Phillies Go Down Again, 9-5 To The Diamondbacks

PHOENIX (AP) — The battered Philadelphia Phillies were grasping for positives. A five-run ninth inning gave them something to cling to after an otherwise miserable evening in the desert.

The Phillies scored all their runs in the ninth during a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, their third defeat in a row on their road trip out West.

"I'd rather see us go out that way than us go out one, two, three," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said, "because we definitely need hits and some positive reinforcement."

The late outburst included a three-run homer by Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz's solo shot. Victorino's drive was the first home run with a man on base for the Phillies this season.

"Let's look at the positive," Victorino said. "Let's look at never giving up, putting up a fight that last inning. Getting five runs is a positive thing to look at."

A team already hurt severely by injuries was without Hunter Pence, who injured his shoulder while diving for a fly ball in Sunday's loss at San Diego. Cliff Lee was supposed to be Monday night's starter, but he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left side.

His replacement, Kyle Kendrick, was tagged for seven runs and 11 hits in three innings plus one batter. He left after Justin Upton's booming home run to lead off the fourth, the slugger's first of the season.

"Balls down the middle, that is what's going to happen," Kendrick said. "I made some good pitches that they hit, but most of them were hanging balls right in the middle."

Besides his home run, Upton singled and had a sacrifice fly. The left thumb he injured sliding into a base on April 8 had kept him from swinging a bat for some time.

Now he's getting his rhythm back.

"I'm starting to feel better," Upton said. "The doc kind of gave me the go-ahead that it's not going to get any worse, so I'll just play through it. It's been good so far."

Left-hander Wade Miley, starting in place of injured Daniel Hudson, stifled the Phillies on two hits through six scoreless innings. He said he wasn't told he was starting until Sunday night.

"I wasn't real sure what was going on. It really doesn't matter," Miley said. "Whenever you get to pitch, just go out and pitch."

Hudson is on the DL for Arizona with an impingement in his right shoulder.

The Phillies have been outscored 20-7 in three straight losses.

Jason Kubel homered and doubled twice, tying a career best with three hits. Miley (2-0) struck out seven and walked one in his first start of the season.

Kubel, the left fielder, also threw out Pete Orr trying to score from second to end the eighth inning. Arizona catcher Miguel Montero blocked the plate and held onto the ball in the subsequent collision.

The 25-year-old Miley allowed three baserunners, including doubles by Freddy Galvis in the third and John Mayberry Jr. in the fifth. Miley walked Placido Polanco in the sixth.

The Phillies' ninth-inning outburst came against left-hander Joe Paterson, who in his last two outings faced 10 batters without getting an out and allowed seven runs. Craig Breslow relieved Paterson and wrapped up the victory.

Arizona pounded Kendrick for four runs on five hits in the first inning. Gerardo Parra and Aaron Hill started the game with doubles, then Hill stole third and came home on Upton's sacrifice fly. It was the first RBI of the season for Upton.

The Diamondbacks got two more in the second on Ransom's two-out double with the bases loaded after consecutive singles by Hill, Upton and Montero.

Upton's booming home run deep into the left-field seats leading off the fourth ended Kendrick's night. Two batters later, Kubel hit his second home run on David Herndon's 1-1 pitch to make it 8-0.

Upton also made a nice running catch of Galvis' deep fly in the eighth.

NOTES: Philadelphia entered batting .212 in the first seven games of its 10-game road trip out West. In their previous six games, the Diamondbacks were hitting .196. ... Upton's first RBI came in his 40th at-bat this season. His home run was his first in 59 at-bats dating to last season. ... Miley is 4-0 at Chase Field. ... Arizona sends Josh Collmenter, who is 0-1 with a whopping 10.22 ERA, to the mound against Philadelphia's Vance Worley (1-1, 2.37) in the second game of the series Tuesday night. ... The nine runs were the most allowed by the Phillies this season. ... Highlights of the Phoenix Coyotes' series-clinching 4-0 NHL playoff victory at Chicago were shown on the big screen to big cheers from the crowd. ... Arizona's A.J. Pollack singled in the eighth for his first big league hit.