The Philadelphia Phillies lost their fifth straight game on Saturday night, falling to the Rockies 8-5. Their record drops to 39-69.
On The Mound
- Nick Pivetta was a disaster on the mound, allowing eight runs on seven hits and a walk in just 2.2 innings of work.
- Pivetta was lit up for five runs in the first inning, and three more in the third.
- Mark Leiter did a great job out of the bullpen, pitching 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out nine.
- Hector Neris got some work in, mopping up in the eighth.
At The Plate
- The offense put up five runs on 12 hits.
- Daniel Nava did most of the damage for the Phils, driving in three runs on three hits, falling just a double shy of the cycle. Nava hit a three-run homer in the eighth.
- Freddy Galvis went 3-5 with three singles and drove in a run.
- Cesar Hernandez went 1-4 with a walk.
- Nick Williams went 0-4 with two strikeouts.
- Odubel Herrera went 1-4 with a single.
- Maikel Franco went 1-4 with a single.
- Jorge Alfaro made his debut, going 2-4 with a couple of singles.
Final Thoughts
Nick Pivetta wasn’t able to build off of his successful start against the Atlanta Braves last week.
Pivetta immediately put the Phillies in a five-run hole after the first inning, and by the end of the third had the team down eight.
The game was over and non-competitive before it really even began. Pivetta’s ERA is now dangerously close to 6.00. If he doesn’t develop some consistency, he may not survive the rest of the season in the majors.
It’s strange to me that the Phillies haven’t gone back to Ben Lively in the rotation with Jeremy Hellickson gone. Lively had an impressive month when he was with the major league rotation in June, but was caught in a numbers game when he was returned Triple-A.
I’d argue that Lively was far more impressive and consistent than Pivetta, and should be worth a longer look in the big leagues.
