Phils' big win vs. rivals comes with hefty price

PHILADELPHIA -- Jake Arrieta pulled his 97th and final pitch Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park into the right leg of Mets shortstop Andrés Giménez.

Arrieta immediately grabbed the back of his own right leg.

“It kind of felt like I got shot,” he said, following a 4-1 victory over the Mets.

• Box score

The win snapped the Phillies’ three-game losing streak and moved them within a half-game of the Marlins for second place in the National League East. But it raised serious concerns about the club’s rotation depth with only 13 games to play in the season. Arrieta said afterward that he thinks he suffered a Grade 1 strained hamstring. He suffered the same injury in September 2017 when he was with the Cubs, missing 17 days then. He said he could have returned earlier, except he rushed himself. Nobody knows how much time Arrieta will miss now, but he promised to be healthy by the postseason.

“There’s no question in my mind about that,” he said. “I think I can be back sooner than that. We’re going to play this smarter than we did in [2017].”

Arrieta’s injury follows right-hander Zack Wheeler missing his last turn in the rotation because of an injured nail on his right middle finger -- although Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Wheeler will pitch Wednesday night -- and right-hander Spencer Howard landing on the 10-day injured list Sunday because of stiffness in his right shoulder. Aside from the issues with Arrieta, Wheeler and Howard, the Phillies are without Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Jay Bruce. It is not ideal as the club tries to make the postseason for the first time since 2011.

“It’s just another chapter in our story that we have to continue to write and play out the remainder of the season,” Arrieta said. “Nobody said it was going to be easy, right? It seems like this is pretty much rock bottom for us after playing such great baseball for [an 11-game] stretch, going [10 of 11]. It just shows you how quickly this game can flip flop.”

Arrieta threw 68 pitches as he grinded through the first three innings before recording a clean fourth. He allowed a solo home run to Brandon Nimmo to start the fifth and had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth when he hit Giménez with a 1-1 changeup.

Arrieta never followed through. After he steadied himself, he gingerly left the mound and bent over at the waist. Girardi, pitching coach Bryan Price, catcher Andrew Knapp and an athletic trainer met him on the field.

Arrieta limped into the dugout a few moments later.

“I think based on the strength test that we did, there’s no need to rush this,” Arrieta said. “I’m going to do everything in my power with the treatment, with soft-tissue work. I don’t intend to miss too much time. … Being my drive leg, it might require a little more extensive treatment, a little bit more caution before moving into an extended throwing session. The last thing I want to do is repeat what happened in ’17 and have a setback. I think right now the primary concern is to see how it responds overnight and go from there.”

But what happens while Arrieta heals? The Phillies are short on options, especially with two doubleheaders on the schedule. Pitchers on the 40-man roster who could start include Ramón Rosso, Cole Irvin, Mauricio Llovera and Ranger Suárez. There are others, but certainly none have the experience of Arrieta.

“I’m just going to focus on tomorrow,” Girardi said. “I think it’s easier because we’ve lost some starters obviously, and it’s just easier to focus on tomorrow. But it will be a challenge, definitely.”

Adam Haseley had a big pinch-hit single to score two runs with two outs in the fourth inning to hand the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Haseley hit for Kyle Garlick, who left with an oblique injury. Didi Gregorius’ two-run home run to right in the fifth made it 4-1. JoJo Romero, Tommy Hunter and Héctor Neris pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings to preserve the lead.

The Phillies needed Tuesday’s win after losing five of seven to the Marlins in Miami. But they cannot afford to lose Arrieta.

“Jake is a tough guy,” Girardi said. “We’re just going to have to wait and see.”