Abel struggles with command as Phillies drop Game 1 of doubleheader vs. Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
San Diego catcher Elias Diaz came into the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with limited offensive credentials. A season-average of .212 with just four home runs and 11 RBI really shouldn’t muster much trepidation from an opposing pitcher.
So when Phillies starting pitcher Mick Abel dug Diaz into an 0-2 count with runners on first and second in the second inning, a glimmer of sunshine — like the one hitting the field for the first time in a couple of days — could be seen for the Phillies to get out of the inning.
Instead, 12 of Abel’s next 15 pitches were balls — including four straight to Diaz — before Manny Machado hit a bases-loaded clearing double for a five-run inning that led the Padres to a 6-4 win in Game One, which was threatened during a monumental comeback late in the game by the Phils.
Making his sixth start of the season and first since June 21, Abel encountered his old nemesis — wildness — as he walked five on 53 pitches in just 1 1/3 innings. His inability to consistently find the strike zone in his minor league career has raised flags. In Triple A ball over the past couple seasons, the 23-year-old walked 107 batters in just 170 1/3 innings.
He seemingly had turned things around after his call-up, going 17 1/3 innings in his previous five starts with 18 strikeouts and just four walks. Perhaps an aberration, or maybe just the normal struggles you’d expect from a pitcher still in his Major League infancy.
“I just tried to do too much,” said Abel, who fell to 2-2 on the season. “I’ll get back to work tomorrow and the rest of the week. My confidence is still good. I still feel healthy.”
Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a pretty good idea of what ailed the rookie pitcher. “Command,” he said. “They got a pretty weak hit single (in the second) but it was just his command. There’s a lot of pressure in that situation and you just try to calm him down and slow things down for him a little bit. Mick’s obviously got great stuff. Sometimes it’s not easy to come in in this scenario and be successful right away. He’s done a great job for us.”
The Phillies offense was about as dreary as the weather had been the past few days through six. A solo home run by Kyle Schwarber in the sixth, his 26th of the season, was the only blemish they could paste on former Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta, as he picked up his ninth win of the season. He scattered seven hits over his 6 innings of work, struck out six, didn’t allow a walk and lowered his season ERA to 3.25.
“He looked good. He looked really good,” said Realmuto of Pivetta. “He mixed his pitches well, got ahead of us and threw strikes early in the count. He’s got multiple breaking balls and a hoppy fastball. I thought late in the game when he started mixing his two seam that was also really good because it wasn’t in our scouting report.”
The Phillies showed some offensive life in the seventh off reliever Bryan Hoeing when J.T. Realmuto doubled to left-center, went to third on a Bryson Stott groundout and scored when Edmundo Sosa tripled down the leftfield line. Sosa then crossed the plate on a nifty slide after Hoeing unleashed a wild pitch to make it 6-3, but Johan Rojas struck out, and after a walk to Trea Turner, Schwarber grounded out weakly to second to end the inning.
They picked up another in the ninth when Realmuto laced his third hit of the game, a single, and eventually scored on a single by pinch-hitter Brandon Marsh. After a Turner single, Marsh went to third and was originally called out, only to have it reversed. With him on third and Turner on second, Schwarber struck out on high heat to end the game.
“That’s a baserunner’s decision with the ball in front of you,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Marshy just assumed that the center fielder was going to throw the ball into second base to keep the tying run out of scoring position. You can’t assume anything. You have to make sure.”
The loss dropped the Phillies to 50-36 on the season but they held onto their two-game lead in the division as the New York Mets also lost their first game of a doubleheader, 7-2, to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Christopher Sanchez, who has posted five straight quality starts, will begin Game 2 for the Phillies. Sanchez hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs over his last seven starts and is 6-2 on the season with a 2.79 ERA. He will oppose Padres righthander Dylan Cease (3-7, 4.53 ERA).
Manager Rob Thomson said before the start of Game 1 that he would probably start all of his positional players over the two games, so look for Brandon Marsh, Rafael Marchan, Otto Kemp and Alec Bohm to be in the lineup for Game 2.
