Philadelphia Phillies Implode as Diamondbacks Make History in 13-7 Defeat
The first three and a half innings were pure magic for the Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce Harper had a double, Kyle Schwarber launched home run number 36 of the season and starting pitcher Ranger Suárez didn't allow a single hit.
They lead 7-0. More than a comfortable lead by any standard.
Then the bottom of the fourth rolled around and the Phillies' night came to a screeching halt.
Over the fourth and fifth innings, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent 22 batters to the plate. It took Philadelphia's pitching staff 91 pitches to get through those two innings. After it was all said and done, the Diamondbacks stormed back and made it a 12-7 game after five innings.
With Arizona in a seven run hole, their comeback win marked the biggest in franchise history. Erasing a six run deficit for the victory was their previous record, now thanks to the Phillies, it's seven.
It's a frustrating loss for numerous reasons. The obvious being the production of the Philadelphia lineup for seven runs in just three innings, before disappearing when adversity struck.
The next was the unluckiness Suárez faced. The third inning could have come to a much quicker close had a few balls not JUST squeaked by shortstop Bryson Stott to get the ball rolling for Arizona, not to mention a costly error by Jean Segura.
Still, Suárez is at a career-high innings pitched already this season with 123.2. At some point, something has to give, right? It sure felt that way on Monday night regardless of how one feels about BABIP.
It's been a while since the Phillies had a loss that stung like this. It was not a pretty evening for the pitching staff and one that will hopefully be quickly forgotten.
Aaron Nola (9-10, 3.08 ERA) is slated to take the ball for the Phillies on Tuesday night and will take on Zac Gallen (9-2, 2.66 ERA) who has been very solid this season.
First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. EST.
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