After getting blasted in last Thursday’s season opener in Texas, Aaron Nola put together a very nice start in Wednesday’s series finale against the Yankees, only to be let down by his bullpen. Predictably, Phillies hitters struggled against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and Gregory Soto’s mercurial command abandoned him.
Home Plate umpire Nic Lentz was brutal all day, with his flaws on full display in the first inning. Aaron Nola had Gleyber Torres punched out looking on back-to-back pitches, yet Lentz inexplicably missed both calls. That came back to bite Nola, as Torres drove in Aaron Judge with a broken bat bloop single to left field. Both teams had legitimate gripes with Lentz’s ever-changing strike zone, but perhaps the worst of it was putting the Phils in an early hole.
After that Nola and Cole traded zeroes through the fifth, until Gleyber Torres struck again in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and D.J. LeMahieu on second Nola gave Torres a sinker that didn’t sink, and the second baseman grounded it right back up the middle for a single. Cristian Pache, who is on the Phillies’ roster solely for speed and defense, had a shot to throw LeMahieu out at home, but for some reason decided to hold onto the ball and allow the run to score.
The Phils got on the board in the top of the seventh, loading the bases against a weary Gerrit Cole. Jake Cave drove in Nick Castellanos with a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. It wouldn’t stay that way for long however, as Gregory Soto came on with one on in the seventh and was much more Jekyll than Hyde. Soto labored through his inning of work, needing over thirty pitches to get through the frame. With one out Soto worked Yankees catcher Jose Trevino to an 0-2 count and delivered a backfoot slider that didn’t get far enough out of the zone. Trevino turned on the offering and roped it into the left field seats to give the Yanks a 4-1 advantage.
Kyle Schwarber blasted his second home run in as many days to cut the Yankees’ lead to two, but it was too little, too late as the Yankees cruised to a 4-2 victory.
On the surface, this is another disappointing Phillies performance in an Opening Week filled with them. The bullpen spoiled an excellent start from Aaron Nola, and the offense couldn’t manage much against one of the game’s best. On the bright side, this wasn’t another blowout like the three we’ve already seen. They held a very potent Yankees lineup to four runs, and their ace looks to be back on track.
With the season-opening road trip mercifully at an end, the Phils will head home to take on the Cincinnati Reds. Thursday’s game has been postponed due to a murky forecast, and the three-game set will now begin on Friday at 3:05 with Zack Wheeler taking on Hunter Greene.