Philadelphia Phillies rookies starred in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday Night at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Andrew Painter pitched a no-decision after a solid five innings, while Justin Crawford homered in the third inning and flashed the leather on a highlight-reel worthy catch in the fourth.
Unfortunately, those two performances weren’t enough as the Phillies' offense had just three hits off Red Sox pitching on the night.
Boston struck first to open a 1-0 lead on a Trevor Story home run to centerfield in the second inning, but the Phillies responded with Crawford’s big fly to tie the game in the third frame.
Things stayed that way until the sixth inning when Ceddanne Rafaela hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run off Orion Kerkering that landed on top of the Green Monster to give the Red Sox a 3-1 advantage.
Philadelphia brought Alec Bohm to the plate with the game-tying run reaching second base on a steal in the ninth inning, but Aroldis Chapman's sinker - one of three that touched 99 miles-per-hour - was too much to handle as he locked down his ninth save of the season.
Painter allowed four hits, struck out four batters, and didn’t walk any batters before being surprisingly pulled after the fifth frame. Con Mattingly said that decision came in an attempt to get some confidence for the rookie. “We wanted to be proactive tonight with him,” the Phillies interim manager said on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s postgame show. “That third time through was a spot we were going to try to stay away from. Get him going, get some confidence, and obviously, he threw the ball really well tonight.”
Philadelphia and Boston are scheduled to play the rubber match of the three-game series tonight. However, keep an eye on the weather forecast as rain showers are likely in the Boston area during the afternoon and evening hours Thursday. The scheduled starters are Jesús Luzardo (3-3, 5.98 ERA) for Philly against former Phillies starter and fan favorite Ranger Suárez (2-2, 2.77 ERA).
Suárez had only pitched for Philadelphia prior to this year, His former teammates have said they are excited to "talk a little smack" against their best friend. They should get that chance starting at 6:45 PM Eastern.
