Nightmare Fifth Inning Powers Padres to Game 2 Victory Over Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped Game 2 of the NLCS to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday to even the series at one game apiece.

One of the most substantial reasons the Philadelphia Phillies have made it this far in the MLB postseason is their momentum. It's been following them since the ninth inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, when they scored six runs to win 6-3.

However, momentum wasn't on their side in Game 2 of the NLCS on Wednesday in San Diego. The Phillies' offense got off to a hot start in the second inning facing Padres' starter Blake Snell, but wouldn't find much success for the remainder of the game.

With two runners on and no outs, Alec Bohm singled to right field to bring home Bryce Harper, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Matt Vierling kept the inning going with some help from the sun, which made Juan Soto unable to make the catch; Nick Castellanos scored to make it 2-0.

The inning continued on an Edmundo Sosa bloop single to left field that tacked on another run, and Kyle Schwarber's RBI groundout made it 4-0. The Padres immediately cut the deficit to half off of Aaron Nola on back-to-back home runs by Brandon Drury and Josh Bell.

Nola also faced his brother Austin in the inning, with Aaron inducing a ground out of his older brother, winning their first meeting. Both offenses went quiet following the second, but that all changed in the fifth inning. 

Ha-Seong Kim singled to begin the inning, and Austin Nola won the second meeting with his little brother, singling home Kim to make it 4-3. The inning was far from over, though. Soto made up for his misplay in right field by doubling to right field to tie the game at 4.

Aaron was lifted from the game after striking out Manny Machado, which gave way to Brad Hand. With two outs and two strikes, Hand hit Jake Cronenworth to load the bases. Drury and Bell hit singles that brought home three more runners. Andrew Bellatti was brought on to finish the nightmare inning that saw the Padres score five runs.

The Phillies were unable to come up with an answer to the Padres' bullpen, being held scoreless until the eighth inning. Meanwhile, Machado hit a towering solo home run to left field off of David Robertson in the seventh, padding to his club's lead.

Rhys Hoskins had a solo shot to left field of his own in the eighth off of Robert Suarez, making it an 8-5 ballgame. J.T. Realmuto then singled, but Harper grounded into a double-play, and Castellanos struck out to end any further scoring threat.

Padres' closer Josh Hader, having regained form, shut the Phillies down in order in the ninth inning to secure a Game 2 victory for San Diego to even the series 1-1. The two teams will now head to Philadelphia for three straight games.

Ranger Suárez will take the mound for the Phillies in Game 3 on Friday at Citizens Bank Park, and he will be opposed by Joe Musgrove, with first pitch scheduled for 7:37 p.m. EST. Hopefully coming home is just what the Phillies need after a tough loss that saw them surrender a four-run lead with one of their aces on the hill.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

1. Phillies Star Bryce Harper Doesn't Hold Back on Thoughts About Joe Girardi
2. How Mike Trout Will Join the Phillies
3. Could Bryce Harper's Favorite MLB Player Join the Philadelphia Phillies Next Season?
4. Why You Should Root for the Philadelphia Phillies to Lose a Few Games
5. Phillies Release 2023 Regular Season Schedule
6. Have the Philadelphia Phillies Found Their Centerfielder of the Future?
7. Could The Phillies Soon Be Playing in Wawa Park?
8. How did Philadelphia end up with Citizens Bank Park?
9. How the Phillie Phanatic Came to be America's Favorite Sports Mascot
10. Picking the Phillies' All-Time Single Season Lineup

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Substack and Twitter!