PHOENIX — It took just one swing to decide it.
Andrew Painter had done his part for seven shutout innings against the Diamondbacks to preserve the scoreless tie. But Arizona catcher James McCann ambushed the first pitch thrown by reliever Jonathan Bowlan in the eighth inning for a go-ahead home run in a 1-0 Phillies loss on Wednesday.
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The Phillies offense didn’t back up the rookie’s performance, despite it being a bullpen game for Arizona. With just three hits for each team, the margin of error for the pitchers was razor thin. And McCann’s one swing proved to be the difference.
Seven pitchers split the job on the mound for the Diamondbacks. Bryan De La Cruz accounted for the Phillies’ only hits through the first six innings: a double in the third and a single in the sixth. Both times, the Phillies failed to advance him. Bryce Harper added a single in the seventh, but the offense didn’t capitalize on that, either.
Painter turned in one of his best starts of the year as the rookie continued his second-half resurgence. The first inning has been an issue for him in recent starts, and on Wednesday he gave up a leadoff single to Lars Nootbaar. But Painter managed to settle in quicker than he has in previous outings and escape the inning without damage.
From there, Painter retired nine consecutive Diamondbacks. He didn’t allow another hit until the seventh when Geraldo Perdomo singled, but he rebounded by getting Nolan Arenado to ground out and Tim Tawa to strike out on a changeup. It was Painter’s sixth strikeout of the night — and fourth on that pitch — to cap his outing on a high note.
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After McCann gave Arizona the late lead, the Phillies managed to put the tying run aboard after Harper drew his second walk of the day. But Luis Arraez grounded out on the first pitch to snap the Phillies’ win streak at six.
With one month left in the season, the Phillies are jockeying for playoff positioning in the National League. And things are about to heat up with a critical three-game series in Arizona. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen joins Phillies Extra to discuss the wild-card race, the drama involving star second baseman Ketel Marte, and the 2023 NLCS, which left scars in Philadelphia that still haven’t healed. Watch here.
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