Phillies Beat Jordan Montgomery and the D-backs 6-4

The big left-hander faltered in the sixth inning and the lineup squandered many chances

Aug 8, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) celebrates with Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa (33) after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Phillies Thursday night 6-4. It was a game in which Arizona squandered many opportunities before ultimately falling short in a ninth inning comeback attempt. The Phillies cashed in when they had to.

Jordan Montgomery looked sharp through the first three innings and had an especially good changeup, getting swing and miss and weak contact on the pitch. Things started to get rough, and out of sorts in the fourth inning.

With runners on first and second and one out he was slow covering first base on a dribbler by Edmundo Sosa to Josh Bell at first base. Sosa beat Montgomery to the bag with a head first slide. Montgomery wiggled off the hook with a stirkeout and fly out however.

In the fifth inning he had Bryce Haper struck out for the last out of the inning. Except he was charged with a pitch timer violation extending the at bat. Harper then doubled , but Montgomery got out of it when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a sprawling catch of sharp fly ball in the gap by Alec Bohm.

The D-backs hitters had trouble with Kolby Allard's slow stuff through the first four innings, hitting into two double plays while garnering just three singles.

Eugenio Suarez gave Montgomery a brief 1-0 lead with a one-out home run off the foul pole in left field. It was his 17th homer of the year. The D-backs put two more men on base in the inning, but Jose Herrera hit into a 6-4-3 double play, the D-backs' third of the game.

Asked why he didn't have Herrera bunt in that situation, Torey Lovullo said he thought about it for a brief moment. He explained that had he done that the Phillies likely intentionally walk Ketel Marte, and he wanted to have his best hitter have a chance to bat with runners on base.

Montgomery's luck ran out in the sixth inning . He hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch with one out, then gave up an RBI double to Weston Wilson. Walks to Johan Rojas and Kyle Schwarber loaded the bases again, ending Montgomery's night.

Asked if he considered pulling Montgomery after the Wilson double or the Rojas Walk, Lovullo said no. "I felt like as stretched out and thin as we were in the bullpen I was trying to get to a couple things."

With at least a couple of relievers down, Dylan Floro came in to relieve and promptly gave up base hits to Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, allowing all three runners to score, putting the Phillies up 4-1.

Montgomery's final line then was 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3BB, 4 K, 1 HB. His record falls to 7-6 with a 6.37 ERA. One could say he was unlucky to have all three inherited runners score, but he allowed 12 baserunners while recording 17 outs.

Montgomery said after the game "I was mad about walking Schwarber, I've got to get the lefties out.".

Asked if he was feeling fatigued, Montgomery said "It's like pitching in a jungle here sometimes. I don't know how it gets so humid. I swear it's less humid in St. Louis during the summer than here."

As for Floro, he has allowed 11 of 21 inherited runners to score this year and has a .360 BA against in high leverage situations. (18-50). After being advised of these numbers, Lovullo was asked if giving Floro a clean inning to start might be better for him going forward.

"That was one of the notes I wrote down. I wanted to do a little research on that. I'm still getting to know [Floro] so I appreciate that info. You're one step ahead of me on that. It's my job to put players in the right position to be successful. I live in that space all the time. Sometimes you have to challenge them and kick them in the pants and get them going, sometimes you've got let them ride into it."

Torey Lovullo didn't have many other options however after a doubleheader Wednesday used up all his high leverage relievers. He wouldn't go so far as to say that all four of his highe leverage relievers were not available, but "A few were" he said. Ryan Thompson warmed up in the ninth inning.

Jake McCarthy got the D-backs to within a run with his fourth homer of the year, a deep fly ball to right field. Once again Arizona put two more men on following a home run, but again left them stranded.

Jake McCarthy 4th HR of the season bring the #Dbacks to within 1

pic.twitter.com/JL4OahSrdh

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) August 9, 2024

Cecconi came in to pitch the seventh and promptly gave up a solo homer to J.T. Realmuto, widening the Phillies lead back to 5-3.

The D-backs had another golden chance in the 8th, putting two runners on via walks issued by Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado. But Suarez and Kevin Newman struck out to end that threat as well.

The Phillies continued to capitalize on their opportunities. Cecconi was still pitching in the ninth and gave up doubles by Realmuto and Sosa to plate the Phillies sixth and final run.

Carlos Estevez, who came over from the Angels at the trade deadline, was called upon to pitch the ninth. No stranger to closing, having notched 51 saves over the last two years, he got his first save as a Philly. He gave up hits to Geraldo Perdomo and an RBI hit to McCarthy, his third hit and third RBI of the game. But Gurriel flew out to center to end the game.

The Phillies out-hit the D-backs 14-11 and were 4-15 with runners in scoring position. It could have been worse, as they left 12 men on base. The D-backs meanwhile were 1-9 w/RISP and left eight men on base. Ketel Marte had a rare bad night, going 0-4 and striking out three times. He did draw a walk ahead of McCarthy's homer.

With the loss the D-backs record goes to 63-53. Philadelphia improves to 69-46. Game two of the series is Friday night at 6:40 P.M . Ryne Nelson faces Zack Wheeler.