The Phillie Phanatic deserved a better outcome than a 4-3 loss for his birthday, but that is exactly what the green guy from the Galapagos Islands had to stomach on Sunday afternoon.
It was a weird day from the start at Citizens Bank Park as Andrew Painter was scratched from his scheduled start due to a migraine. The Phillies were excellent when he finally entered the game in the third inning, but the Philly offense struggled while the bullpen was bitten by the snakes in a 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Zach Pop started the game for the Phillies. He cruised through the first inning, but allowed the first run of the game after a James McCann double to centerfield scored Tim Tawa from second base for a 1-0 road lead. Pop exited after the second inning, allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout in the unexpected spot start for Rob Thomson’s club. The Phillies skipper said the team found out "about 45 minutes before the game" that their rookie starter was not feeling well.
Painter arrived to start the third inning and kept Arizona at bay over the next handful of innings. The Diamondbacks struggled against the Phillies’ rookie, who allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts through five innings. Painter allowed a double in the sixth inning to Jose Fernandez, which scored Ildemaro Vargas to increase the Arizona lead to 2-0.
The Phillies' offense finally came alive in the sixth inning as Philadelphia scored three runs on five straight hits. Rookie Justin Crawford doubled to start the inning before Trea Turner smashed a wall-scrapping homerun over the right field wall to tie the game at two. Kyle Schwarber kept the good times rolling with a double and scored on Bryce Harper’s double to provide a 3-2 lead for the home squad.
Philadelphia nursed that 3-2 advantage into the eighth inning, but Jose Alvardo was unable to keep Arizona off the scoreboard and blew his first save of the season. Alvarado allowed two runs to score on two hits in just one-third of an inning as the scoreboard flipped in favor of the visitors, 4-3.
The Phillies failed to clutch up in the bottom of the eighth inning. Philly had runners on first (Brandon Marsh) and third (Bryce Harper) with no one out, but a ground ball to second base allowed Ildemaro Vargas to throw home and nail “The Showman” at the dish before he could tie the ballgame. Adolis Garcia popped up to second base, and Marsh got doubled up to end the scoring threat. Arizona’s Paul Sewald pitched a clean ninth inning to secure the victory and his fifth save of the 2026 season.
Philadelphia (7-8) returns to action Monday night when they begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs (6-8 record, currently in action against Pittsburgh) at Citizens Bank Park. All three games are scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m.
