The story of the night should have been simple.
Cristopher Sánchez throwing the best version of himself, carving up the Marlins for seven shutout innings, striking out his 200th batter of the year, and looking every bit like the ace the Phillies never thought they’d have.
Instead, it turned into a Citizens Bank Park soap opera. The bullpen unraveled, the skies opened, J.T. Realmuto took a foul ball off his throwing hand, and by the time the clock crept toward midnight, the Phillies were staring at a 6–5 loss in 11 innings.
That’s how a 3–0 lead after seven became a gut-punch loss that left the Phillies’ magic number for a first-round bye stuck at two. Xavier Edwards’ sacrifice fly in the 11th off Lou Trivino provided the dagger, sending Connor Norby home and the Phillies to their third straight defeat.
They had chances. They got a runner to third in the bottom of the inning. But Bryson Stott, who’s bailed this team out plenty of times before, grounded weakly to first to end it.
Instead, it turned into a Citizens Bank Park soap opera. The bullpen unraveled, the skies opened, J.T. Realmuto took a foul ball off his throwing hand, and by the time the clock crept toward midnight, the Phillies were staring at a 6–5 loss in 11 innings.
That’s how a 3–0 lead after seven became a gut-punch loss that left the Phillies’ magic number for a first-round bye stuck at two. Xavier Edwards’ sacrifice fly in the 11th off Lou Trivino provided the dagger, sending Connor Norby home and the Phillies to their third straight defeat.
They had chances. They got a runner to third in the bottom of the inning. But Bryson Stott, who’s bailed this team out plenty of times before, grounded weakly to first to end it.
This was supposed to be Sánchez’s night.
Seven innings. Three hits. No runs. The 200th strikeout of his season when he froze Griffin Conine in the second inning. His career numbers now read like something out of a video game: 196⅓ innings, 204 strikeouts, a 2.57 ERA. Without Zack Wheeler, he’s been the lifeline of this rotation.
And yet, once again, the bullpen wrote the ending.
David Robertson surrendered a two-run homer to Conine in the eighth. Jhoan Duran coughed up the tying shot to Heriberto Hernández in the ninth on the very pitch after Realmuto’s finger was rattled by that foul ball.
David Robertson surrendered a two-run homer to Conine in the eighth. Jhoan Duran coughed up the tying shot to Heriberto Hernández in the ninth on the very pitch after Realmuto’s finger was rattled by that foul ball.
And after a 69-minute rain delay, the script only got messier.
Realmuto couldn’t grip a bat by the time he was due up. Rafael Marchán pinch-hit, singled, then was stranded. The rain poured, the tarp came out, and an already chaotic night grew longer.
By the 10th, it felt inevitable. Miami scored twice off Orion Kerkering. The Phillies punched back with RBI singles from Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos. Tie game again. But in the 11th, the Marlins made sure there wouldn’t be another comeback.
At 92–65, the Phillies still control their destiny for a bye. But they’ve now dropped three straight, their bullpen looks shaky, and their catcher is day-to-day with a bruised right index finger.
It was supposed to be a night remembered for Sánchez’s brilliance. Instead, it’ll be remembered as the night the rain, the bullpen, and a bruised catcher’s finger stole the show.
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