The Phillies were just three outs from a needed win on Wednesday after Ronald Torreyes poked a run-scoring single through the infield in the eighth inning. But three outs — if the first eight innings of a 13-12 loss to Washington were any indication — would be hard to come by.
Hector Neris blew the save in the ninth as the Phillies blew three leads to lose for the sixth time in eight games. Josh Bell and Josh Harrison started the ninth with singles before Starlin Castro drove them in with a one-out single. Another lead slipped away.
Joe Girardi said on Sunday that this was “a really important week” as the Phillies play six games against the Nationals and Mets. They started the week with two losses, dropping three games below .500, and it’s hard to find a more crushing defeat than the one they were handed Wednesday.
Blown leads
The Phillies blew a five-run lead in the fifth and a four-run lead in the sixth yet still rallied back. Archie Bradley relieved Vince Velasquez in the fifth and his second pitch was hit by Kyle Schwarber for a three-run homer to tie the score at 5.
Andrew McCutchen bailed out Bradley with a grand slam in the bottom of the inning, but that four-run lead was quickly tested. In the sixth, Sam Coonrod struggled to throw strikes and walked three of the five batters he faced to load the bases with two outs.
Girardi’s bullpen options were limited, but it still felt like a curious spot to insert long reliever David Hale. Trea Turner sliced a two-run single into right, Juan Soto walked, and Josh Bell hit a grand slam to give Washington a two-run lead. It was a brutal sequence.
McCutchen’s grand slam
McCutchen’s knee, Girardi said, was “a little bark” after he fouled a ball off his leg on Tuesday night. So the Phillies kept him out of Wednesday’s lineup to give him two straight days off before Friday’s series opener in New York.
But his barking knee did not prevent McCutchen from being used in the fifth as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded. It was just McCutchen’s 23rd career pinch-hit chance and he ended it with a grand slam to give the Phillies a four-run lead. It was a great moment, but the energy from it was quickly gone.
Another Harper solo
Bryce Harper homered for the 10th time this season and all of them have come without runners on base. Dating back to last season, Harper has hit 12 straight solo homers. Entering Wednesday, just 85 of Harper’s 215 plate appearances (39.5%) have come this season with runners on base.
Up next
The Phillies are off Thursday before opening a four-game series Friday with a doubleheader in New York against the first-place Mets. Aaron Nola will start one of Friday’s games, but the Phillies have not yet determined who will start the other game. Matt Moore returned Wednesday from the injured list and is an option along with Spencer Howard, Bailey Falter, and Ranger Suarez.
