![Jose Alvarado showing resurgent wildness as Phillies fall in London – NBC Sports Philadelphia Jose Alvarado showing resurgent wildness as Phillies fall in London – NBC Sports Philadelphia](https://i1.wp.com/media.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/2024/06/GettyImages-2156208396.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
LONDON – Just when it looked like David Dahl would play hero for the second time in his first week back in the majors, a one-run lead turned into a 6-5 loss with José Alvarado unable to find the plate in the Phillies game. last entry in London.
Alvarado was wilder than he had been in years. He allowed two singles, two walks, a hit and a wild pitch that scored a run. Instead of sweeping, the Phillies split.
Alvarado had walked multiple batters only once in his previous 28 appearances. He had pitched with a 1.40 ERA in that span. He just didn’t have it Sunday afternoon.
The Phillies are 45-20 (a 112-win pace) as they head to Boston to continue their three-city road trip.
Alvarado wasn’t the only erratic left-hander for the Phillies on Sunday. Gregory Soto relieved Taijuan Walker with two on, two outs and the Phillies up by three in the sixth inning. The two runners he inherited scored and another was charged to allow the Mets to tie the game.
Soto has failed to find consistency in 93 appearances over two seasons with the Phillies, posting a 4.81 ERA.
Matt Strahm followed Soto with a scoreless inning and Jeff Hoffman got four outs to get the ball to Alvarado. In between, Dahl came off the bench to hit his second home run in six days. Dahl, a former All-Star and first-round pick, has basically already paid for himself after signing a minor league contract in the first week of spring training.
Manager Rob Thomson’s decision to use Soto first instead of Strahm proved costly. Strahm has obviously been much more effective with 26 consecutive appearances without an earned run, although he wasn’t at his best on Sunday either.
It was all there for the taking in the bottom of the ninth when the Phillies loaded the bases with one out after Alec Bohm walked, but Nick Castellanos grounded into a 2-3 double play that ended the game. one foot in front of the house. leaf.
If there was a silver lining in the loss, it was Walker’s performance. It would have been a scoreless start if Soto had been able to get the final out of the sixth, and Walker mixed up his pitches as well as he has in any outing as a Phillies. He threw 17 sinkers, 16 four-seam fastballs, 15 splitters, 14 sliders, 14 curveballs and three cutters. He struck out six, five of them looking, and induced mostly weak contact.
The Phillies fly directly from London to Boston for a three-game series that begins Tuesday. When they land at Logan International Airport, they will have flown just under 12,000 miles in 18 days. It has been hard work.
Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola will face the Red Sox.
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