All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Phillies, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Sox handcuffed by Wheeler: Matched against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, one of the toughest pitchers in the National League, the Red Sox were feckless in their attack. They got a leadoff single from Kike Hernandez to start the game, then didn't collect another hit until Hernandez again singled in the sixth inning. In between, Wheeler retired 17 in a row, with very, very few hard-hit balls. Wheeler wasn't doing anything tricky. To the contrary, he was very fastball-heavy in his attack plan, throwing his four-seamer up in the zone and challenging the Sox hitters to do something with the pitch. Often, they couldn't, as his 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings attest. It didn't help that the Sox were without three regulars in the lineup as Alex Verdugo was out with his hamstring strain and two other lineup mainstays were given the afternoon off. By the time the Sox started to get to Wheeler and the Phils' bullpen, it was too late.
Rodriguez again not sharp: Before the game, noting how hard the bullpen had worked both Thursday and Saturday nights, Cora expressed the hope that Eduardo Rodriguez could give him six strong innings, limiting the number of outs the relievers would be responsible for. Instead, Rodriguez faceplanted in the first inning, spotting the Phils a 4-0 head start. Three of the runs came on a pitch that Brad Miller hit the other way, just missing the left field foul pole. But Rodriguez was far from sharp. He hit a batter and walked two others. Worse, he needed 34 pitches to get through the inning, all but guaranteeing that he wouldn't be going deep into the game as Cora had hoped. Indeed, of the four full innings that Rodriguez threw -- he was lifted before recording an out in the fifth -- he threw 20 or more pitches in three of them. Both Cora and Rodriguez said they were buoyed by the fact that Rodriguez made some adjustments from the second inning on, but it's more than a little troubling that Rodriguez has allowed four or more runs in each of his last three starts.
SECOND GUESS:
With a scheduled off-day Monday, Alex Cora sat two key players -- Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez -- rationalizing that this would give the two veterans back-to-back days off. In theory, that makes sense, and it's not uncommon for other MLB managers to use the same thinking when it comes to providing rest to veterans over the course of the long season. Load management is not the exclusive idea of the NBA. But Cora chose to give two of his hottest hitters the day off when the team was facing the toughest pitcher they faced all week. And given that the Sox also have another day off Thursday, couldn't he have played both Bogaerts and Martinez, knowing that they'd have two days off in the span of four days?
ONE UP
Matt Andriese: It wasn't exactly a high-leverage spot, but Andriese tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Rodriguez after having allowed 11 runs in his previous six appearances combined.
TWO DOWN
Phillips Valdez: For the second straight game, Valdez had a rough outing. He pitched one inning and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk.
Christian Vazquez: Hitting cleanup for the day, Vazquez was 0-for-4 and also failed to throw out two base-stealers in the Phils' big first inning.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"It's been a long time since I was able to crush a ball like that.'' Franchy Cordero on his 474-foot homer.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The loss was just the seventh this season on the road for the Red Sox.
* Franchy Cordero's homer was the second-longest in the Statcast era (2015-present); only Jackie Bradley Jr's 478-footer in 2019 at Coors Field was longer.
* The loss was the first in interleague play for the Sox, who had been 4-0 vs. NL teams.
* The inability of Eduardo Rodriguez to get three more outs snapped a streak of 15 straight games in which the Red Sox starter had pitched at least five innings.
* The last four homers hit by the Red Sox -- Sunday and Saturday night -- all came with the bases empty.
UP NEXT: After an off-day Monday, the Red Sox host the Atlanta Braves Tuesday at 7:07 with RHP Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.72) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.60) the pitching matchup.