Instant Replay: Marlins 4, Phillies 0

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Roberto Hernandez stumbled early, the Phillies failed to solve Nate Eovaldi and then fell apart defensively in the ninth inning in a 4-0 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.

The defeat drops the Phils to 34-41 and 0-1 on a crucial eight-game homestand against divisional opponents. It was their third straight loss after a five-game winning streak.

The Phils were shut out for the 10th time, third-most in the majors behind only the Rays and Padres, the two lowest-scoring offenses in the game.

The decisive blow was third baseman Casey McGehee's first-inning, two-run double to right-center. McGehee is hitting .309 behind Giancarlo Stanton with 46 RBIs on just one home run. McGehee's also batting .390 (32 for 82) with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies committed two errors in a sloppy ninth that led to two more Marlins runs.

Starting pitching report
Hernandez (3-5, 4.41) served up a two-run double to McGehee in the first inning and needed 41 pitches to record the first six outs, but he settled in from there, holding the final 12 Marlins he faced hitless.

Hernandez allowed two runs and seven baserunners in six innings with six strikeouts. It was the ninth straight game the Phillies received at least six innings from their starting pitcher.

Eovaldi pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings to improve to 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA against the NL East this season. He struck out just two batters and induced 13 outs through the air.

Unlucky strikes
The Phillies hit Eovaldi hard on occasion but had nothing to show for it. Carlos Ruiz hit a ball well to left field after Jimmy Rollins opened the game with a single, but Marcell Ozuna was able to track it down.

Ben Revere lined out sharply to center in his first two at-bats. Marlins CF Jake Marisnick barely moved an inch on either liner.

Marlon Byrd drove a ball about 396 feet to dead center in the fourth, in between a single by Ryan Howard and a double by Cody Asche, but it was just a long flyout. A few more feet on Byrd's fly would have changed the course of that inning and the game.

In the sixth, Howard narrowly missed an opposite-field homer when Ozuna caught a flyout at the wall.

Utley's streak snapped
Chase Utley went 0 for 4 and was finally held hitless in back-to-back starts for the first time in 2014. He was the last remaining qualified player who hadn't been held hitless in consecutive starts.

Utley's batting average is all the way down to .295, the lowest it's been since his fourth at-bat of the season.

At the plate
Asche had the most productive night at the plate, going 3 for 3. He's 16 for his last 39 (.410), and that's not including his 8-for-13 stint in a rehab assignment. The Phils' third baseman is on fire.

Hernandez's opposite-field single in the third inning was the first hit of his major-league career. He's now 1 for 42, hitting a robust .024.

Stanton reached base four times, going 1 for 2 with a walk and two HBPs. He also stole his career-high seventh base of the year in the sixth inning.

In the field
After playing a season-high 10 games and eight innings without an error, the Phillies committed two on back-to-back plays in the ninth, when Utley made a poor throw to first on a routine grounder and Antonio Bastardo couldn't get a bunted ball out of his glove. Later in the inning, Domonic Brown pulled up short on a popup to left field that hung up forever. He was hesitant to throw and a run scored.

The previous half-inning, Ruiz hit a ball sharply to the hole between short and third, but Miami SS Ed Lucas somehow snared the ball and quickly fired to second base to start a 6-4-3 double play. Many shortstops don't make that play. The Phils easily could have had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the eighth with one out and Utley facing Kevin Gregg.

Next up
The Phillies continue their four-game series with the Marlins Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Rookies David Buchanan (3-3, 4.95) and Andrew Heaney (0-1, 1.50) match up.

The 23-year-old lefty Heaney was Miami's first pick (ninth overall) in the 2012 draft. In 199 minor-league innings, he went 17-7 with a 2.31 ERA and 198 strikeouts.

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