Thursday, October 1, 2026
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79 ° Clear
Poor base running fundamentals cost the Phillies in a big way on Tuesday evening as they dropped their series opener against the Houston Astros 6-5. Whether it was getting doubled up on base or staring too long at a line drive, the actions the Phillies did not take cost them more than the actions they took.
“There's games that small things cost you runs,” interim manager Don Mattingly explained, “and it can cost you a game.”
Andrew Painter had not allowed a home run since August 16 against the Twins. In the top of the second, he allowed a three-run shot to give the Astros the early lead.
Daulton Varsho led off the inning with a double down the right field line, advancing to third on a follow-up single from Yainer Diaz. With two runners on and no outs, Christian Walker connected on a sinker in the low-inside corner, smoking it 440 feet into section 146 in left center field.
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Walker’s 25th home run of the season would not be the end of Painter’s troubles, however. After striking out Taylor Trammell, Cam Smith walked to put pressure back on the base path. With the top of the order due up, Jeremy Peña slung a double down the left field line, scoring Smith.
Painter rebounded to get out of the inning, striking out Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, but not before finding himself in a 4-0 deficit.
Matters were made worse in the top of the fourth inning as Smith slung a solo shot to left field, giving the Astros a 5-0 lead.
Despite the offensive output from the Astros, Painter managed to pitch through the fifth inning, needing 98 pitches to do so. As the Phillies turned to Tim Mayza to pitch the sixth inning, Painter went to the showers, having allowed five runs on 10 hits, including two home runs.
The Astros sent out right-hander Hayden Wesneski to take on the Phillies on Tuesday. In his last three outings, Wesneski pitched an impressive 0.53 ERA over 17.0 innings. Facing a Phillies offense that had only scored 11 runs in the past four games against the Braves, it felt like a good opportunity for Wesneski to continue that trend.
The Phillies’ first hit came in the bottom of the second as Luis Arraez reached on a leadoff single. Two batters later, Bryson Stott grounded out sharply to Walker at first, who closed the inning out on a 3-6-3 double play.
Wesneski then cruised into the bottom of the sixth, where Justin Crawford became the Phillies’ first runner in scoring position, reaching on a one-out double into right field. Up next, Kyle Schwarber spared little time, batting him in two pitches later on a single up the middle.
On a 1-0 cutter up the zone, Trea Turner drove his 18th home run of the season into left field, waking Citizens Bank Park up as the Phillies came within two runs of the Astros.
Brooks Raley came in for the seventh inning with the goal of keeping the game close for the Phillies. With one out on the inning, Varsho worked his way back from a 0-2 count, looking at three straight balls. Raley then threw a red-zone sinker, a perfect offering for Varsho to hit 406 feet into right center field.
After Raley wrapped up the inning, the Astros also went to the bullpen. Alec Bohm hit a leadoff double off AJ Blubaugh, extending his on-base streak to 12 games. Bryson Stott then took a sweeper off the foot, putting two runners on with no outs for the Phillies.
Brandon Marsh understood the assignment. On a 2-2 count, Marsh drove a low fastball off of Monty’s Angle in center field. As Marsh rounded second, Bohm scored to regain the lost run.
With momentum surging in the Phillies’ direction, J.T. Realmuto connected on a line drive that seemed destined to score two runs.
Instead, it recorded two outs.
Realmuto’s line drive went right to a diving Peña at short. With Marsh breaking for third on the play, Peña had an easy flip to second base to double him up on the play.
“You know, I was taught freeze,” Mattingly said on how Marsh should have approached the line drive. “Just think too aggressive, thinking that's going to get through and he's going to score and we're going to tie it up... But basically your principles should say freeze or go back.”
The Phillies had an opportunity to tie the game up in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a one-out double from Turner. Arraez then reached base behind him, getting hit by a pitch from Bryan Abreu. Arraez was removed from the game after getting hit, with Garrett Stubbs taking over on the base path.
After the game, Mattingly confirmed that the switch was a tactical one, not preventative, due to an injury.
Ultimately the Phillies failed to score either runner on the inning.
The bottom of the ninth came, and Bryson Stott slipped a leadoff single into left field off Josh Hader. Edmundo Sosa then pinch hit for Brandon Marsh. Sosa connected on a slider, sending it deep into right field. Instead of running right away, Sosa took a second to bask in the glory of what he thought was a game-tying home run.
Instead, it bounced off the wall in right field. Having lost a few seconds of running, Sosa pulled into second on what could have been a triple. Stott scored on the play as the Phillies got within one run of the Astros.
“I was watching the ball, so I didn't see if he was going full speed all the way,” Mattingly explained, “but I was wondering why he really wasn't as far as he should have been.”
With two straight fly-outs from Realmuto and Derek Hill, the Phillies found themselves at their final out. Either way, flying out could have become a game-tying sacrifice fly. Instead, Schwarber popped out to end the game.
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-1 on Tuesday, preventing the Phillies from falling to five games out in the division. Cristopher Sánchez will look to right the ship tomorrow as the Phillies face Hunter Brown in game two against the Astros.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
