The San Francisco Giants landed in Philadelphia Sunday after polishing off their first sweep of the season over the Atlanta Braves, but it appears the nine-run-per-game offense that powered them to that sweep is still grounded in Atlanta.
Though they put two runs on the board in Tuesday’s night contest against the Phillies, it was not enough, as a career-high 12-strikeout performance from Phillies starter Aaron Nola and three Phillies solo home runs proved to be too much for the Giants to overcome, as they fell 4-2.
Despite being unable to outscore the Phillies, the Giants did strike first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second after a Brandon Crawford grounder to second scored Brandon Belt, who singled to lead off the inning and reached third on a double by Evan Longoria.
But the Phillies quickly answered back in the bottom of the frame, doing so on a solo home run from Aaron Altherr. They then added on in the third with another solo home run, this time from Jorge Alfaro, and an Odubel Herrera RBI single which scored Cesar Hernandez, who had earlier doubled and advanced to third when Austin Jackson tried and failed three separate times to pick the ball up in the right-center field gap.
They threatened again in the fourth, loading the bases with just one out, but Nola was unable to match his prowess on the mound at the plate, as he promptly grounded into an inning-ending double play, ending the threat prematurely. They did add on in the sixth when veteran Carlos Santana used every bit of Citizens Bank Park’s hitter-friendly attributes for yet another solo home run to the short porch in right field.
Pablo Sandoval reduced the deficit in the eighth with a solo shot of his own to left-center, but the Giants would not close the gap any further.
The Giants struggled against the dominant Nola all night, who allowed just five baserunners and one run in seven innings pitched.
The series resumes Wednesday. Chris Stratton (3-2, 3.99 ERA) is expected to start for the Giants, while Nick Pivetta (1-2, 4.76 ERA) is expected to start for the Phillies.