Lifeless for much of the night, Phillies fall to Pirates on walk-off

Final score: Pirates 3, Phillies 2

The Philadelphia Phillies made three trades ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, hoping to spark a run to the postseason for the first time since 2011.

We’ve yet to see any of the notable additions take the field as Phillies yet, but with Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy and Freddy Galvis in Phillies garb at PNC Park, their new team delivered a rather lifeless performance in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday.

The Phillies did record eight hits Saturday evening, but only ended up having two runs to show for it, one of which came on a sacrifice fly from Aaron Nola. Overall, the Phillies left nine men on base in the second game of a three-game series.

Despite an underwhelming performance for much of the night, the Phillies entered the ninth inning with a chance to win, as the score was tied at two. Instead, J.T. Realmuto grounded out to end the top of the ninth inning, stranding two runners on base.

José Alvarado came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth, and struggled with his control, throwing just six of 14 pitches for strikes. To his credit, Alvarado induced a ground ball to Alec Bohm at third base with runners on the corners and one out. Bohm — who had played well defensively for much of the night — fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw was to the right of home plate, allowing Bryan Reynolds to score the game-winning run on a fielder’s choice by Jacob Stallings:

Gibson will make his debut for the Phillies Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh as they attempt to avoid being swept by a team that will be picking in the top five in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Aaron Nola was excellent outside of the third inning Saturday, and even in that frame, he only gave up two runs. The former All-Star retired the final seven Pirates batters that he faced, finishing the night with. six innings pitches, three hits and two earned runs.
• J.T. Brubaker entered the evening with a 4.67 ERA and 4.90 FIP, but looked excellent across six innings against the Phillies. The 27-year-old right-hander allowed just three hits and one earned run over six innings of work Saturday. It was a bit surprising to see Pirates manager Derek Shelton lift Brubaker after six frames given that he had only thrown 82 pitches.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

Much has been made of Didi Gregorius’ defensive struggles in 2021, as he entered the evening with -10 defensive runs saved, among the worst marks in the sport. There’s a potential fix to that, though — moving him to another position in 2022.

More concerning, though, is the offensive decline that Gregorius has shown in 2021. Due $14.5 million next season, Gregorius is now hitting just .203 with a .259 on-base percentage this season after going 0-3 Saturday.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Sunday, Aug. 1 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park
• 1:05 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

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