Notes From The Phillies’ 7-4 Loss To Cincinnati

The Philadelphia Phillies lost their second straight game on Thursday afternoon, falling to the Reds 7-4. Their record drops to 1-2.

On The Mound

• Clay Buchholz made his Phillies’ debut, allowing four runs on seven hits over five innings. Buchholz struck out three and walked two. The righty was spotted a 4-1 lead, but coughed it up for a no-decision.
• Buchholz fell victim to one bad inning, which came in the fourth where he allowed the Reds’ first four runners to reach base, resulting in a three-run outburst to tie the game.
• Adam Morgan made his season debut in the sixth inning in relief of Buchholz. Morgan gave up a solo home run in the sixth, and gave up a two-run shot in seventh. All in all, an ugly showing for the former starter, who ended up taking the loss.
• Edubray Ramos made his second appearance of the season, coming on to record the final two outs of the eighth inning.

At The Plate

• The offense generated four runs on six hits, all four runs came within the first three innings.
• Daniel Nava got his first start of the season, and provided the offense with a spark. Nava went 2-3 with a walk, and crushed home runs in each of his first two at-bats, driving in three of the team’s four runs.
• Nava was one of the few bright spots. Odubel Herrera was the only other hitter to turn in a somewhat decent showing, going 2-3 with his second double and working his third walk of the series.
• Cesar Hernandez went 1-4, and is hitting just .154 at the top of the order.
• Maikel Franco went 0-4 with two strikeouts.
• Michael Saunders was back in the lineup in right field, but went 0-4.
• Andrew Knapp caught the game, going 0-2 but worked two walks.
• Brock Stassi started at first for the struggling Tommy Joseph, going 0-2 with a walk.
• Joseph would enter the game as a replacement, and go 0-2.
• Andres Blanco singled as a pinch-hitter in his first appearance of the season.

Final Thoughts

It was another tough outcome for the Phillies, who let another winnable game slip away.

Offensive struggles continue to plague this team, and it may not be long before Pete Mackanin begins to shake some things up.

Of their eight runs that they’ve scored in the first three games, seven runs have come within the first three innings. Only one has come from the fourth inning or later. No runs have been scored from the seventh inning and beyond.

Cesar Hernandez has worked a number of deep counts, but he’s got to get on base at a higher rate if he’s going to stick at the top of the order. Tommy Joseph is now 0-10. Maikel Franco is also hitting below .200. We’ll see if today’s showing from Daniel Nava earns him some more playing time.

It’s still early obviously, but these are things that have to improve for this team moving forward.

The series against the Reds was a lost opportunity to start the season on a high note, and and gain some good early momentum. A challenging series against the Washington Nationals now awaits.