Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly did not mince words regarding his team’s shortcomings on the basepaths in a 6-5 loss to the Astros.
The Philadelphia Phillies had a slow start to their Tuesday night contest against the Houston Astros, as they fell behind by five runs by the end of the fourth inning. But the Phillies did enough to rally, with Trea Turner hitting a two-run home run and the rest of Philly’s hitters coming alive to make it a ballgame. However, a few baserunning miscues later, and their comeback attempt fell just short, suffering a 6-5 loss to the Astros in the end.
The Phillies were guilty of a few miscues on the basepaths which may have cost them a run or two on the night — a devastating blow in a game they lost by just one run.
After the loss, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly expressed disappointment over how the team’s baserunning seems to have gone “backwards”.
“Obviously, pitchers are throwing harder and are tougher to hit than they’ve ever been. Baserunning, for me, has kind of went a little backwards in a lot of scenarios. Not just here, but all over the place,” Mattingly said in his postgame presser, via Vani Hanamirian of 94WIP.
Don Mattingly on the team’s base running struggles: “pitchers are throwing harder… but base running for me has gone a little bit backwards… not just here all over the place”@SportsRadioWIP pic.twitter.com/HxDgG41Df4
— Vani Hanamirian (@vani_hanamirian) September 9, 2026
The seventh inning, in particular, was rife with missed scoring opportunities for Philly.
Bryson Stott had to hold his run so he wouldn’t overtake Alec Bohm on the basepaths on a double by Brandon Marsh. And then on the very next at-bat, Marsh made a huge mistake with no outs in the inning. He strayed too far from the bag, and he got doubled up off second base on a lineout from JT Realmuto. Instead of tying the game, the Phillies remained two runs down, but with two outs.
And then in the ninth inning, pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa did a good job of driving in Stott with an extra-base hit off the right-field wall. But some believe that he could have gone all the way to third base instead of settling for a double had he sprinted off home plate.
These are mistakes the Phillies need to clean up if they were to contend for a World Series title.
The Philadelphia Phillies had a slow start to their Tuesday night contest against the Houston Astros, as they fell behind by five runs by the end of the fourth inning. But the Phillies did enough to rally, with Trea Turner hitting a two-run home run and the rest of Philly’s hitters coming alive to make it a ballgame.