PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies lost a baseball game Tuesday night and are hoping they didn’t lose more.
J.T. Realmuto exited in the ninth inning after taking a foul tip off the hand. He was diagnosed with a right index finger contusion, and an X-ray was negative. That was the best result possible immediately after a 6-5 loss to the Miami Marlins in 11 innings.
“That was quite a blow he took to his finger, but the X-ray is negative,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ll check him out tomorrow.”
The foul tip happened with Heriberto Hernandez up to bat. After being visited by the trainers, Realmuto stayed in the game, and Hernandez tied it with a homer off closer Jhoan Duran.
Realmuto was pinch-hit for by Rafael Marchan in the bottom of the ninth, Realmuto unable to grip a bat. Marchan singled and was on first base when the game was delayed for 69 minutes.
With Trea Turner on the injured list and Alec Bohm having just returned, the Phillies have contended with injuries throughout September. (Bryce Harper missed Tuesday’s game with an illness, as well.) None would be bigger than the three-time All-Star.
“He’s super important to us,” starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez said via a translator. “He’s one of the best catchers in the game. We’re basically nothing without him. He’s a key player and a key piece for all of us.”
The Phillies appeared to be cruising Tuesday night. Sanchez, in his penultimate start of the regular season, breezed through seven shutout innings, allowing three hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He didn’t allow a Marlin to safely touch third base in lowering his ERA to 2.57. He recorded his 200th strikeout of the season and 500th of his career.
Sanchez threw 91 pitches, the perfect time to get him out of the game and allow the Phillies’ bullpen to try and get the final six outs with a three-run lead. It couldn’t, against a Marlins team that has won 11 of 12 and remains alive for a Wild Card spot in the National League.
“That’s kind of where we’re at, balancing out the making sure the players are healthy, but still, you’ve got to win games,” Thomson said of removing Sanchez. “But I thought we were in a really good spot to get him out with a good pitch count and keep him out of harm’s way.”
Sanchez was staked to a lead early, Kyle Schwarber hitting his 54th homer of the season into the first row of the second deck in the first inning. Otto Kemp added his seventh homer, an opposite-way bomb. Those homers limited Marlins starter Edward Cabrera to four innings on the mound.
But it all went sideways even before the rain started to. David Robertson lost the shutout on a Griffin Conine solo homer with one out in the eighth. Back-to-back singles by Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks turned into a run when Harrison Bader overthrew Weston Wilson at second for an unearned run. Tanner Banks was required to stop the bleeding, striking out Jakob Marsee to end the inning.
Duran gave up the lead in the ninth when Hernandez took him out to left-center field for his 10th homer of the season, Duran’s third blown save as a Phillie.
Marchan was stranded on first in the ninth, Michael Petersen entering after the delay.
Orion Kerkering’s struggles continued in the 10th, giving up an RBI single to Hicks and an RBI groundout to Marsee for a 5-3 Marlins lead.
The Phillies got it back, the Marlins putting the tying run on base with an intentional walk of Schwarber with two outs. Bohm singled to center to score automatic runner Bryson Stott. When the Marlins turned to lefty Josh Simpson, Nick Castellanos pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh and served an RBI single to left.
The Marlins pushed a run across in the 11th, Xavier Edwards’ sac fly bringing home automatic runner Connor Norby after a Hernandez single moved him up 90 feet. It came against Lou Trivino, who followed with two strikeouts.
Simpson retired the Phillies 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th, the last two with Marchan at third.
