Phillies fall victim to the long ball in loss
The Phillies found themselves on the wrong side of history on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. The club, along with the visiting Diamondbacks, combined to set a Major League record with 13 home runs in a game in a DBacks 13-8 victory.

Things were ugly for the Phillies from the outset as the first three Diamondbacks that came to the plate went deep off Phillies hurler Jerad Eickhoff. Eduardo Escobar and Ildemaro Vargas each blasted a pair later in the contest.

The long ball is a problem for the Phillies. The club has allowed 108 homers already this year, compared to 171 all of last season. For now, the club is on pace to surrender 265.

“It's definitely a problem,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said afterward. “It's definitely something we have to get out in front of and figure out how to solve. That's a lot of work on the part of the staff. That's our responsibility to get out in front of that."

The team record of homers surrendered is 221 set in 2017.

Eickhoff lasted just three innings on the evening, surrendering seven runs on five hits. All five hits were dingers.

“This was just kind of one of those nights where every mistake I made, they were able to put a pretty good swing on it," Eickhoff told reporters. "The most frustrating thing is just not keeping us in the game. Letting every single one of these guys in the clubhouse down. That’s what’s the most frustrating.”

Eickhoff has a 6.88 ERA over his last seven starts and Kapler was less than supportive when asked afterward about Eickhoff would start as scheduled over the weekend in Atlanta.

As for the Phillies, Scott Kingery hit a pair of homers and Jay Bruce delivered a solo shot in the final frame to break the Major League record.

The loss, coupled with a win by the Braves, leaves the two clubs even atop the NL East standings.

The Phillies need a strong performance from Jake Arrieta tonight to mitigate bullpen usage as the series with the Diamondbacks continues.

"We have to pitch better," Kapler said.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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