PITTSBURGH — The Phillies staked Aaron Nola to a three-run lead but his command evaporated in the middle innings and the defense behind him was downright bad in a 7-6 loss.
A three-run double by Brandon Marsh and RBI double from Jake Cave on back-to-back pitches gave the Phillies a three-run lead in the top of the fourth. Nola immediately gave two runs back on a pair of doubles, a walk and a softly hit single between first and second.
The fifth inning was even worse. Bryan Reynolds blooped a single and Nola walked Andrew McCutchen. With one out, Henry Davis grounded a ball slightly to Bryce Harper's right at first base and Harper committed his first error at the position. He just tried to move too quickly. There were men on first and second and Harper bobbled the ball rushing to start a double play, then bobbled it a second time attempting to get the out at first.
The next batter, catcher Endy Rodriguez, lined a ball on one hop to center field that nicked off Marsh's glove and went past him for a "bases-clearing triple" that would have been a single and two-base error every year since about 1875, just not in 2023.
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The Pirates tacked on another run to end Nola's night. He pitched poorly but was also hurt by two misplayed balls in right field by Nick Castellanos, the Harper error, a ball that went over Marsh's head and the costliest one that went by Marsh in shallow center.
Nola allowed seven runs, five earned. He is 9-7 with a 4.43 ERA.
The Phillies are 56-48. They began the night in the top National League wild-card spot, though just one game separated them from the first team out, the Marlins.
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Trea Turner, who entered the night with his lowest batting average in nearly two months, was moved down to seventh in the lineup. Manager Rob Thomson said Turner won't return to the two-hole until he regains his stroke and shows a comfort level at the plate.
The next issue, however, is that the initial replacement in the two-hole is even colder than Turner. Nick Castellanos went 0-for-5 and is 10-for-85 over his last 21 games, hitting .118 with two extra-base hits, two walks and 33 strikeouts. Castellanos struck out swinging at an 0-2 slider well off the plate to strand the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The tying and go-ahead runs were on base in his final at-bat but he went down swinging again to end the eighth.
Castellanos has looked this month like the player who chased more than ever in 2022, a quality that somehow spread to Turner this season. Thomson's rationale for hitting him second despite the slump is that he hopes the right fielder will have more pitches to hit batting in front of Harper. We'll see what the lineup looks like Sunday.
Marsh had a topsy-turvy night. He drove in three runs but might have given back just as many in the field. The defensive gap between Johan Rojas and Marsh has stood out since Rojas' arrival. It was evident again as soon as Rojas replaced Marsh in center in the sixth inning after pinch-hitting for left fielder Jake Cave when the rookie made a diving catch to rob McCutchen on a sinking liner to center.
Rojas, who will likely start Sunday against left-hander Rich Hill, singled in a run to cut the Pirates' deficit to one in the bottom of the eighth. The Phillies had two men aboard with one out but All-Star closer David Bednar ended the inning with two strikeouts, then got J.T. Realmuto to ground into a game-ending double play in the ninth with the tying run at third base.
