Jake Thompson continues woes for Phillies' starters in loss to Dodgers

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Pete Mackanin sort of smiled when asked how he sizes up his beaten and battered starting pitching rotation just moments after another poor outing from rookie Jake Thompson.

“I can’t even remember our rotation right now,” the Phillies manager said with a laugh. “I’m trying to figure it out.”

On the day it was announced one Phillies young starter (Aaron Nola) would officially be out for the season (see story), another one’s woes continued.

Thompson struggled with his command and unraveled in the fourth and fifth innings of Wednesday’s 7-2 Phillies' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers (see Instant Replay).

The 22-year-old righty lasted just five innings, needing 103 pitches (55 strikes) to get through his third career start. He allowed five runs on five hits, walking four while striking out four. His ERA jumped to 8.79.

Moreover, it was the eighth consecutive time a Phillies starter pitched less than six innings, tying a team record, and the 19th straight time a starter failed to pitch seven innings. Phillies starters have a 7.06 ERA in those 19 games.

“It reminds me a little bit of last year in that we’re not getting innings from our starters,” Mackanin said. “A lot of that is due to injuries to the pitchers and the young guys that are here and the spot starts. During the next week or two, hopefully, we’ll get back on track.”

Thompson scattered a run and a hit in three scoreless innings to start Wednesday’s game.

But then came the fourth inning, when he struggled throwing first-pitch strikes. A single by Justin Turner and a walk issued to Josh Reddick were the appetizers for the first of two home runs on the night from Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. 

In the fifth, Turner launched a two-run shot off Thompson to left field to put the Dodgers ahead, 5-1.

“I think I was a little too fine in some of the counts,” Thompson said. “Some justifiably so. But, yeah, just being a little too fine, falling behind their hitters. When you're facing a lineup like those guys have, it's probably not a good place to be.”

He didn’t get a ton of help from his offense Wednesday. The Phillies, who dropped their sixth in their last seven against the Dodgers, tallied 11 hits on the night but mustered just the two runs. They left 10 runners on base and were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies scored a run in the second inning on an RBI double off the bat of Freddy Galvis. Tommy Joseph cut a four-run deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth with a towering upper-deck home run.

“We got plenty of hits, but we didn’t get them when it counted,” Mackanin said. “We hit the ball hard pretty much all night.”

But this game, like most of the 2016 season, was about another young arm.

Thompson fell behind 14 of the 24 batters he faced. He’s walked nine batters in his first 14 1/3 big-league innings.

“I attribute that to the fact he’s 22 years old and his first go-around at the big-league level,” Mackanin said. “Pitching is all about repeating your mechanics and making good pitches. In time, he’ll get there.

“It’s a combination of his first go-around in the big leagues and his age and trying to do too much. I know he has better command than he’s shown. He walked four guys tonight. He’s going to go through growing pains and he’ll learn little by little.”

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