One night after Ranger Suárez’s commendable performance, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler also delivered a one-run outing on Wednesday at Daikin Park. However, like Suárez, Wheeler ended up with a loss as the Astros secured a 2-0 victory over the Phillies. This marked the first time since August 2022 that the Phillies have been shut out in consecutive games and the first back-to-back losses with scores of either 1-0 or 2-0 since April 1996.
In the eighth inning, Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner hit singles to place runners on the corners with one out. Kyle Schwarber then hit a high chopper caught by Christian Walker, who initially looked home as Marsh hesitated. “He did the right thing,” manager Rob Thomson said about Marsh’s decision not to advance home. Schwarber managed an infield single, loading the bases for Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos. Bohm struck out after an eight-pitch battle, and Castellanos grounded out to end the inning.
“We were fortunate because Schwarber got to first base,” Thomson commented. “But we didn’t do anything after that.” Schwarber expressed regret for not elevating his pitch in that situation: “That’s not what I’m looking to do there… I’ve got to elevate a pitch.”
The Phillies had another opportunity in the fifth inning but failed to capitalize as Astros rookie Colton Gordon struck out Marsh and Turner with two runners on base. “We’re putting ourselves in position to score runs,” Schwarber noted. “The execution part is just not there right now.”
Over their last 21 games, Philadelphia has lost five despite allowing two runs or fewer from their pitching staff, including both games against Houston where Suárez and Wheeler combined for two runs allowed over nearly 14 innings but still resulted in losses.
“Unfortunately, you hate that this is part of the game because you want to win… especially when you get performances like that from those guys,” said Schwarber.
The Phillies are currently managing without Bryce Harper but remain optimistic about his return. “It hurts not having Bryce, but you’ve got to overcome it,” Thomson stated.
Despite Harper’s absence, Philadelphia has averaged six runs per game in their wins but only 2.6 runs during losses without him.
Thomson remains hopeful about overcoming offensive inconsistencies: “I think it’ll even itself out… Baseball is a funny game; weird things happen.”
As they prepare for Thursday’s series finale against Houston and subsequent challenging matchups against teams like the Braves and Padres before concluding their first-half schedule against other formidable opponents such as Reds and Giants, Thomson remarked: “We’re just going through a little spell here… We’ll come out of it.”
