Ugly inning mars Phils' second-half opener

PHILADELPHIA -- Just a blip.

The Phillies opened the second half of the season Friday night with an ugly 15-2 loss to the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park. It included one of their sloppiest innings of the season in the fifth and catcher Garrett Stubbs pitching the ninth. Still, they remained tied with St. Louis for the third NL Wild Card.

“You obviously never want to start [after] the break like that,” Phillies right-hander Kyle Gibson said.

Cubs second baseman Christopher Morel doubled to left with a runner on first and no outs in a tie game in the fifth. Kyle Schwarber fielded the ball and threw to Didi Gregorius, who threw home from shallow left field.

Gregorius’ throw would have beaten Alfonso Rivas to the plate, but it was wide. J.T. Realmuto moved a few feet to the right of home plate to receive it, but Rhys Hoskins cut the throw to eliminate any chance of a play. Rivas scored. Hoskins threw to second to try to get Morel in a rundown, but Phillies center fielder Matt Vierling had not reached the bag yet. The throw sailed past him and into center field. Morel scored, too.

The Cubs led, 3-1.

“It’s tough for him because the play is behind him, but I thought there was an outside chance [to get Rivas],” Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said. “We run that play where the center fielder comes into next base. Rhys could have held the ball because the runner was so far off. It was a tough play for Vierling to try to catch that ball on the run.”

Other takeaways:

Schwarber and Hoskins need help
Kyle Schwarber started the second half of the season like he started the first. He hit a leadoff home run in the first inning.

It was Schwarber’s fourth leadoff homer of the season and the 17th of his career. Hoskins hit a leadoff double in the third, but he did not score. Schwarber and Hoskins carried the Phillies’ offense in June and early July, but others must chip in more. The Phils entered Friday averaging 3.18 runs per game in 11 games from July 6 through the All-Star break, which ranked 26th in baseball.

Nick Castellanos went 0-for-5 with four groundouts and one strikeout. He has been struggling for most of the season, but Thomson is committed to him in the No. 3 spot.

“He’s had better at-bats coming into the break,” Thomson said. “He’s hit some balls hard, hit some balls into the gap. I still think at the end of the year when you look at the back of his baseball card, the numbers are going to be -- maybe not the same -- similar.”

Gibson’s up and down
Gibson allowed six runs over 4 1/3 innings. The defense cost him in the fifth. Walks hurt him, too.

“I felt really good through four innings,” Gibson said. “For not feeling like I had control of multiple pitches, I was able to work the lineup. It’s frustrating. I never really like to sit back and say you got unlucky, but some days you’ve got to be realistic.”

Gibson allowed one run across 13 innings in his final two starts before the break. Friday left him with a 4.69 ERA, which ranks 58th out of 63 qualified starters.

Familia in the bullpen
Jeurys Familia (4.99 ERA) replaced Gibson with two on and one out in the fifth. He allowed back-to-back doubles to make it 7-1.

The Phillies signed Familia to a one-year, $6 million contract in March to be a setup man, but he rarely pitches in high-leverage situations anymore. He’s usually called upon when the Phils are either trailing or leading by several runs. The club could try to upgrade the bullpen before Aug. 2. Familia’s spot would be in jeopardy if they do.

“The last couple times out he’s actually pitched better,” Thomson said. “Now, all these guys, he’s had eight days off. For me, you’ve got to take their first outing with a grain of salt.”

Hall’s blast
Darick Hall hit a homer over the batter’s eye in center field in the ninth. It was the Phillies’ first homer over the batter’s eye since Bryce Harper on May 18, 2019.