No answer for Yu: Padres 2, Phillies 0

The Phillies came into the rubber match with the Padres hoping to win their first home series since the end of April. Unfortunately, they were unable to do that. Thanks to the offense once again being non-existent in the 2-0 loss.

Padres starter, Yu Darvish, was sensational in this one allowing no runs over seven scoreless innings. He also struck out five batters. His 108 pitches were the most he has thrown in a game this season.

For the Phillies, the main bright spot in this game was Kyle Gibson. He threw 5.2 innings and allowed eight hits with only two runs. His seven strikeouts were the most he had in a game since opening day. After Gibson, the next arms into the game were Dominguez, Hand, Bellatti, and Brogdon. All of which held the Padres scoreless.

This game was simply on the hitters. Bryce Harper missed his fourth straight game and the offense needs him back. The ‘Phils were able to string together eight hits, but they had nothing to show for it. This was the fifth shut out loss of the season for the Phillies.

On two different occasions in the game, the Phillies had runners on first and third but both innings ended with Nick Castellanos’ groundouts. The inability of this team to get key hits with runners in scoring position is a problem. They left 18 runners on base in this game, which is quite astounding. What else is surprising is that the Phillies only walked one time in the game. The Phillies average close to three walks per game so having one is unlike them.

Both runs scored by the Padres came in the top of the fourth inning. One was an RBI single by 39-year-old Robinson Cano. The other was a sacrifice fly by Ha-Seong Kim. The Padres left 15 runners on base but were able to capitalize twice with runners on, which was the difference in the game.

Next for the Phillies is another series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ‘Phils just took three of four from the Dodgers this past weekend and now they welcome one of the league’s best teams to Citizens Bank Park. Game one is set for Friday at 7:05 pm with the starters being Julio Urias for Los Angeles and Ranger Suarez for the Phillies.