MIAMI — Manager Ryne Sandberg has spoken to his pitchers about the dangers of walking hitters. So has pitching coach Bob McClure.
But the walks continue.
The Phillies’ majors-leading total reached 99 in a 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday night (see Instant Replay).
The Marlins scored the winning run with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. And you guessed it — the run began as a walk.
“Walks again came back to haunt us,” Sandberg said after his team’s fourth loss in a row and 16th in 24 games this season. “That’s kind of been the story the last four or five games. We can’t afford to walk people because they continue to score.”
The Phillies gave up 27 runs in losing three of four earlier in the week in St. Louis. Nine of those runs started as walks and a 10th scored on a bases-loaded walk.
MLB
On Friday night, Jerome Williams failed to protect a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Marlins scored two runs in that inning. The first run started as a one-out walk to pinch-hitter Reid Brignac. The top of the Marlins’ order followed with three straight hits to tie the game.
“That walk killed me,” Williams said. “We were up 3-1. The walk haunted me. It got them rolling. If that walk doesn’t happen, I feel confident we get out of that inning with the lead.”
The Phillies had built that lead on the strength of a three-run home run by Chase Utley against Marlins starter Tom Koehler fourth inning. The Phillies had just five hits on the night. Four of them came in the fourth. They did nothing the rest of the night until Cody Asche tripled with two outs in the ninth and died on third base.
Utley had entered the game hitting a majors-worst .114.
The Phils had a chance to extend their lead after Utley’s homer in the fourth inning, but Ryan Howard was cut down at the plate for the third out. He tried to score from third on a pitch that got by catcher J.T. Realmuto. The ball came off the back wall hard and Realmuto flipped to the pitcher to get Howard in a close play.
Replays appeared to show Howard getting in ahead of the tag. The Phillies asked for a review, but the call on the field stood. Howard was dumbfounded.
“I felt nothing,” he said afterward. “If I felt [a tag] I would have told Ryno not to waste his time challenging the play.
“That’s a tough one.”
As things turned out, it sure was.
Ken Giles pitched out of trouble to preserve the tie in the eighth inning and stayed on for the ninth. He walked the first batter of the frame, Giancarlo Stanton, before giving up a ringing double to left-center to Marcell Ozuna on a 1-1 slider.
Centerfielder Odubel Herrera made a quick recovery of the ball and strong throw to cutoff man Freddy Galvis, but his throw to the plate was off line and Stanton slid in safely to end the game.
“If the throw from Freddy is on the line, he’s out,” Sandberg said.
If Giles doesn’t walk the leadoff man, things also might have played out differently.
Sandberg preaches playing the game right, but this team often plays the game wrong. He is clearly frustrated by the walks. They have prompted him and McClure to meet with pitchers.
“We’ve talked to them the last three days about the walks,” Sandberg said. “It’s the major leagues. We have to say something. They have to make an adjustment. You can’t let that go unnoticed. There’s been multiple meetings about the walks.
“Hopefully, it stops and we attack the zone better and work ahead in the count. That’s the biggest thing.”
Cole Hamels looks to stop the losing streak at four on Saturday afternoon.