Phillies Fall In First Game Of Doubleheader
CITIZENS BANK PARK – The Phillies fell 4-3 to the Nationals in extra-innings in Game 1 of the Phillies’ third doubleheader set of the season.
The Phillies sent out six pitchers to the mound on the day and the final one, Michael Stutes, surrendered two walks followed by an RBI single to give up the decisive run in the 10th inning. The Phils are now 8-10 in extra-innings games this season.
Backup catcher and recent call-up Erik Kratz roped a double to start the 10th for the Phillies, but the Phillies couldn’t get him home to complete the rally. The Phillies went just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 men on base.
Kyle Kendrick worked his way out of jams in the second and six innings, scattering four hits with four strikeouts and no walks with one hit batsmen across his six frames of work. Kendrick threw 79 pitches on the day, as the team continues to monitor his count since he’ll be returning to the bullpen for the playoffs.
“He pitched very good,” Charlie Manuel said, “but the only offense was the [Raul] Ibañez homer.”
“Supposed to pitch out of the bullpen in New York,” Kendrick said, “so I think that’s why they took me out.”
The pitcher’s duel ended in the seventh when Roger Bernadina blasted his seventh homer of the season on a second-deck shot to right field off of Michael Schwimer to give the Nats a decisive three-run cushion. Ibañez followed up in the bottom half of the inning with the team’s fourth pinch-hit homer of the season, a three-run bomb of his own to right field to tie the game. The homer marked the 20th of the season for Ibañez and his first pinch-hit home run since Aug. 18th against the Tigers in 2001.
Recent call-up Joe Savery made his MLB debut in the eighth after a long and winding road in the minors, but surrendered a single and recorded just one out, as veteran Brad Lidge came in and ended the inning for the Phils.
The lineups for the afternoon game on both sides didn’t exactly mimic an All-Star ballot, with eight if the 18 starters in the game having logged 30 or more games in the minors this year.
“Yeah, we were missing some guys, giving some guys some breaks,” Kendrick said. “I had never thrown to Kratz before, maybe a couple of bullpen sessions in spring training, that was it.”
Hunter Pence was one of the few prominent Phillies in the lineup, and while he collected two hits on the day, he left after a sixth inning single having limped throughout much of the game after legging out an infield hit in the first inning. Recent call-up Brandon Moss took Pence’s place on the base paths after his sixth-inning hit. Pence had played in every single possible inning since joining the Phillies before being taken out with a noticeable limp on Tuesday afternoon.
“He’s alright, his knee is a little sore from sliding,” said Manuel, who didn’t cite a specific incident that caused the injury. When asked if Pence would play in the second game of the doubleheader, Manuel said, “He’ll be in there.”
Cliff Lee (16-7) takes the hill in the night game while fellow lefty Ross Detwiler (2-5) gets the call for the Nationals. The plan in Game 2, Manuel says, “pitch like he did last time and get him more than one or two runs.”
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