ATLANTA — You never know what the curtain call of a complete game will look like.
After he went the distance his first time this season against the Marlins, Cristopher Sanchez followed it up by allowing seven runs on seven hits in just four innings against the Cubs.
Thursday evening at Truist Park, after another nine-inning outing against the Nationals, Sanchez was … solid.
But solid wasn't enough for the Phillies as they dropped the series finale to the Braves, 3-2. In this tennis match of a series, the division lead once again dropped back to six games.
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Through his six innings, Sanchez allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out eight. It’s the third-most strikeouts he’s collected in a single game this season.
The home run he gave up to Adam Duvall on a 2-0 sinker in the sixth was the first time all season Sanchez allowed a home run in consecutive starts.
In Sanchez’s defense, the offense wasn’t much help. Bryce Harper had the only hit for the Phillies through six innings, which came in his first plate appearance.
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The offensive struggles were severe top to bottom in the three-game showing — the biggest eyesore on the scorecard being a whopping 32 strikeouts (Game 1: 13, Game 2: five, Game 3: 14). They chased often, got behind in the count far too frequently and they paid the price.
"There's a lot of positives in there but when you're not winning, it's hard to look at that," Trea Turner said postgame. "You hit some balls hard but they don't fall, and then you press a little bit or you try to change some things and it doesn't work out.
"Just gotta get it rolling. I think all of us in general, it's kind of weird that we're all struggling at the same time. Normally when you have a good lineup, some guys or here but it's kind of weird that a lot of us are there."
Kyle Schwarber started the night off with his 89th walk of the season and MLB-leading 35th in the leadoff spot. Harper snapped his 0-for-17 streak with a single and Nick Castellanos grounded into a force out, where Turner was able to score.
Weston Wilson, who earned another start due to the success of his recent plate appearances, had a rough night trying to hold down the fort at third base. After Alec Bohm’s on-base streak ended yesterday at 36 games, manager Rob Thomson gave him a day off.
“I've been wanting to give him a day,” Thomson said pregame. “Because of the streak, kept running him out there. He's pretty tired.”
Wilson misread a ground ball that missed his glove, hit his leg and trickled into the outfield. He also didn’t make an attempt to field a separate ball that got through him to Brandon Marsh.
It took until the seventh inning for the offense to find a pulse again.
Bryson Stott hustled on a two-out infield single and the Phillies were instantly rewarded when J.T. Realmuto doubled on a first-pitch fastball over the middle of the plate. Stott scored to pull the Phillies within a run.
The Phillies had a chance to build in the eighth with just one out and back-to-back walks from Cal Stevenson (who pinch hit for Johan Rojas) and Schwarber. Turner grounded into a double play.
Momentum = squashed. Game = over. Series = lost.
Like Turner said, there are positive takeaways from the last few games — but the top of the order going a combined 2-for-33 simply created a glare far too bright to see them at the moment.
"We're waiting for them to get going, and they will," Thomson said on their struggles. "We'll do some work tomorrow in Kansas City and see if we can knock it out."
That's the best thing about baseball. You can brush things off and get right back at it tomorrow. Hopefully, that's the approach they take.
On Deck: The Phillies head to Kansas City to wrap up their road trip with a three-game series against the Royals, who have won eight of their last 10. Austin Hays, who was sent to triple-A Lehigh Valley for a rehab stint earlier this week, will meet the team Friday.
The rotation still seems fluid beyond Taijuan Walker starting Friday night. Manager Rob Thomson said there is “95-percent chance” Ranger Suarez will go Saturday and Zack Wheeler Sunday. Thomson has been considering giving Wheeler an additional day of rest before his next outing.
As for the Royals, the Phillies will see three right-handed pitchers with Michael Wacha (10-6, 3.33 ERA), Brady Singer (9-8, 3.18 ERA) and Seth Lugo (14-7, 3.02 ERA).
Their stretch against clubs that are currently in a postseason position continues as the Phillies return home Monday. They’ll open up a seven-game homestand where they’ll play host to the Astros and Braves.
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