Disappointing finish to successful road trip as Red Sox ready for 7-game homestand

Special to BostonSportsJournal.com

PHILADELPHIA — An overturned call after replay and a power display from catcher Wilson Ramos helped the Phillies come from behind to beat the Red Sox, 7-4, on Wednesday night and gain a split of this short two-game series.

The Phillies had a pair of three-run outbursts, in the fourth and seventh innings, the first of which laid the groundwork to chase starter Nathan Eovaldi and the second helped Philadelphia build on a 4-3 lead. Ramos roped a two-run double in the fourth, added a triple and a run in the sixth, and blasted a two-run double to the gap in right-center off reliever Drew Pomeranz to highlight a three-run seventh.

“Drew threw two breaking balls to (Ramos) and in that spot, with a lefty behind him, you have to bury that pitch," Alex Cora said. "He wasn’t able to get the lefties out, either. His stuff was good. It was a National League game, so we felt it was a good spot to bring in (Steve) Pearce (to hit for Eovaldi), but unfortunately, it didn’t work out

"We’ll take a 7-2 road trip any day. We went through a tough stretch there between the deadline, the Yankees, Toronto and then Baltimore, and then come here ... to do what we did was very impressive.”

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Eovaldi was lifted after five innings in favor of a pinch hitter, and he allowed just one earned run on seven hits with five strikeouts. He has now allowed one earned run or less in six of his last nine starts, posting a 2.86 ERA during that stretch, which dates back to late June.

In the top of the sixth, the Red Sox appeared to take a 4-3 lead but a close play at first base was overturned after replay review, ending the inning. Pearce, pinch-hitting for Eovaldi, appeared to plate Rafael Devers with the go-ahead run with a two-out infield single, as Phillies second baseman Caesar Hernandez ranged far to his left before his throw pulled Justin Bour off the bag. But replay showed Bour’s right foot barely held the bag, and moments later, in the bottom of the sixth, Ramos tripled and scored to give the Phillies the lead for good.

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Boston (86-36) is still 50 games over .500 and in first place by a wide margin in the American League East, but has some concerns as the calendar inches closer to September, most notably the bullpen, which surrendered four runs against a Phillies team that has played Boston surprisingly well this season.

The Red Sox chased starter Vince Velasquez early, scoring three runs in a third inning that Velasquez didn’t make it out of. The Red Sox finished with 10 hits, but left nine runners on base against a patchwork Phillies bullpen.

“Give them credit, they went to the bullpen right away, they maneuvered the game, used all the players and ended up winning the game. They are a good team,” Cora said. “They can pitch. Stuff-wise they are pretty good. They added (Aaron) Loup, (Hector) Neris is back and (Pat) Neshak has been in big situations. They attack the zone.”

Velasquez began to get a little sideways with his control in the top of the third, and the BoSox made him pay, as Mitch Moreland ripped a 1-1 fastball into the gap in left-center to clear the bases, after a one-out walk to Eovaldi, a hit-by-pitch to Benintendi and a single from Holt. That gave Boston the early 3-0 lead, but Neris came on in relief of Velasquez — who lasted just 2 1/3 innings — and got two quick outs after Boston had loaded the bases again.

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But the Red Sox weren’t able to cash in on opportunities against a host of relievers. Philadelphia used seven relief pitchers who combined to allow just one unearned run in more than seven innings pitched. Boston reliever Joe Kelly was tagged with the loss, his first of the season, after allowing the go-ahead run to score in the sixth.

Cora said he liked what he saw from Eovaldi.

“He was mixing his pitches. I think he did a good job with the cutter early, then he was using the four-seamer. Overall, it was a National League game, and we thought we had a shot (in the sixth) to score some runs and go to the bullpen and win it,” he said.

“I felt like I threw the ball better than I did last time, but I still have to do a better job with first-pitch strikes. But I felt good out there,” Eovaldi said. “I understand (getting pulled after five innings) and I agree with it. Steve is a much better hitter than I am. I just have to do a better job of getting ahead in counts and making some pitches to stay in the game longer that way.”