- A stinging loss last night at Citizens Bank Park, as Washington beat the Phillies 1-6 in 19 innings. The defeat cost the Phillies a chance for their best start in 104 years. They are now 7-3 on the early season.
The bullpen blew the game, one strike away from victory. Manager Gabe Kapler screwed -up by resting relievers Robertson, Morgan and Neshek all in the same night. Ramos gave up a game-tying homer in the ninth inning with two outs.
Blame Aaron Nola as well. He had a 6-1 lead going into the seventh inning before yielding four runs, including a pair of home runs. I have speculated before that I think Nola is hurt. His delivery looks different. His velocity is down, and his location just isn't there. Sore shoulder, sore elbow, there's a reason why his velocity is down, why he has given up five homers already in three mediocre starts, and why his walk-rate is high.
Bryce Harper continues to be hot. Cesar Hernandez continues to struggle. Give Scott Kingery more time at second base. The offense is rolling along but the pitching has been spotty, to say the least.
With the bullpen faltering, calls for signing free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel are growing. If they can get him for two years I would do it. He is going to need a few weeks to get ready to pitch, so signing him sooner than later is a must.
I'm not going to go overboard because of one bad loss but against a division rival like the Nationals, it costs two games. Instead of trying to bury the Nats you are giving them life. The Phillies can come back tonight, win, and take two of three in the series. The team heads to Miami for the upcoming weekend, then returns home to face the Mets. If Washington wins tonight against nick Pivetta, I'll be a little concerned. But I love this offense and have faith in Harper that he won't allow any long losing streaks.
***************************************************
The Sixers were destroyed in Miami last night. This was kind of expected, with Embiid and Reddick getting the night off. They are limping into the playoffs, which start next week. The final regular season game is meaningless, tonight in South Philliy vs the bulls.
No comments:
Post a Comment