Alvarado's troubles continue as Phils stung by Mets' late outburst

PHILADELPHIA -- José Alvarado stood on the mound ready to throw a crucial 2-2 pitch in the seventh inning on Thursday night -- but there was one problem.

He didn't have a ball.

Moments earlier, the Phillies left-hander thought he had escaped a seventh-inning jam by striking out Mets second baseman Marcus Semien. Alvarado -- and the rest of his Phillies teammates -- started their walk toward the dugout.

But as catcher J.T. Realmuto readied to throw the ball down to first baseman Bryce Harper -- as is customary after an inning-ending strikeout -- home-plate umpire Brian Walsh quickly intervened to check the ball. The scuff on the ball indicated Semien's foul tip had skipped off the dirt before entering Realmuto’s glove.

“It ends up being the right call,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “It’s not the call I like, but …”

The Phillies returned to their respective positions and Alvarado climbed back atop the mound. He then gestured with both arms out, asking for a ball.

When he finally got one, his next pitch was crushed off Monty's Angle in left-center field for a two-run triple to break the game open. The Phillies' first meeting of the season with their archrival ended with a 6-4 loss at Citizens Bank Park.

“It's part of the game,” Alvarado said via a team interpreter.

Coming in game No. 75, this was the latest the two clubs had their first head-to-head matchup since 1996, when they didn't face one another until July 1 -- the Phillies' 80th game of the year.

The long-awaited showdown got off to a rocky start for the Phillies in more ways than one. Aaron Nola was tagged by Juan Soto for a solo homer as part of a two-run top of the first. Then, in the bottom half, leadoff man Trea Turner was hit by a pitch that ultimately forced him from the game with a right calf contusion.

While the Phils settled in and took a 3-3 tie into the later innings, Alvarado's latest hiccup was too much to overcome. Even prior to the Semien at-bat, Alvarado had allowed the Mets to take the lead on a hit, a wild pitch, a walk and a go-ahead single.

By the time the inning was over, Alvarado had allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. It raised his season ERA to 6.58. He’s allowed at least one run in six of his past 13 appearances -- and he's had only one 1-2-3 inning since May 5.

“The hitters feel confident that they can hit against me right now,” Alvarado said. “It seems like 100 mph is something that they see a lot at this level; it's not surprising anymore. They're just hitting well against me right now.”

Alvarado's latest setback came just hours after the Phillies optioned fellow struggling southpaw Tanner Banks (5.86 ERA in 27 2/3 innings) to Triple-A. The club is also just days removed from placing right-handed setup man Brad Keller on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis.

In other words, the Phillies need their other back-end relievers to step up -- particularly the left-handed Alvarado. The only other lefty in the ‘pen right now is Tim Mayza (2.97 ERA).

Help could be on the way, though.

Sidelined since April 27, lefty Kyle Backhus (left elbow inflammation) is on the verge of a return following his fourth rehab appearance Wednesday.

“Mayza's been throwing the ball good, Alvy's been kind of in and out, and I feel like we're gonna get [Backhus] back at some point fairly soon,” Mattingly said. “So I think we'll be in a good spot with the lefties.”

Though not a lefty, the Phillies got an impressive showing on Thursday from Seth Johnson. The hard-throwing righty was called up alongside Bryse Wilson earlier in the day to replace the recently demoted Banks and Andrew Painter.

Johnson struck out a pair of batters in a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Though he's struggled with command in his previous big league stints over the past three years, Johnson -- who had a 1.33 ERA in 27 innings in Triple-A -- had no such issue against the Mets.

“Seth was good tonight,” Mattingly said. “He’s been throwing the ball good in Triple-A, been one of the best relievers in Triple-A baseball. Stuff was good, in the strike zone, attacked -- so it was good.”

The Phillies would love to see the same from Alvarado his next time out.

“We'll just keep paying attention to him,” Mattingly said. “But the ball's coming out -- it's not like he's down velo or anything like that. Just got to get the ball to the right spots.”