PHILADELPHIA _ Jay Bruce slid into third base Sunday afternoon for an RBI triple to put the Phillies ahead by four runs and it was easy to believe that the series finale would be a rout.
The Phillies were teeing off against a spot starter after the Marlins scratched starting pitcher Jose Urena and submitted a lineup absent three regulars following an apparent coronavirus outbreak. For the Phillies, Sunday was lining up to be a breeze. Instead, they got hammered.
Phillies pitching coach Bryan Price absent from Saturday's game, following MLB's coronavirus protocols
Vince Velasquez was lifted after three innings of an 11-6 loss and the bullpen collapsed for the second time in three days at Citizens Bank Park. Velasquez blew the four-run lead before Cole Irvin, Reggie McClain, and Nick Pivetta ensured that it would not be regained.
The Phillies began their 60-game season by losing two of three to the Marlins, who lost 105 games in 2019 but had a winning record against the Phillies. And now the Phils play four straight against the Yankees. The first three games of the season were supposed to be the easy part.
Bryce Harper hit a first-pitch three-run homer in the first inning against Miami starter Robert Dugger. Bruce followed with his triple off the wall and the Phillies were ahead, 4-0, against a depleted team. But the lead didn't last. Velasquez allowed two homers in the second inning to tie the score at 4 and then the bullpen combined for seven runs in six innings.
The lineup didn't do much after the first inning. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and sixth innings but went hitless in four chances. They loaded them with with two outs in the eighth but came up empty again. The Phillies were 0-for-5 with the bases loaded. Adam Haseley went 4-for-6 for the first four-hit game of his career, but the Phillies scored just two runs after Bruce's first-inning triple.
Garrett Cooper and Harold Ramirez _ both of whom started the first two games of the series _ were out of Miami's lineup Sunday after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19. Urena, the team's opening-day starter in 2018 and 2019, also reportedly tested positive. The Marlins placed catcher Jorge Alfaro on the injured list shortly before Friday's opener without giving a reason why.
The Marlins, hours before first pitch, were ravaged by the coronavirus. For one inning, that looked like it would be a way for the Phillies to score an easy win. But then the back of the starting rotation and their bullpen _ the two biggest concerns before the season _ took the mound.
