PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies did not lose ground to the first-place Mets over the weekend. That's sort of the good news. However, from an objective standpoint, it's hard to deny they missed an opportunity to close the gap in the National League East.
"We got two [wins this weekend], but we could've had four .... But we gotta move on, and we gotta finish strong going into [next month's All-Star break]," Phillies manager Joe Girardi said after holding off New York 4-2 at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon.
"We needed this win today so we can get back on track," starting pitcher Zack Wheeler said.
Wheeler, the team's ace this season, was brilliant once again on Sunday, striking out 8 over 7 shutout innings against his former club.
The Phillies bullpen had blown saves in Games 1 through 3 that were caused by more bad defense. While they were fortunate to win Game 2 in extra innings on Friday, they were not as lucky in Game 1 earlier Friday and Game 3 on Saturday. They should have at least captured three out of four in the series.
"Friday the runs were unearned," Girardi emphasized in defense of his bullpen. "Saturday the runs were unearned. Right? It was our defense."
First baseman Rhys Hoskins went to the field early with infield coach Juan Castro to work on his defense, according to Phillies radio announcer Scott Franzke in Sunday's broadcast. Hoskins' error during Saturday's 9th inning led the Phillies to give up their third one-run lead of the ballgame. They had a chance to win a game in which the Mets started Jacob deGrom — arguably the best pitcher on the planet.
Hoskins took responsibility for booting the grounder before he even took a question after the game.
"I gotta catch the ball. I gotta make the play," Hoskins said. "I really believe that, if we get that out to start the 9th, that we win that game. We got a chance to win the biggest series of the year [Sunday] with maybe our best guys this year [in Wheeler] on the mound."
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Hoskins pleaded with the assembled media at his press conference to tell the good and the bad of the story.
"I'm sure you're gonna write about that. I'm sure you're gonna write about the defense. Yeah, the last couple nights we haven't made a couple plays that we should have, for sure. I think I would definitely tell you that, I think [third baseman Alec Bohm] would tell you that last night. So, if you're gonna write about that, obviously write about it, but don't forget to write about the great things today."
Hoskins' remarks caught the attention of fans on social media.
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Nonetheless, he bounced back by making a solid defensive play late in Sunday's game that arguably saved a run when the Mets were trying to rally down 4-0. Friday, reliever José Alvarado and Hoskins couldn't complete a simple groundout. Sunday, they could.
If the Phillies want positive stories in the media, the club will need to string together some consistent wins. Heading into Monday night's make-up game at the Cincinnati Reds, the Phils haven't won consecutive contests since June 13. Several times this season, they have gone long stretches without winning two in a row, and this is just the latest example.