From all angles, Phils die easy

PHILADELPHIA >> Yippee Ki No Way.

That’s pretty much what it felt like for a Citizens Bank Park crowd of 28,129 Wednesday night who watched actor Bruce Willis throw out the first pitch and Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader throw the final pitch to wrap up a 5-2 victory over the Phillies.

The Phillies sucked the energy out of their place, which for the second straight outing was all but empty near the end. They didn’t hit, pitch or play defense like a division leader.

It was mostly all downhill after shortstop Jean Segura ripped his third homer of the season to knot the game at 1-1 in the second inning. Jake Arrieta threw anything but like a $25 million pitcher, although he did battle against a Brewers lineup that can hit anybody.

Arrieta also kept the hitters in the park. He served up three dingers the last time out. Once again, he didn’t help himself in the Cy Young voting, allowing five hits, four walks, one hit batter and four earned runs in six innings covering 107 pitches (63 strikes).

Three of the walks came in a threerun third inning that busted the game open for the Brewers, who grabbed a 5-1 lead.

“I don’t know if all of them scored but at least two of the (the walks) scored,” Arrieta said. “And that really separated the game as far as the score goes. It could have been a different ball game if it was 3-2 or 4-2 instead of 5-2. I just didn’t necessarily do my job tonight.”

Arrieta did get a hit in the third inning, and Bryce Harper added an opposite field double, pushing him to third. But the Phillies came up empty, Rhys Hoskins flying out to right.

Earlier in that inning, third baseman Sean Rodriguez made one of the most baffling plays an alleged big-leaguer could make with the bases loaded.

Rodriguez collected a sharply hit grounder from Phillies killer Ryan Braun and instead of throwing home immediately, or smartly stepping on the third base bag before doing so, he froze like a deer in headlights, wondering who and wear he should strike first.

Eventually Rodriguez threw home, getting the out but leaving the bases loaded. It should have been at least a double play. If Maikel Franco had been in the lineup, it would have been tag the pitcher, step on third and throw to first for a triple play. Franco was given the night off.

“Really unusual situation,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Very confusing play. Not one you see very often. It looked confusing to Sean as well.”

But back to Harper. He hit the ball hard in his first at bat, as well, centerfielder Lorenzo Cain hauling it in at the warning track.

Phils fans were thankful to see Harper in the lineup, the superstar having crashed into the wall catching a sinking fly ball in a Tuesday night loss to the Brewers. A little swelling wasn’t going to keep the strikeout-challenged slugger off the field.

The not so good news was, yeah, you’ve got it, Harper couldn’t avoid striking out in his fifth straight game. It was No. 57 on the season. The last time Harper went an entire game without getting fanned was May 10. There have been just four strikeout-less games for Harper, who was punched out by Gonzalez.

Kapler indicated there at least has been dialogue with Harper about how he’s doing, how he feels, the whole nine yards. A day off, perhaps?

“It’s dependent on the player,” Kapler said. “Here’s what we know about Bryce. He’s healthy, he’s confident, he wants to play. And I don’t have a tangible reason why we shouldn’t play him. We think he gives us our best chance to win tonight. We think he will be positively impacted by being in tonight’s lineup and we’ll consider it on a day to day basis. He and I will have those conversations. We haven’t had one in the last couple days. It’s an ongoing conversation.

“It’s certainly not the elephant in the room by any stretch. It’s something that we feel very confident and comfortable about.”

The Phillies’ struggles against the Brewers encompass much more than just Harper, although entering the game he was on a 221-strikeout pace. In the previous four games, Harper was just 1-for-15 with three walks, nine whiffs and a 0.67 batting average in 18 plate appearances.

Truth be told, Harper isn’t getting much help. The Phils’ comeback effort Wednesday was as pedestrian as Willis’ “Armageddon” movie before the save-theworld ending.

You couldn’t understate how strange of an evening it was at the park. The weirdness began when Willis – who grew up across the Delaware River and just a quick ride down 295 South – showed up wearing a Phillies cap and jersey. His celebrity was all encompassing, signing autographs, posing for photos and even taking the team up on its offer for a batting practice session.

Safe to say it didn’t go well for Bruce during BP.

And it got more difficult when, moments after acknowledging cheers on the way to the mound, the 64-year-old Willis bounced the first pitch to honorary catcher Aaron Nola, drawing boos. It took maybe five minutes for TMZ to turn it into a story with the headline “Bruce Willis: I See Dead Arms; One-Hops First Pitch.”

Not a good night to Die Hard for both Willis and the home team.

“I think from every angle,” Kapler summarized, “it wasn’t a crisp game.”