Phillies lose after another come-from-behind effort comes up short
Final Score: Cardinals 6, Phillies 5
The Phillies faced two multi-run deficits this afternoon in St. Louis against the Cardinals. They erased both of them, but their come-from-behind efforts weren’t enough thanks to another bad outing by Taijuan Walker and another ineffective relief appearance by Seranthony Domínguez.
After a three-run inning by the RedBirds in the bottom of the third, the Phillies scored three runs themselves to tie the game a half inning later thanks to a pair of defensive mistakes by St. Louis. And after being down 5-3 at the conclusion of five innings, a two-run top of the eighth tied things up again.
In the fourth, Bryson Stott attempted to put a sacrifice bunt down with runners on first and second. Instead, he popped his bunt attempt into the air, eventually causing some confusion for the Cardinals infield.
Alec Bohm, the runner on first, was caught in no-man’s land between first and second, getting caught in a rundown. The runner on second, Bryce Harper, didn’t stop at third on the play, and on his way to scoring, made the defense pause, allowing Bohm to make it to second safely.
Three hitters later, Nick Castellanos grounded a ball out to shortstop with the bases loaded for what seemed to be an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error by second baseman Juniel Querecuto made its way out of play, allowing two runners to score to tie the game.
In the eighth, Bohm got himself involved again. He launched a leadoff homer into Big Mac Land, making it a 5-4 game.
Four hitters later, it was Castellanos tying the game once again. With runners on second and third this time, the Phillies right fielder grounded another ball, but this time into left field, tying the game at five runs apiece.
The offense had to put those comebacks together because Taijuan Walker’s recent struggles continued. He pitched seven innings this afternoon, giving up five earned runs on eight hits. All five of those runs came off the bats of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who combined to go 4-for-7 against Walker. All four of their hits were for extra bases.
Walker now has a 4.40 ERA on the year, the highest it’s been since mid-June.
As for Domínguez, he allowed a two-out, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth to rookie Jordan Walker.
The right-handed reliever now has a 6.14 ERA in his last seven appearances.
It’s good to see the Phillies continue not going down without a fight. But at some point, wasting those efforts could come back to bite them. Especially if it happens in postseason play.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Monday, September 18 vs. Atlanta Braves at Truist Park
- 7:20 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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