There might not be a more hated person in Philadelphia Monday night than Phillies manager Rob Thomson, whose decision-making against the Baltimore Orioles led to the team's fans expressing their rage on Twitter. The fans are particularly outraged by Thomson's decision to leave Kyle Schwarber in the outfield in the ninth which proved to be costly, as Schwarber failed to catch Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser's hit into left field.
Colton Cowser puts the ball juuuuust out of Kyle Schwarber's reach and the O's retake the lead in the ninth! pic.twitter.com/mCWpUjG8Mm
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 25, 2023
“Not a great day for Rob Thomson. The lineup, the missed challenge, Keeping Kyle Schwarber in the field in the 9th… The top hitters have to be better, but it also feels like the Phillies weren't put in the best position to succeed tonight. Really unfortunate,” tweeted Alex Carr.
Phillies gotta get Schwarber outta there. Dude has -28-OAA since last year 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/3qxvz7yes0
— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) July 25, 2023
Via Bob Wankel: “If Marsh had entered for Schwarber, that’s the third out. Just a dismal game from the dugout tonight.”
Philly Sports Sufferer meanwhile did not hold back: “I AM SO FURIOUS AT ROB THOMSON. THERE IS LITERALLY ZERO. I MEAN ZEROOOO REASON WHY THE LINEUP SHOULD'VE LOOKED THE WAY IT DID. AND ZERO REASON WHY KYLE SCHWARBER NEEDED TO BE IN LEFT. IT'S ABSOLUTELY STUPID AS H**L”
– Cave and Harrison had no business playing tonight, nor do they ever
– Schwarber should’ve been replaced in the outfield, that is not hindsight bias
– Thomson should’ve challenged that Rojas hit
Pathetic in every sense of the word. Thomson needs to answer and needs to stop this.— 𝐾𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑒 シ (@BSP_Sully) July 25, 2023
Here's one from Twitter user @PresidentEmbiid: “I'm not going to blame Schwarber cuz that was an insanely tough play to make but Rob Thompson not having him as DH this game and having either Marsh or Rojas in left might've just costed us this game”
Between:
-the Lehigh Valley lineup
-Trea’s performance/ejection
-Harper thrown out at home
-Blown lead in the 9th with Schwarber in LF instead of Marshit could be the lowest vibes Phillies game of the year
— Life of a Philly Fan (@PhillyFanLife) July 25, 2023
There is no taking back any of the decisions made by Thomson and the Phillies in the 3-2 loss to the Orioles, but Philadelphia can learn from the mistakes as they prepare for the continuation of this three-game series at home this Tuesday.