Bad call snowballs, Phillies fall 7-4 against the Marlins

On Thursday night, the Phillies started a 4-game set against the visiting Miami Marlins. Zack Wheeler got the ball in his 17th start of the season.

The ace started things off with back-to-back strikeouts. He got Josh Bell to line out softly to end the inning.

The Phillies offense didn’t wait to get started against Trevor Rogers. Trea Truner worked a 4-pitch walk and Bryce Harper drove him in with a double off the centerfield wall. Nick Castellanos almost drove Harper home but his liner found the glove of Otto Lopez.

Zack Wheeler

The no-hit bid ended early for Wheeler as Jesus Sanchez got a single on a ball that took Bryson Stott’s momentum away from first base. After getting the next 2 outs, Wheeler allowed a single to Tim Anderson. He got Lopez to ground out to end the inning.

In the 2nd, the Phillies threatened with the bases loaded and 2 out. Trea Truner grounded to Tim Anderson to end the inning.

The Marlins threatened again in the 2nd with a Hit by Pitch and a walk. Wheeler got a called strike 3 on a full count against Josh Bell for the 2nd out. He induced a pop-out to end the inning.

After a bloop single to start the inning, Wheeler rolled a double play ball to end the inning. In the middle, he picked up his 5th strikeout of the night.

Extending the Lead

In the bottom of the 4th, Rafael Marchan hit his 2nd homer of the season to make the score 2-0 Phillies. It was a deep fly ball to left, going 409 feet according to StatCast.

In the 5th, Trea Turner led off with a double off the rightfield wall. Castellanos walked to bring up Edmundo Sosa with 2 out. He found the hole past the shortstop for an RBI single.

The 6th inning passed without incident and Wheeler came back out for the 7th with 95 pitches. He got 2 quick outs and then gave up back-to-back singles. The last single by Ali Sanchez could’ve been a strikeout but the umpire refused to call strike 3 on the 5th pitch. Matt Strahm came in after Wheeler’s 115 pitch. Strahm immediately hit Jazz Chisholm Jr. to load the bases. Bryan De La Cruz hit a double and so did Josh Bell. Suddenly, the Marlins had a 4-3 lead.

Anthony Bender relieved Rogers in the 7th. Trea Turner once again started off the inning with a double. He advanced to 3rd on an errant throw by Nick Gordon. Alec Bohm drove him in with a sac fly, increasing his RBI total to 65 and tying the game.

Jeff Hoffman relieved Strahm and immediately ran into trouble. Jake Burger hit a solo homer to start the inning. Nick Gordon followed that with a double and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. With the infield in, Sosa couldn’t field a grounder cleanly and allowed the run to score. Otto Lopez got to 2nd on the play. Hoffman got the next 2 outs to end the inning.

Phillies Attempt a Comeback

Sosa got a leadoff single in the 8th to try and get things going again for the Phils. The bottom of the order couldn’t muster anything against AJ Puk.

Brandon Marsh entered the game for Kyle Schwarber who left with left groin tightness. Yunior Marte, fresh from Triple-A, was up next for the Phillies.

With 2 outs, Dane Myers hit a single up the middle and stole 2nd. Jake Burger drove him home with a single, 7-4 Marlins. The Phillies would have to face Tanner Scott in the 9th. The top of the order was retired 1-2-3. The Phillies fall to 53-28 on the season.

Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)