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Apr 20, 2024

Phillies even the score late, then fall short against Orioles in 3

On the eve of Eagles training camp, it only seemed fitting that the question hovering over Citizens Bank Park was whether or not the ground caused a fumble. In baseball, at least, it can. And it

On the eve of Eagles training camp, it only seemed fitting that the question hovering over Citizens Bank Park was whether or not the ground caused a fumble.

In baseball, at least, it can. And it definitely did in the third inning Monday night.

But the Phillies didn’t challenge the umpires’ ruling that Orioles center fielder Aaron Hicks made a sensational diving catch on Johan Rojas’ liner in the gap. Instead of a one-out double, it went as the second out in an eventual scoreless inning in a 3-2 loss — the Phillies’ fifth in six games — before a sellout crowd.

» READ MORE: Could the solution to the Phillies’ need for a righty-hitting left fielder come from the ... Mets?

Manager Rob Thomson explained that the Phillies’ replay room didn’t get an angle that showed Hicks dropped the ball until after the 10-second time limit to challenge a play. Otherwise, he would have called for it.

“Two or three seconds later, they got it. It came in,” Thomson said. “Not much you can do about it.”

Add it to the list of Phillies’ frustrations, from Trea Turner’s two errors and fifth-inning ejection for arguing a called third strike — and chucking his equipment — to Edmundo Sosa’s inability to get down a bunt before lining into a double play, and Bryce Harper’s getting thrown out at the plate in the eighth inning.

It was daring baserunning by Harper, who tried to score from first base as the trail runner on Nick Castellanos’ game-tying two-out single against Orioles reliever Bryan Baker. Colton Cowser cut off the ball in the gap in left-center, and shortstop Jorge Mateo made a good relay to get Harper just before his hand touched the plate.

But it’s a play — and exactly the aggressive decision by third base coach Dusty Wathan — that a team makes when it has scored less than three runs in three of the last six games.

The trade deadline is a week away, and there’s mounting evidence that the Phillies’ top priority must be another hitter.

“Maybe if I slide headfirst possibly, or I get my foot in there, I’m safe,” said Harper, who pumped his arms and yelled, knowing that he gambled and lost. “Just a good baseball play, you know?”

Even still, the Phillies tied the game, albeit briefly. In the top of the ninth, one day after blowing his first save of the season, closer Craig Kimbrel issued a one-out walk before Cowser lifted a fly ball to left field that ticked off the top of diving Kyle Schwarber’s glove for an RBI double.

The Phillies put the tying and winning runs on base with two out in the bottom of the ninth against an Orioles bullpen that was missing twin All-Stars Yennier Cano or Félix Bautista because of recent workload issues. But Rojas rolled into a game-ending force out.

More frustration.

“I think we’ve got a really good lineup, and I think we can do better as a whole,” Turner said. “But we’ve played some tough teams. It’s going to happen. Three one-run losses, it’s tough. Wish we could be on the other side of that, obviously. But I think we’re playing good baseball still.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper will start playing first base ‘most days,’ Phillies manager Rob Thomson says

They also wasted seven solid innings from Cristopher Sánchez. In his best start yet since taking over as the No. 5 starter last month, the lefty pitched over Turner’s errors and racked up a career-high eight strikeouts. He gave up solo homers to Jordan Westburg in the second inning and Ryan Mountcastle in the sixth.

In seven starts since being recalled from triple A, Sánchez has a 2.98 ERA, a run of success that may diminish the Phillies’ need to overpay for a back-end starting pitcher in what’s shaping up as a seller’s market before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Besides, there’s no denying their biggest need is a right-handed hitter.

“We have a really good chance to be where we were last year,” Harper said. “I have all the faith in the world in [president of baseball operations] Dave Dombrowski to do what he thinks is best for this team. And I think everybody should. He’ll bring the best player or players into this clubhouse to help us succeed, whatever that may be.”

According to Turner, it wasn’t anything he said about a called third strike — he contended it was low; it appeared to clip the bottom of the strike zone — that caused him to get ejected. Instead, Turner said plate umpire Will Little didn’t like that he tossed his helmet and batting gloves toward the dugout.

“He told me to not do that, and I basically told him I can throw my stuff to the dugout if I want,” Turner said. “And he threw me out. Pretty simple. I’ve said a lot worse and not got ejected. I guess he thought that was the line.”

Said Harper: “I don’t think the ejection was warranted. At all. He tossed his stuff down. That’s why he got tossed.”

Sosa replaced Turner at shortstop.

» READ MORE: Phillies trade deadline: The cost of pitching insurance, defense vs. power, and other questions

Rojas is accustomed to playing every day in the minor leagues. But because the Phillies haven’t faced a left-handed starter since July 15, he went a week without being in the lineup.

The rust was barely visible.

Rojas notched two hits, stole two bases, and covered center field like a tarp, as usual. His fifth-inning single pushed Garrett Stubbs to third base, where he scored on Schwarber’s sacrifice fly.

The blemish: Rojas got doubled off second in the eighth inning on Sosa’s line drive to leaping third baseman Ramón Urías.