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Stott Shines, But Philadelphia Phillies Drop Bullpen Game in Toronto

Despite Bryson Stott’s best efforts, the Philadelphia Phillies struggled to score against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Jul 13, 2022 9:12 AM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies game started on a high note for manager Rob Thomson, as he became the first Canadian-born manager to manage a game in Canada. Unfortunately, his team was unable to give him a win on his big day.

The offense was shut down by José Berríos, a former All-Star who has been having a tough year. He went six innings, allowing just three runs and striking out thirteen Phillies batters.

Philadelphia’s pitching did their job too, holding Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the rest of Toronto’s daunting lineup to just four runs over nine innings. It was all the Phillies could have asked for out of the bullpen, but it was not enough to secure a victory. The Blue Jays won the contest 4-3.

Teoscar Hernández started the scoring with a two-run double off of Andrew Bellatti in the first. Bellatti has performed well this year, but the top of Toronto’s lineup proved too difficult for the 30-year-old right-hander.

The Phillies would get those runs back in the second and fourth, with an RBI single off the bat of Odúbel Herrera and and a solo home run from Bryson Stott.

Herrera has been struggling for several weeks now, and his two-out single was his first RBI in seven games. Stott has also been struggling of late, but he has been showing good signs at the plate. His game-tying home run is hopefully a sign of good things to come.

The Blue Jays took the lead again soon after the Phillies tied it. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Matt Chapman hit back-to-back doubles off of Mark Appel, who was otherwise very good on Tuesday. Toronto took a 3-2 lead.

Philadelphia tied it up once again the following inning, when Garrett Stubbs — catching for the absent J.T. Realmuto — bunted his way to first, stole second, and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Nick Castellanos.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, the tie game wouldn’t last long. Gurriel, who went 4-for-4 at the plate on Tuesday, hit his second double of the night, driving in All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk. The Blue Jays took a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish — Philadelphia was unable to tie things up for a third time.

All in all, it was a disappointing loss for the Phillies. They held the powerful Toronto offense to just four runs — in a bullpen game no less — but they were unable to score enough against a struggling starting pitcher.

The player of the game for Phildephia was surely Stott, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Stubbs also deserves some credit for his good work on the basepaths, which ultimately led to a run.

On the pitching side, Appel did terrific work, going three innings and allowing just one run. He struck out two of the best hitters in baseball: Guerrero Jr. and Kirk.

José Alvarado also continued his strong performance of late, throwing a scoreless inning and striking out two Jays.

After the loss on Tuesday night, Philadelphia now sits one game back in the Wild Card race. They’ll look to regain some ground tonight with ace Zack Wheeler taking the hill.