Notes From The Phillies’ 5-0 Loss To Houston

The Philadelphia Phillies lost their second straight game on Tuesday night, falling to the Astros 5-0. Their record drops to 34-64.

On The Mound

• Nick Pivetta had another poor start, allowing five runs over six innings.
• Pivetta got through five innings allowing just one run, but fell apart in the sixth, where he allowed four runs to score.
• Luis Garcia threw two scoreless out of the bullpen.
• Hector Neris got some work in, getting the team through the ninth.

At The Plate

• The offense was shutout.
• Oddly enough, all three of the team’s hits were doubles, coming off of the bats of Tommy Joseph, Freddy Galvis, and Cameron Rupp (twice).
• Rupp was the only Phillie with multiple hits on the night.
• Nick Williams was one of the only other Phils to reach base tonight, going 0-3 with a walk.
• Howie Kendrick and Odubel Herrera each went 0-3.
• Maikel Franco turned in his standard 0-4.
• Cameron Perkins went 0-2.

Final Thoughts

Nick Pivetta hasn’t been able to build on his promising performances before the All-Star break.

In two of his last three starts, Pivetta has given up more than five runs. He’s also failed to get deeper than six innings in each of his last three.

It’s disappointing to see Pivetta struggle, but its still important for the Phillies’ future that they find out who they have to work with in the future, good or bad. Some guys like Aaron Nola and Nick Williams will emerge positively. Others like Pivetta may not pan out.

There’s still a lot of opportunity ahead for Pivetta, but he certainly isn’t trending in the right direction right now.