.
