PHILADELPHIA — Rhys Hoskins pulled his helmet on Sunday night and climbed the dugout steps. The stadium lights had flickered in South Philadelphia and the fans had celebrated Hoskins’ apparent game-tying homer. The Phillies had hurt themselves defensively, collapsed in the eighth inning, but the game was tied.
And then it wasn’t. A video review in the ninth inning of a 8-7 loss to the Mets changed Hoskins’ homer to right field into a two-run double. So he left the dugout with his helmet as the Phillies were still trailing by a run. And soon the game was over.
Bryce Harper struck out and the Mets celebrated a series win, minutes after the Phillies thought they tied the game.
The Phillies scored three times in the ninth inning, but they needed to score four times to overcome the six runs they allowed in the eighth. The Phillies made two errors Sunday as their defensive woes continued, but it was a miscue in the eighth inning -- an RBI single that was not ruled an error -- that proved to be most costly.
The Mets found a way to score the tying run from first base on a single to first base as the Phillies allowed six runs in a meltdown inning. A sharply hit grounder by Jose Peraza eluded first baseman Hoskins’ dive and landed in shallow right field.
By the time Hoskins retrieved it, Jonathan Villar had moved from first to third. Hoskins held onto the ball, softly tossed it to second baseman Nick Maton, and Villar sprinted home to tie the game.
The Phillies entered the inning ahead by two runs, but they would soon be down four after their poor defense bit them again. The Phillies have been troubled defensively all season, but those troubles seem to reach a new height on Sunday.
The loss dropped the Phillies to two games below .500 for the first time this season. Harper and J.T. Realmuto returned to the lineup on Sunday night after missing the first two games of the series, but that was not enough to overcome the team’s fielding. The Phillies have lost four of the last six games and have won just one of their last seven series.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi started the eighth inning with Brandon Kintzler, who allowed a leadoff homer to Kevin Pillar before Villar singled. The game would soon be tied, prompting Girardi to insert Jose Alvarado, who appealed a suspension earlier in the day for inciting a benches-clearing incident on Friday night.
Alvarado, seeming to struggle with his command, allowed a single to Jeff McNeil, walked Francisco Lindor to load the bases, and walked Michael Conforto to bring in the go-ahead run. He threw just 11 pitches before Girardi removed him for David Hale.
The team’s long reliever was summoned with the bases loaded in a one-run game and promptly allowed a three-run double to Pete Alonso.
Didi Gregorius, two innings before the meltdown inning, hit a three-run homer that seemed to be enough to overcome the team’s earlier defensive shortcomings. They soon found out it wasn’t.
The Phillies entered Sunday with the third-lowest defensive runs saved in the National League. Left fielder Andrew McCutchen, who misplayed a line drive on Saturday night, could not chase down a fly ball from Dominic Smith in the second that fell for a double. Right fielder Harper fumbled a ball in the third before his throw to home was late, and the next batter reached on an error at third by Alec Bohm.
Zach Eflin allowed 10 hits in six innings but allowed just two runs. He struck out seven and walked none. He, too, had troubles in the field. His second run scored after the pitcher fielded a one-out grounder by James McCann and fired a throw to second to try for a double play.
Eflin’s throw was wide and a run scored as the pitcher’s decision to throw to second instead of home proved costly.
But all of those miscues seemed forgivable in the sixth when Gregorius homered on the first pitch he saw from Miguel Castro, who was fined before the game by Major League Baseball for an incident with Hoskins on Friday that led to the benches clearing.
The Phillies struggled for five innings against David Peterson, but they struck quickly when Castro entered. Harper reached on an error and stole second base. Bohm singled and Gregorius homered. The Phillies struck out eight times against Peterson, their defense was hurting, yet they had a lead.
But it was only the sixth inning. There was plenty of time for the defense to falter again.
