SAN FRANCISCO — It was only one game, they were sure to say, and of course, they were correct.
But these are the Phillies. And this is September.
So, no, it isn’t that simple.
The manager in the other dugout Friday night, the one whose ballclub put a 13-1 licking on the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a three-game series by the bay, could attest to that, though he wouldn’t want to.
Gabe Kapler was in charge in September 2018, when the Phillies had an 8-20 meltdown. A year later, they went 12-19 down the stretch, costing Kapler his job. They were 13-17 in September 2020 and 14-16 in the final month of last season, missing the playoffs both years.
The scars remain from those collapses. Maybe not for newcomers such as Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, but they’re buried deep within Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, even Bryce Harper and Rob Thomson.
And the wounds are still fresh for a fan base that wants to believe this year will be different.
The Phillies can say, then, that they will easily “flush,” as Thomson often puts it, a trouncing by the San Francisco Giants in the first game of a new September. But given their history, they will need an industrial strength plunger.
Four games into a six-game West Coast trip, the Phillies are 1-3. Here, though, is the silver lining: The Milwaukee Brewers lost again Friday night, so the Phillies maintained a three-game lead for the final National League playoff spot. They could have buried the Brewers this week. But at least they’re holding their ground.
Kyle Gibson lasted only 1 2/3 innings, his shortest start since April 21, 2021, with the Texas Rangers and tied for the third-shortest of his 256-start career. Lacking command and a putaway pitch, he gave up four runs in a 40-pitch first inning and a three-run homer to Joc Pederson in the second.
Gibson faced 14 batters. He gave up five hits and four walks.
And he gave the Phillies no chance.
Gibson and reliever Sam Coonrod threw a total of 103 pitches and combined to record seven outs. Left-hander Cristoper Sánchez provided 3 2/3 quality innings, but not even that could prevent the Phillies from having to put backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound in the eighth inning to save the bullpen.
It’s been a while — two months, in fact — since Gibson had a clunker. He had a 2.80 ERA in his previous nine starts since giving up back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning of a July 2 start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
But Gibson looms large for the Phillies down the stretch. With Zack Wheeler’s timeline for returning from the injured list getting pushed back, the innings toll mounting for Ranger Suárez and Noah Syndergaard, and the bullpen options dwindling, the Phillies need Gibson to log innings, preferably quality ones.
They got neither from him against the Giants.
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Castellanos returns
After missing three games this week in Arizona because of turf toe, Nick Castellanos returned to the lineup in right field.
Castellanos finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being replaced by Matt Vierling when the Phillies emptied the bench in the blowout.
Sands makes his debut
The lopsided score allowed for catcher Donny Sands to make his major league debut.
Sands, called up from triple A on Thursday when major league rosters expanded to 28 players, pinch-hit for J.T. Realmuto in the seventh inning and remained in the game. He finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
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