Throughout the course of a 162-game season, every team will have a bullpen meltdown or two. It’s inevitable. But what happened to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday goes well beyond a meltdown.
With his Phillies up 7-1, reliever James Norwood started the inning in hopes of shutting down the New York Mets and ending a three-game losing streak. It didn’t happen.
Starling Marte got the inning going with an infield single and promptly scored on a home run from Francisco Lindor, making the game 7-3. Pete Alonso then doubled, which was followed by a lineout from Eduardo Escobar. That did nothing to stall New York’s momentum. Jeff McNiel singled, moving Alonso to third. At that point, Norwood was pulled for Corey Knebel. The pitching change did not help.
Mark Canha delievered an infield single to score Alonso. Knebel then struck out Dominic Smith. At this point, it felt like watching the part of an action movie where the hero’s best friend seems to vanquish the bad guy only to have the bad guy spring back up and stab the friend in the back as the hero screams “NOOOOOOOOOOOO” in slow motion. You knew what was coming but there was nothing you could do.
After Smith struck out, J.D. Davis came up and doubled McNeil home, cutting the lead to 7-5. Canha and Travis Jankowski (who was running for Davis) then both scored on a double from Brandon Nimmo to tie the game. Then, in his second at-bat of the inning, Marte ripped a double to score Nimmo, giving the Mets an 8-7 lead.
The Mets have scored 7 runs in the 9th to take an 8-7 lead over the Phillies! pic.twitter.com/yHtNAm5qKL
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 6, 2022
Knebel retired Lindor to keep the deficit at one run, but that didn’t help. The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, solidifying one of the worst losses any team will ever have.
Mets win 8-7 after scoring 7 runs in the top of the 9th.
"As stunning a loss by the Philadelphia Phillies that we have seen in more than a decade. I mean, just stunning." ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/ZRLIor5IDM
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 6, 2022
Not surprisingly, the reaction from the Philadelphia fans was not pleasant. Several reactions were not suitable for print.
Others in the MLB world did manage to find a more PG way to express their collective disbelief.
This is the most Phillies thing I’ve ever seen. Shoutout Norwood, Knebel, and Girardi for making this moment possible 🙏 #NYMvsPHI
— playoff Octavian (@SixersOctavian) May 6, 2022
This is the worst loss of the Joe Girardi era and that’s saying something. Fire him tonight.
— James Seltzer (@JamesSeltzer) May 6, 2022
Knebel is terrible man wtf
— Sam Scherer (@sam_scherer99) May 6, 2022
What is very hard to understand:
James Norwood’s last two appearances prior to tonight came against the Mets.
He was tattooed for three runs and only recorded one out in his last outing vs. them — what made Joe Girardi think he was the right guy? They’d obviously seen him well.
— Alex Carr (@AlexCarrMLB) May 6, 2022
is james harden pitching for the #phillies
— Mike Sielski (@MikeSielski) May 6, 2022
Why is the Phillies bullpen suddenly the Red Sox bullpen?
— Zachary D. Rymer (@zachrymer) May 6, 2022
The Philadelphia Phillies are one giant error pic.twitter.com/xDWmrK9JU6
— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) May 6, 2022
I wish I were as good at anything as the Phillies are at assembling hilarious bullpens.
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) May 6, 2022
There seems to be no such thing as an forgetable Phillies bullpen. They are all memorable in their own unique ways.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) May 6, 2022
Phillies fans really enjoying this one. pic.twitter.com/PPJDhTmcls
— Mojo Hill (@mojohill22) May 6, 2022
The Phillies cannot be remotely normal and bless them for it pic.twitter.com/YxLvB7zznv
— CANNNG (@cdgoldstein) May 6, 2022
that is easily the top 5 phillies loss in franchise history. just disgraceful. absolutely brutal.
— Matt (@matttadelphia) May 6, 2022
In an apparent attempt to find silver lining Manager Joe Girardi dropped this doozy after the game.
Girardi- Played a good 8 innings
— Michael Barkann (@MBarkannNBCS) May 6, 2022
Unfortunately, most baseball games go nine innings.
Philadelphia fans looking for silver lining though do have one thing to hang their hats on.
oh get over it. The Reds lose a game like that every year
— Tyler Gee (@atgee01) May 6, 2022
Indeed.
