PHILADELPHIA — Some losses announce themselves early. This one waited.
For four innings Thursday afternoon, the Phillies looked as if they might squeeze enough out of a bullpen-game setup, survive the heat, steal a run, and leave Citizens Bank Park with another series win. Alan Rangel, making his first career major-league start, gave them four scoreless innings. Bryce Harper gave them the only swing that mattered for a while. And for a few innings, that was enough.
Then the afternoon became what the Phillies hoped it would not become: five innings of bullpen exposure on a 98-degree day, a quiet offense that never built on its first chance, and a 6-1 loss to the Pirates that left Philadelphia with a split of the four-game series. Pittsburgh finished with 14 hits. The Phillies finished with four.
The game was played in punishing conditions. MLB.com noted it was 98 degrees at first pitch, the hottest game at Citizens Bank Park since July 23, 2011. By the ninth inning, the scoreboard showed 105.
The Phillies actually struck first. Rafael Marchán walked in the third, and Harper followed with a double to left that gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. It was Harper’s eighth straight game with an RBI, another reminder that his bat has become one of the few constants in a season that has rarely moved in a straight line.
But that was essentially it.
The Phillies actually struck first. Rafael Marchán walked in the third, and Harper followed with a double to left that gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. It was Harper’s eighth straight game with an RBI, another reminder that his bat has become one of the few constants in a season that has rarely moved in a straight line.
But that was essentially it.
Jared Jones, Carmen Mlodzinski, Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery handled the Phillies from there. Mlodzinski earned the win with three scoreless innings in relief, and Montgomery ended the game by striking out Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott in the ninth. Harper summed up the offensive day simply: “Today didn’t go as planned.”
Rangel was not the problem. In fact, he did exactly what the Phillies needed from a No. 5 starter audition on a day like this. He bent, but he did not break. He worked through traffic. He escaped a bases-loaded jam. He gave the Phillies four shutout innings, though it took him 90 pitches to get there. Don Mattingly said afterward there was “no reason to think” Rangel could not get through five or six innings when things are going well.
That is the real issue now. The Phillies do not just need starts. They need length.
When Rangel left, the game moved into the part of the roster that remains unsettled. Tim Mayza gave up the tying run in the fifth. Jonathan Bowlan stranded two runners in the sixth. Then José Alvarado took the ball in the seventh, and the game turned.
Brandon Lowe singled. Esmerlyn Valdez drove a ball to center that got under Justin Crawford’s glove and rolled for a go-ahead triple. Nick Gonzales followed with a bloop single. Just like that, the Phillies were down 3-1, and the afternoon had changed shape.
Pittsburgh kept adding. Endy Rodriguez homered leading off the eighth. Valdez added a sacrifice fly. Gonzales homered in the ninth. Valdez finished with three RBIs, while Gonzales and Jake Mangum each had three hits.
Alvarado’s line was another concern: one inning, three hits, two runs. His ERA sits at 6.10, and he has allowed 41 hits in 31 innings. For a Phillies team with October expectations, that is not a small detail. It is a flashing light.
The Phillies are still 49-39. They are still 10 games over .500. They still played better baseball in June and have stabilized under Mattingly. But Thursday was a reminder that the trade deadline cannot only be about luxury. It has to be about necessity.
The top of this roster can win. The middle of this roster can carry stretches. But days like this show where the strain still lives.
And on Thursday, in the heat, with the offense silent and the bullpen exposed, the Pirates found it.
Rangel was not the problem. In fact, he did exactly what the Phillies needed from a No. 5 starter audition on a day like this. He bent, but he did not break. He worked through traffic. He escaped a bases-loaded jam. He gave the Phillies four shutout innings, though it took him 90 pitches to get there. Don Mattingly said afterward there was “no reason to think” Rangel could not get through five or six innings when things are going well.
That is the real issue now. The Phillies do not just need starts. They need length.
When Rangel left, the game moved into the part of the roster that remains unsettled. Tim Mayza gave up the tying run in the fifth. Jonathan Bowlan stranded two runners in the sixth. Then José Alvarado took the ball in the seventh, and the game turned.
Brandon Lowe singled. Esmerlyn Valdez drove a ball to center that got under Justin Crawford’s glove and rolled for a go-ahead triple. Nick Gonzales followed with a bloop single. Just like that, the Phillies were down 3-1, and the afternoon had changed shape.
Pittsburgh kept adding. Endy Rodriguez homered leading off the eighth. Valdez added a sacrifice fly. Gonzales homered in the ninth. Valdez finished with three RBIs, while Gonzales and Jake Mangum each had three hits.
Alvarado’s line was another concern: one inning, three hits, two runs. His ERA sits at 6.10, and he has allowed 41 hits in 31 innings. For a Phillies team with October expectations, that is not a small detail. It is a flashing light.
The Phillies are still 49-39. They are still 10 games over .500. They still played better baseball in June and have stabilized under Mattingly. But Thursday was a reminder that the trade deadline cannot only be about luxury. It has to be about necessity.
The top of this roster can win. The middle of this roster can carry stretches. But days like this show where the strain still lives.
And on Thursday, in the heat, with the offense silent and the bullpen exposed, the Pirates found it.
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