The Philadelphia Phillies looked completely finished by the fourth inning Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. Jesús Luzardo was unraveling on the mound, the offense was silent again, and the Colorado Rockies appeared ready to cruise to an easy road victory.
Then everything changed.
Justin Crawford delivered the biggest swing of his young MLB career with a game tying two run homer in the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber added another historic blast, and the Phillies somehow erased a six run deficit in front of a stunned home crowd. But just when it looked like Philadelphia had pulled off one of its most dramatic wins of the season, the entire comeback fell apart in crushing fashion.
Colorado escaped with a chaotic 9-7 victory in 11 innings, silencing the Phillies after one of the wildest momentum swings of the year.
The loss exposed nearly every problem currently haunting Philadelphia.
Luzardo’s inconsistency once again became a major concern. The left hander looked dominant early, striking out the side in the third inning and flashing the electric stuff that convinced the Phillies to commit long term to him earlier this year. But the fourth inning turned disastrous almost instantly.
The outing continued a troubling trend for Luzardo, who has alternated dominant performances with complete meltdowns throughout the season. One week after overpowering Miami with double-digit strikeouts, he once again failed to provide stability when the Phillies desperately needed it.
Philadelphia’s offense did almost nothing against Rockies rookie Chase Dollander through the first five innings. The Phillies continued their recent struggles against starting pitching, managing little hard contact while repeatedly falling behind in counts.
Schwarber finally gave the crowd something to cheer about in the sixth inning.
The slugger launched his 200th career home run as a Phillie deep into the seats, cutting the deficit and injecting life back into a team that had looked lifeless for most of the night. Schwarber finished just 1 mfor 6 and struck out four times, but his milestone blast changed the energy inside the stadium.
The real explosion came two innings later.
Bryce Harper sparked the rally with another clutch at-bat, Brandon Marsh drove in a run, and Bryson Stott ripped a double into the gap to suddenly bring Philadelphia within striking distance. With two outs and the crowd roaring, Crawford stepped to the plate looking for the defining moment of his rookie season.
Crawford hammered a two-run homer for the first home run of his MLB career, tying the game at 7-7 and sending Citizens Bank Park into chaos. The rookie outfielder finished with three hits and continued to cement himself as one of the brightest young pieces in the Phillies organization.
For a moment, it looked like the Phillies had completely flipped the game.
Instead, they wasted the opportunity.
Philadelphia failed to score in either the ninth or 10th innings despite multiple chances to walk the Rockies off. Colorado reliever Victor Vodnik dominated the heart of the Phillies lineup during those extra frames, retiring Schwarber, Harper, and the middle of the order when the game was hanging in the balance.
The Rockies finally broke through in the 11th.
Pinch-hitter Troy Johnston delivered the decisive blow with an RBI double that scored automatic runner Willi Castro. Jake McCarthy followed with another run scoring hit moments later, giving Colorado the lead for good.
Philadelphia still had one final chance in the bottom of the inning.
Harper came to the plate representing the tying run with two outs, but Rockies reliever Juan Mejía induced a game ending groundout to finish the marathon victory and complete a stunning collapse by the Phillies.
The loss dropped Philadelphia deeper into an uneven and frustrating season filled with inconsistency from both the rotation and bullpen. While Crawford’s breakout performance gave fans a glimpse into the future, the Phillies once again failed to capitalize on a massive offensive moment because of pitching failures earlier in the night.
Mattingly praised the team’s fight after the game, saying the Phillies “kept going” despite the ugly start. But moral victories are beginning to wear thin for a club that entered the season expecting to contend deep into October.
Now the pressure shifts to Aaron Nola, who is expected to start Saturday as Philadelphia attempts to avoid another damaging home series against a Rockies team that entered the weekend struggling near the bottom of the National League standings.
