One of the worst Phillies losses, I’ve ever seen last night

The Phillies game last night was a ‘feel good’ experience for most of the game. The Phils were up 7-1 late into the game. The Phillies had that big lead and heading into the late innings, Joe Girardi somehow figured out that he should put a reliever in that had been hit to the moon by the same very team that the Phillies were playing last night, the New York Mets.

James Norwood, Phillies reliever, came into last night’s game with a 13.50 ERA in 2 games vs the New York Mets. He had no business being put into this game last night, but somehow it all made sense to Joe Girardi. Even when Norwood started getting into a jam, he was left in the game, and before the dust settled, the Phillies would somehow end up losing this game in unbelievable fashion.

Joe goes with Familia in the 8th, then follows up with Norwood in the 9th? Baffling move.

The move by Girardi is unexplainable, you bring Familia in for a flawless 10-pitch 8th inning which NY Mets broadcaster,, Ron Darling noted, ‘Familia was cruising’, and probably could have closed this game out himself. Then in the 9th inning, you throw in a guy that has a 13.50 ERA coming into the game against the Mets. That is a recipe for disaster. James Norwood is tasked with closing out the game even though at the time it was still a comfortable lead.

Norwood gets into trouble almost immediately, with an infield hit by Marte and then a home run bomb by Lindor, who took Norwood deep into the Philly night sky 421 feet deep with his 5th HR of the year. Joe Girardi let him continue to pitch the game. Why? He then gets into more trouble with a sharp double by Pete Alonso and still no move from Girardi, and then a hit by McNeil. Damage was done, Joe Girardi now in full panic mode now has to bring Corey Knebel in without much preparation.

The Mets just happen to hit Nick Castellanos, the player leading the Phillies batting average. He was hit on the wrist, and x-rays were negative.

What happens next is a full collapse by the Phillies in this game, the whole night collapsed like a house of cards, all brought on by the curious move of Joe Girardi who somehow thought he should bring Norwood in. Hindsight is always 20/20 but it was plain to see Girardi didn’t manage this well, should he be fired from the Phillies? I think at this point, he should but the Phillies are not the organization they once were, they will not fire Girardi solely on this loss, he will dig a deeper hole for himself, and then it will happen but for now we are stuck with this type of head-scratching moves by him, a constant shuffling of the line-up every night, and questionable pitching moves.

When was the last time a team scored 7 runs on the Phils in an inning?

June 20, 2017 – the St. Louis Cardinals threw a 7 spot on the board to win the game in the 11th inning – prior to that, it was June 10, 1984 when the Pittsburgh Pirates put up a 7-spot with another Phils loss in extra innings.

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