The Philadelphia Phillies expect to have more clarity on the condition of catcher J.T. Realmuto ahead of Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Realmuto exited Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in the bottom of the ninth inning after being struck in the groin area by a foul ball. He was replaced by Rafael Marchan.
“He’s being evaluated,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, a former catcher himself. “It was a solid hit. He mentioned he’s had worse, but we’ll see.”
Realmuto went 1-for-3 in the game and remains a vital presence behind the plate.
The Phillies won the series opener 8-3 on Tuesday, which stands as their only victory in the past six games.
Toronto secured Wednesday’s win with a walk-off single by Alejandro Kirk, who drove a ball high off the right-field wall to score Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It marked the Blue Jays’ sixth win in their last seven games.
Philadelphia will look to rebound with left-hander Jesús Luzardo (5-1, 3.58 ERA) making the start Thursday. It will be his first time facing the Blue Jays.
Toronto will counter with right-hander Chris Bassitt (5-3, 3.80 ERA), who is set to make his 200th career start. Bassitt holds a 4-0 record and a 2.36 ERA in six starts against the Phillies.
After jumping out to a quick seven-run lead in Tuesday’s opener, Philadelphia’s offense has gone quiet, managing just one run on Wednesday—a solo homer by Nick Castellanos off José Berríos in the second inning.
Former Blue Jay Jordan Romano, a Toronto native now with the Phillies, took the loss in his first outing against his old team. He entered to a warm ovation in the ninth but left the crowd in stunned silence when Realmuto was hit by a foul ball off Bo Bichette’s bat.
Bichette was retired following the catcher swap, but Guerrero singled up the middle, extending his on-base streak to 34 games. He then stole second on Romano and scored when Kirk came through with a two-out hit.
“I needed to make a better pitch,” said Romano, who joined the Phillies in the offseason.
Reflecting on the matchup, Kirk said, “We both gave it our all. I just came out slightly ahead this time. Facing someone like Romano is never easy.”
Romano dismissed any notion that the catcher change affected him, saying, “Both our catchers are excellent. It wasn’t a factor for me.”
Jeff Hoffman, who pitched for Philadelphia the last two seasons and signed with Toronto in January, picked up the win with one out recorded and one hit allowed.
After starting the year with a 1.17 ERA through April, Hoffman struggled in May, posting a 13.50 ERA over 12 appearances.
“It’s been a bit up and down,” he said. “Some mechanical tweaks were needed. But we’re in a good spot now, and I’m feeling confident again.”
Philadelphia rookie Mick Abel made his second major league start in place of Zack Wheeler, who is on paternity leave. Abel allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings, with the lone blemish being Bichette’s sixth-inning triple that skipped off the glove of a sliding Brandon Marsh in center field.