PHOENIX -- Andrew Painter silenced the Diamondbacks on two hits over seven innings in a 93-pitch gem in Wednesday’s finale at Chase Field, but he turned a scoreless game over to Jonathan Bowlan to start the eighth, and the Phillies were trailing after one pitch.
Bowlan opened the frame with a sweeper to James McCann that caught too much plate, and the D-backs catcher turned it around for a Statcast-projected 409-foot homer to left field and a 1-0 Phillies’ loss, snapping their six-game winning streak.
The loss was only the Phillies’ third in their past 18 games, and it prevented them from closing out their fifth sweep in their past six series. With Atlanta’s 9-0 win in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia fell to four games back in the NL East with a four-game series against the Braves set to begin on Friday at Citizens Bank Park.
Since returning from Triple-A on July 31, Painter entered the day with a 15.00 ERA in the first inning and a 1.32 ERA in all other innings. So you’re forgiven if Lars Nootbaar’s single to lead off the bottom of the first had you thinking here we go again.
Painter quickly eased the tension, however, with three straight outs. He didn’t allow another hit until there was one out in the seventh, and he struck out six without a walk. The only blip of pressure he felt was when Gabriel Moreno reached on a two-base error with one out in the fourth after his liner deflected off the glove of third baseman Bryson Stott.
The effort wasn’t enough, however, as the Phillies were blanked on three hits by a parade of seven D-backs pitchers in a bullpen game.