PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Joe Girardi tried to cover everything that happened on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, but nobody could cover everything. Too many maddening and crazy and frustrating things happened.
How could they even begin to discuss the Phillies¡¯ 10-9 loss to the Orioles in 10 innings?
¡°We had everything that a game could have in the last couple innings,¡± Harper said.
¡°We saw some stuff tonight that usually you definitely don¡¯t see,¡± Hoskins said. ¡°Some stuff that I¡¯ve never seen on the field.¡±
Like a routine popup with two outs in the ninth inning, in which the third baseman called off the first baseman, only for the third baseman to stumble across the mound as the ball dropped and two runs scored. Like the Phillies' first extra-inning game with automatic runners on second base, and that first automatic runner scoring on an inside-the-park two-run home run. Like Philadelphia¡¯s relievers suffering through another nightmarish night only to have the offense nearly bail them out in three consecutive innings.
¡°It¡¯s just frustrating,¡± Girardi said. ¡°That¡¯s a game that I thought, in a lot of ways, we gave it away.¡±
It is frustrating because the Phillies fell to 5-7. They have played 20 percent of their 60-game season.
¡°We've got to win games,¡± Harper said. ¡°I mean, this is win or go home pretty much. With a 60-game schedule, we can't make mistakes. We've got to try to win as many series as possible.¡±
The Phillies wasted eighth- and ninth-inning comebacks in spectacular fashion. After Harper hit a game-tying two-run home run and Jean Segura hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth -- erasing the two runs that right-hander Tommy Hunter allowed in the seventh -- closer Héctor Neris allowed three runs in the ninth to hand Baltimore an 8-6 lead.
Two of those runs should have never scored. The Orioles had the bases loaded with two outs when Pedro Severino popped up a ball just to the first-base side of the pitcher¡¯s mound.
Neris got exactly what he wanted. Hoskins called for the ball, settling underneath it.
But then Segura scampered across the diamond and loudly called off Hoskins, who backed away.
The third baseman has priority over the first baseman on infield popups, but Segura stumbled as he raced over the mound. He could not make the play. The ball fell between Segura and Hoskins. Two runs scored.
¡°I had heard something from the right side of the infield,¡± Hoskins said. ¡°I just need to be louder, right? I called it. I called it early. I probably called it maybe a little bit too early. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any miscue if I end up calling it again or maybe call it at a later time. Who knows what happens after that?¡±
But Didi Gregorius hit a game-tying two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings. Orioles center fielder Austin Hays then hit a sinking line drive to center field to start the 10th. Phillies center fielder Roman Quinn extended himself to make a diving catch, but he missed. The ball rolled to the wall, giving Baltimore a 10-8 lead.
¡°That¡¯s kind of frustrating, too,¡± Girardi said. ¡°I would have to look at his break to really assess it. I didn¡¯t have a chance to look at it yet. He has to keep it in front of him.¡±
¡°You love the hustle, you love the effort,¡± Harper said. ¡°It's something that you never want to take away from 'Q,' because he plays a great center field for us and he goes and gets the balls better than anybody on our team. So you never want to take that away, but we have to be a little bit smarter. I had to learn that as well when I was in right field playing coming up, you know, not playing as many games, and I'd want to go out and try to get every single ball for my pitchers.¡±
The bullpen ERA, meanwhile, soared to 10.19 (40 earned runs in 35 1/3 innings) -- worst in the Majors by nearly three runs.
And still, Philadelphia had one more chance to extend the game, if not win. Jay Bruce¡¯s single in the 10th scored automatic runner Segura to cut Baltimore¡¯s lead to one. A pinch-hit single from Phil Gosselin and a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third. Could the Phillies come up with one more big hit?
They could not. Quinn grounded out to shortstop, sending Hoskins to the plate. Hoskins¡¯ single in the eighth set up Harper¡¯s homer, and his single in the ninth set up Gregorius¡¯ moment. But he grounded out to end the game.
¡°We kept coming back, and we weren¡¯t able to close out the deal,¡± Girardi said. ¡°We had our chances. We made some mistakes that really cost us.¡±