The bottom of the inning, though, Seranthony Dominguez relieved for Turnbull and clearly did not have it. Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked to start the inning, Tyler Stephenson hit a ground rule double with one out, but Dominguez was able to get two outs. Then he gave up a single to Santiago Espinal that tied the game before Dominguez allowed a steal and a walk before being relieved by Matt Strahm. Strahm gave up a single and a double that scored two more runs and gave Cincinnati a 5-3 lead.
The seventh inning saw the Phillies start with two singles by Turner and Bohm, but Nick Castellanos grounded into a force out at second that put the runners on the corners. Merrifield delivered an RBI double that made it 5-4 with runners on second and third and right hander Fernando Cruz coming into the game to face Edmundo Sosa.
Again, Thomson did not take the platoon advantage and this time, the move did not work as Sosa struck out for the second out. At this point, Marsh came in to hit for Pache, but a harmless fly ball to right ended the threat and the Phillies were still behind.
The Reds would get two more - one in their half of the seventh and one in the eighth - but the Phillies could muster no more against the Reds bullpen and the game was lost.
Were there moments there that we could quibble with? Personally, I’d have gone for the throat in the sixth inning and, once that didn’t work, again in the seventh with Stott hitting for Sosa. Thomson likely had his reasons for not doing so; they’re just head scratchers.
They’ll go for a split tomorrow afternoon.
There are nights when you know someone on the team doesn’t have it. Usually, the obvious choice is the pitcher. It’s almost instantly when one can tell if the starter doesn’t have his good stuff on that night. Other times, you know right away when the offense just isn’t going to have it in them. Bad takes, strikezone struggles - it can be apparent within a batter or two with experience. The hardest one to determine is the manager. Since he doesn’t really affect the game outside of setting the lineup card prior to the game, if he’s off with some of his decisions, you are left scratching your head at decisions made.
Tonight, it was the manager that wasn’t exactly clothing himself in glory.
The Phillies got off on the right foot, taking the lead when Trea Turner scored on an Alec Bohm single in the first inning, an early lead afforded to Spencer Turnbull. When Kyle Schwarber walked to start the third inning, Bohm knocked him in as well with an RBI double and a lead was grown. Turnbull gave one back in the bottom of the inning on a Will Benson home run, but generally, Turnbull looked quite good. He should have had more support than two runs, but the head scratching began in the fifth inning. Not necessarily Thomson’s fault, but with runners on the corners in the inning and two out, a steal attempt was made by Castellanos at first, intended to be a double steal similar to the one the team tried over the weekend, only now, the Reds didn’t blink, got Turner trying to sneak in off third and ended the inning and Turner’s consecutive stolen base streak without getting caught.
In the sixth, things really got interesting. Whit Merrifield singled, stole second and advanced to third on a single to left by Edmundo Sosa, bringing up Cristian Pache. Instead of pinch hitting with Brandon Marsh, Pache was left to his own devices against Lucas Sims who struck him out for the first out. Again, Thomson did not pinch hit with Marsh for Johan Rojas, but this one did not bite the team as Rojas singled in Merrifield and made it 3-1. Still, it was a bit strange Thomson didn’t go for a bigger inning, but the Rojas move did work out.
Phillies pitcher Spencer Turnbull vs the Reds - April 24th 2024 - Getty Images
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