​Astros starter Hunter Brown had seven strikeouts and no walks, but the Phillies kept finding holes, running aggressively and turning soft contact into an eventual win. (Matt Slocum/Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA – Just two pitchers with at least 80 innings in the majors this season entered Wednesday inducing a higher ground-ball rate than Hunter Brown. Often that’s a formula for success for the Houston Astros ace. In his start against the Phillies, it fueled a costly third inning.The Astros forged a 4-0 lead in the top of the third Wednesday against Cristopher Sánchez, the National League wins leader and one of the two pitchers with a higher ground-ball rate than Brown. It vanished in the bottom of the inning, the first counter in a back-and-forth game between offenses.The Phillies built a four-run third on five singles. Three of them had an exit velocity of 90.6 mph or lower, per Statcast, which deems 95 mph hard-hit. All five had a ground-ball launch angle.”But at the end of the day, they’re hits, and they count just the same as if they’re hit 120 (mph),” Brown said, after the Astros’ 11-7 loss at Citizens Bank Park. “So yeah, that was just unfortunate.”Action on the basepaths aided the Phillies’ rally. J.T. Realmuto opened it with a 90.6 mph chopper up the middle. The catcher has just three stolen bases this season, but the Phillies put him in motion on an 0-2 pitch to Bryan De La Cruz, whose 73.8 mph grounder got through the vacated right side of the infield.Realmuto ran to third. Brown got Kyle Schwarber to offer at a 2-2 curveball below the zone. But in a 1-2 count to Trea Turner, the Phillies started De La Cruz. Brown’s curveball was off the plate. Turner poked it that way. De La Cruz had to jump to avoid an 81.4 mph grounder through an opened right side.”That third inning they got some people on base, they started the runners, hitting behind runners,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “They got creative there and created some opportunities to score some runs and capitalized.”Brown hopped on the mound as Turner’s single got through and swung his arm in apparent frustration. Turner stole second base on his next pitch, reaching scoring position. Bryce Harper pulled the next into right field at 98.6 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the inning.Cam Smith’s throw to the plate was off-line. Harper took second with nobody backing up home, putting him in position to score when Luis Arraez shot a single up the middle at 95.2 mph. Arraez was cut down stealing second, and Brown struck out Bryson Stott to end the inning, but in a newly tied game.”The offense did a great job throwing up four runs on the board there and coughed them right back up, so it definitely didn’t feel good,” Brown said.PHILLIES 11, ASTROS 7HoustonABRHBIBBSOAvg.Totals37712706Peña ss512002.272Alvarez dh512100.312Paredes 3b412301.260Altuve 2b411001.244Diaz c402100.270Walker 1b400000.228Varsho cf411000.230Smith rf422200.216Barrosa lf200001.199b-Wade ph100001.209PhiladelphiaABRHBIBBSO