Rocky Mountain Blues: Rockies 6, Phillies 5

Another game, another lineup for the Phillies. This one featured Jean Segura in the leadoff spot, amongst other changes.

The beginning of this game looked so promising for the Phillies, scoring in the first inning thanks to a Bryce Harper RBI single. Rhys Hoskins’ triple set up the RBI hit by Harper which gave the Phillies their first lead of the series. Then in the fourth inning, Matt Vierling laced an RBI single to right scoring Alec Bohm.

Kyle Gibson started for the ‘Phils and pitched well recording a quality start. The fourth inning was the only hiccup for Gibson as he gave up three runs on four hits. Including an Elias Diaz RBI single that gave Colorado the 3-2 lead.

Fast forward to the sixth inning when Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate and launched an opposite-field homer to left giving the Phillies the 4-3 lead. Gibson left the game after six innings and it was on the bullpen to hold the lead.

As you can expect, in typical Phillies fashion that would not be the case. The bullpen imploded in the bottom of the seventh as Seranthony Dominguez gave up two baserunners and Joe Girardi called upon Jeurys Familia to get out of the jam.

Familia threw a 2-2 slider to C.J. Cron and it was deposited into the left-field seats giving the Rockies the 6-4 lead.

That was the backbreaker for the ‘Phils. They were unable to overcome the two-run deficit even though they did add a run in the eight on a Schwarber RBI single.

This was the first blown save for the bullpen this season and it came at a terrible time. The Phillies need to win games on the road and that is not happening right now. The Phillies fall to an abysmal 4-8 on the season with five of those losses coming on the road.

What a disgraceful start to what many thought would be a promising season in Philadelphia. We are only in April but the Phillies are already in the cellar of the NL East being five games behind the division-leading Mets.

I am not saying tomorrow is a must-win for the Phillies, but I would not blame anyone for thinking that. You simply can not have a 1-6 road trip to start the year, especially against teams that are expected to be two of the worst in the NL.

It is time to wake up and win a game. Zach Eflin will take the hill for the Phillies in the series finale on Wednesday against German Marquez of the Rockies. The first pitch is set for 3:10 PM ET and the Phillies better be wide awake for the getaway game.