MILWAUKEE _ Jake Arrieta had just allowed a run by plunking the opposing pitcher when he grabbed a new baseball on Friday night and rubbed it with both hands.
It was the second inning of a 13-2 blowout loss to the Brewers. But it was then just a one-run game with the bases loaded and no outs. The Brewers had the top of their order coming up and Arrieta was against the ropes.
As he gripped that new baseball, there was still a sliver of hope. If Arrieta was to escape this rally, the pitcher with one of baseball's highest groundball rates would need to induce Brewers leadoff hitter Lorenzo Cain into a double-play.
Cain chased the first pitch Arrieta fired _ a diving sinker _ and sharply grounded it to the shortstop. This was the double-play ball Arrieta craved. And then Scott Kingery allowed it to skip under his glove before he fell to the infield dirt. Two runs scored, the rally continued, and a five-running inning rolled along.
Arrieta allowed eight runs in 31/3 innings but just four of them were earned. He struck out just one, walked two, and was peppered for seven hits, mostly ground balls. Arrieta did not pitch great _ his charged runs came on a wild pitch, a hit batter, and a two-run homer _ but his defense did him no favors.
Kingery made a throwing error an inning before the grounder went past his glove. Rhys Hoskins dropped a fly ball in left field to begin the fourth and start a three-run inning. The Phillies made four errors.
Kingery is playing shortstop with the command of a player who hasn't played the position since high school. It's been a challenge. He played second base and outfield in college and played second base for three seasons in the minors, except for a six-game trial run last August at Triple-A that he split between third base and shortstop. It was almost unfair to expect him to make a seamless change back to his high-school position while also adjusting to his first taste of major-league pitching.
Kingery is out of position, but there's not much else Gabe Kapler can do. Kingery would be playing second if it wasn't for Cesar Hernandez. Maikel Franco played himself out of the lineup, thus forcing J.P. Crawford to move from shortstop to third base. For Kingery to be in the lineup, he has to play shortstop. And if he's in the lineup, the Phillies will have to accept the growing pains as he re-learns the position he last played regularly six years ago.
The Phillies gave Arrieta little defensive support and even less run support. They didn't score until Hernandez doubled in Crawford in the sixth to cut the Brewers' lead to nine. Odubel Herrera homered in the ninth. Hernandez finished with three hits. Arrieta had one. And the rest of the team combined for two before the ninth inning. Jesmuel Valentin, a position player, pitched the eighth inning and allowed three runs to make the blowout official.
A batter before Kingery's botched double-play, Arrieta had the bases loaded for Brewers pitcher Brent Suter. This looked like the second inning's first out, but Arrieta slipped on a curveball and it hit Suter's left foot. A run scored as Suter hopped in pain before walking to first base. Arrieta waited for a new baseball, unbeknownst that a game was ready to fall apart.
