BOSTON - Ryan Howard walked to the plate and Boston interim manager Torey Lovullo headed to the mound. The Phillies had improbably scored three times on Friday night with two outs in the ninth inning.
Aaron Altherr stood at second, representing the tying run. Howard was the winning run. Lovullo pulled Jean Machi, opting to match Howard against lefthander Robbie Ross Jr. If the Phillies Three pitches later, the rally was extinguished. Howard struck out to seal a 7-4 loss to the Red Sox.
The loss dropped the Phillies to 53-82, guaranteeing that they will finish with a losing mark for a third-straight year.