Or so we thought.
The Mariners got one back on the aforementioned home run by Haniger in the bottom of the fifth, but entering the sixth, Rob Thomson went for the kill and brought in Jeff Hoffman to face the meat of the Seattle order. The decision was understandable: the team needed a win and that meant using your best reliever to face their best hitters. In this instance, it did not work. Hoffman struggled, giving up a leadoff double to Randy Arozarena, a one out hit by pitch to Justin Turner and a single to Jorge Polanco that scored Arozarena and made it 5-2. He would strike out Dylan Moore for the second out, but walked Haniger to load the bases for Luke Raley, pinch hitting for Mitch Garver. Raley double to bring in two and the score was 5-4. Josh Rojas singled to bring in another run, but a solid play by Harper to get the out at home kept the score at 5-5.
There were chances for both sides as they traded blows over the next two innings. In the seventh, the Phillies got runners on first and second with two outs to see Realmuto strike out to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth facing Jose Alvarado, the Mariners were able to get a runner to second thanks to an error by Bryson Stott on a double play attempt, then have that runner move to third when Trea Turner forgot he’s allowed to try and throw someone out there, but Alvarado struck out Raley to end that threat. The ninth was mostly uneventful (save for some...questionable...umpiring), which meant extra innings!
Could the Phillies do anything in their half of the inning? Of course not! Even with a walk to Bohm to put two men on and no one out, Realmuto, Castellanos and Bryson Stott put together three of the most noncompetitive at bats we’ve seen in a while to end the chance to score. In the bottom of the tenth, Carlos Estevez, working his second inning, almost wiggled out of a bases loaded, two out jam when he got two strikes on Haniger, but this pitch was called a ball thanks to just dreadful presentation by Realmuto.
Haniger walked, the winning run scored and the misery continues.
You know, sometimes you just marvel at a team when all facets of the game fail.
In the first inning, the Phillies actually got off to a decent start. Kyle Schwarber had a single and was followed by a double by Trea Turner to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Bryce Harper popped out for the first out, but the birthday boy Alec Bohm was able to ground out and bring in Schwarber for the first run of the game. Unfortunately, that was the only run they were able to muster, but beggars can’t be choosers when things are as bad as they are for the Phillies, so a lead they had to be happy with.
Orion Kerkering played the role of “opener” for the Phillies and, though he had a bit of a jam to get out of, he induced a groundball double play to get out of said jam. Kolby Allard took over for him in the second and did an admirable job, giving the team four innings of solid work, allowing only one run on a home run by Mitch Haniger.
As Allard did his job, the Phillies offense decided to do theirs.
Or at least tried to. In the fourth, Harper snapped his horrible run by doubling to lead off the inning, then went to third on a single by Brandon Marsh. Both runners though were stranded by J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos to continue the frustration and beg the question of when the misery would end. In the fifth, it finally did. Austin Hays hit a one out single, Schwarber walked and Turner had an infield single to load the bases and knock out Mariners starter Bryce Miller. Harper had to face a tough left hander Taylor Saucedo and flied out weakly to bring up Bohm with two outs. Bohm would deliver.
Marsh followed by getting a two out hit off a left hander to bring in two more runs and it looked like the Phillies might have a decent lead to handle the rest of the way.
Seattle Mariners Mitch Haniger reacts after drawing a walk-off walk during the 10th inning to defeat the Phillies, 6-5, in their game on Saturday in Seattle.
John Froschauer / AP
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