DENVER _ Bryce Harper stood Friday night on second base with his helmet off and waved to the Philadelphia Phillies dugout. He started the 11th inning of a 4-3 loss with a double. Finally, it seemed, the Phillies were ready to break through.
They had not had a hit with a runner in scoring position since the first inning. But Harper was at second with no outs and the heart of the order coming to the plate. And it didn't matter. Rhys Hoskins struck out, J.T. Realmuto was intentionally walked, Cesar Hernandez flied out, and Maikel Franco grounded out after the Phillies loaded the bases.
Another chance was squandered. The Phillies left 19 runners on base and went 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position. They had 17 hits, but just three runs to show for it. They loaded the bases in the fourth and sixth inning but left the bases full just like the 11th. Each missed opportunity made a loss_the Phillies' sixth-straight at Coors Field_feel closer.
The loss was awarded to Juan Nicasio, who allowed a walk-off homer in the 12th with two outs to Charlie Blackmon. It was a crushing homer that erased a two-out double in the top of the inning by Harper to bring home Phil Gosselin from first base. But the loss will be saddled by the lineup, which failed to come through in the clutch.
The loss came with an added sting as the Phillies lost Scott Kingery and Andrew McCutchen to injuries. Kingery strained his right hamstring in the fourth inning, and McCutchen left in the sixth with inflammation in his left knee. The Phillies, in the last week, have watched Odubel Herrera, Jean Segura, David Robertson, McCutchen, and Kingery go down with injuries.
Losing Kingery and McCutchen stretches the team's depth, as the Phillies were already using Roman Quinn in center to replace Herrera, and Kingery was filling in for Segura. McCutchen was replaced by Aaron Altherr. The Phillies will likely have to make a roster move before Saturday's game.
Kingery's vacancy at shortstop was filled by Gosselin, the Malvern Prep-product who became the first alum of a Philadelphia Catholic League, Public League, or Inter-Ac school to play for the Phillies since Jim Poole (La Salle High) pitched for the Phillies in 1999. Gosselin's first hit was a single in the sixth inning after working back from an 0-2 count and fouling off three-straight pitches.
Harper had a career-high five hits, becoming the first Phillies player to have five hits since Juan Pierre in 2012. Hoskins and Franco each had three hits.
Vince Velasquez turned in an inspiring start as he pitched with composure and a confident fastball. He allowed two runs and seven hits, and his lone walk in 5 2/3 innings was intentional. He attacked the Rockies with a heavy combination of fastballs and sliders. He used the fastball for all eight of his strikeouts, each of which were swinging strikes.
Velasquez's composure was tested in the first inning, when the Rockies placed a runner on third base with two outs. Velasquez buckled down and blew a fastball past Trevor Story to end the inning. The same situation occurred two innings later, and Velasquez again whiffed Story with an inning-ending fastball.
In the sixth, Velasquez tried again to overpower Story, but the Rockies' clean-up hitter timed his fastball and sent it 459 feet to left field. Velasquez thought he escaped the inning when Altherr appeared to throw out Ian Desmond from left field. But replays showed that Cesar Hernandez had failed to tag Desmond before he slid into second. The inning continued.
Velasquez, again, thought he escaped the inning when he jammed the next batter with a 97 mph fastball. But Garrett Hampson's bat snapped when he hit the inside fastball, which allowed the ball to drop into shallow left field for a double. Half of the bat landed near third base, and the game was tied thanks to a missed tag and a broken bat. And it would stay tied until the 12th when Harper drove in Gosselin. But that lead, like a Phillies runner waiting at third, would be squandered.
