Philadelphia Phillies Falter Against Astros Following Wild Card Clinch
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The Philadelphia Phillies lost 10-0 on Tuesday night, just one night after defeating the American League number one seed Houston Astros to clinch their spot in the postseason for the first time in over a decade.
Tuesday night's storyline is vastly different than Monday's. On Monday night, Aaron Nola pitched 6.2 innings of perfect baseball. It took the Phillies until the ninth inning on Tuesday to break up an Astros combined no-hitter.
Just as dominant as Nola was on the mound on Monday, Ranger Suárez was the opposite on Tuesday, as he gave up six earned runs in just 3.0 innings pitched.
Houston's Justin Verlander, on the other hand, pitched 5.0 innings of no-hit baseball, lowering his seasonal ERA to 1.75 as he made his final case for this year's AL Cy Young award.
At the end of the night, it didn't really matter. Philadelphia ran out a depleted lineup to allow its regulars a day off ahead of the postseason. The Astros played it like it was spring training and manager Dusty Baker pulled his starting lineup after four at-bats.
The Astros have clinched the top seed in the American League. The Phillies want to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Wild Card round rather than the New York Mets who have baffled them all season.
And with the loss on Tuesday and the San Diego Padres' victory, the field is set. Philadelphia will travel to St. Louis on Friday to begin their first playoff series in 11 years.
Tuesday's result was barely a blip on the radar.
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