The Phillies threatened in the final frame, but the Yankees relied on four homers on the night to beat the Phillies at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, 6-4.
Brett Gardner hit a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning before Gary Sánchez, Giancarlo Stanton, and Estevan Florial also connected in the final three innings for the Yankees.
Aaron Nola returned from the COVID-19 list and allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start since July 6.
“He gave us an opportunity to win this game,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “We struggled swinging the bats early.”
Rhys Hoskins homered for the Phils in the loss while Ronald Torreyes and Jean Segura each collected an RBI. The club remains 2 1/2 games behind the Mets in the NL East.
Zach Eflin was scheduled to start Wednesday's contest, but he's been placed on the 10-day IL with a right knee injury. Girardi will rely on the bullpen to get through the finale in New York.
“The next person just has to step up,” Girardi said. “That’s part of it. There’s a lot of teams that are going through this now. So the next person just has to step up. Take it one game at a time, and you figure out how to win that game.”
Making matters more complicated is the loss of relievers Bailey Falter and JD Hammer to the COVID-19 IL, leaving the Phillies in a tough spot as the club finishes in New York before returning home for a critical set with the Braves.
“We’ve got a lot of games left,” Nola said. “We’ve just got to stay healthy and hope Zach can bounce back quick. We definitely need him. We’re just going to do our best to win as much as possible. Every game matters.”
