Alvarado makes MLB history before a rare miscue

PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies reliever José Alvarado has been nearly unhittable this season, while pretty much all Marlins infielder Luis Arraez has done is hit.

So it's no surprise that Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson sent the left-handed Alvarado out for a second inning on Wednesday afternoon with the idea of having him protect a one-run lead in the eighth against the left-handed-hitting Arraez.

Unfortunately, the Marlins tied the game on a Jorge Soler home run before that other showdown materialized -- and the Phillies went on to lose, 3-2, in 10 innings to drop the series finale.

Alvarado entered the day having allowed just one hit over four innings this season. He had struck out 11 of the 13 batters he had faced, including 10 in a row. Right-handed batters were 0-for-8 with eight strikeouts against the lefty.

It looked like it was going to be more of the same when Alvarado struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh inning. He’s recorded multiple strikeouts in 12 consecutive outings dating to last season, tied for the third-longest streak by a relief pitcher all-time (excluding games with openers).

With Arraez waiting on deck to start the eighth, Thomson wanted to get two more outs from Alvarado. Instead, Soler led off the frame by depositing a game-tying homer into the left-center-field seats.

"That's the game. That's baseball," Alvarado said. "I'm coming into the game to compete, to give my help to my teammates. And you know, sometimes I give my teammates a good result, and sometimes the hitter's lucky."

Alvarado went on to retire Arraez, but the damage had been done.

"I was kind of shocked Soler hit that ball out, as well as [Alvarado's] been pitching," Thomson said.

And it's how well Alvarado's been pitching that made Thomson confident in sending him back out for the eighth. Thomson had the option to use Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto or Craig Kimbrel -- each of whom pitched after Alvarado -- in the seventh and save Alvarado for the eighth.

Alvarado, however, started warming up in the sixth inning in the event Zack Wheeler -- who tossed six innings with one run allowed in his longest outing of the young season -- couldn't finish the frame. Wheeler walked three straight batters in the fifth before escaping the bases-loaded two-out jam unscathed.

With Alvarado warm, and having not pitched since Sunday, Thomson turned to him for potentially two innings. Alvarado hasn't pitched two full innings since June 16, 2021, though he pitched more than one inning three times during the '22 regular season and once in the postseason.

"He showed us, as the year went on, that he could do that, he could handle that," Thomson said. "I have a lot of confidence in him."

How could you not?

When Alvarado struck out Garrett Hampson to begin his outing, it marked Alvarado’s 11th consecutive strikeout. He’s the only relief pitcher in MLB’s expansion era (since 1961) to strike out 11 consecutive batters in a single season.

In other words, nobody had put a ball in play against Alvarado since April 1, regardless of handedness.

Making Soler’s home run even more improbable is the fact that Alvarado did not allow a regular-season homer in any of his final 22 appearances last season. He allowed just two in 51 innings -- and both came on the road.

"For me, I don't care if it's righty or lefty,” Alvarado said. “I come into the game to focus, to hit the target. That's it. I don't care about who's hitting. Nothing. Hit the target, and that's it."

Alvarado hit the target, spotting a 99.9 mph pitch on the inside corner at the knees, but Soler ambushed it for the first regular-season homer allowed by Alvarado at Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 15, 2021.

"I was just looking for a fastball," Soler said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. "This pitcher throws really, really hard, and [I was] just looking for that and connected."

It certainly doesn’t happen often, but Alvarado has already flipped the page to hopefully starting a new strikeout streak -- though setting records is never something he’s thinking about on the mound.

“I don't think about that,” Alvarado said. “Today is over. Be ready for tomorrow and compete and win the game.”