The Philadelphia Phillies left Denver following a frustrating 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, while Bryce Harper was ejected following an altercation with Rockies pitcher Jake Bird. On top of that, Philadelphia went an unfathomable 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and 10 left on base.

In the end, it was only one loss, and it followed a five-game winning streak.

The Phillies will now look to rebound when they open a three-game series against the host San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

Thomson was thrown out after Kyle Schwarber was called out on strikes in the sixth inning. The mild-mannered Thomson had not been ejected since taking over as the Phillies’ manager last season.

“I just told (plate umpire Ryan Wills), it felt like a similar pitch that was called a ball before,” Schwarber said. “I spoke my opinion on what I thought the call should have been. I didn’t want to cross any lines there. Obviously there was a lot of game left to be played.”

Philadelphia will hand the ball to left-hander Bailey Falter (0-6, 5.75 ERA) in the series opener.

In Falter’s last start — against the Boston Red Sox — he gave up six hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings. Falter was perfect through three innings and then faced nine batters in the fourth.

“All I know is I have a lot to do here,” Falter said after the outing.

Falter has faced the Giants just once in his career, allowing one run on two hits in three innings of relief on June 18, 2021.

On Sunday, J.T. Realmuto was a bright spot, as he went 2-for-4 with a double after missing Saturday’s game with a sprained pinky finger. The injury occurred on Friday following a headfirst dive into third base.

After winning the opener of a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants dropped the final three games.

On Sunday, Arizona earned a walk-off victory in the bottom of the ninth when Tyler Rogers allowed a game-ending double to Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

“We generally play our defenders to the most likely spot the ball is going to be hit, based on spray charts,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “(Blake) Sabol did everything he could to hit the cutoff man and have a play at the plate, but we weren’t able to convert.”

The Giants only have 17 wins through their first 40 games this season, but believe they should have more.

“The wins haven’t been coming our way, but we’ve been in pretty much every single game this season,” Sabol said. “The games are there for the taking. It’s just a couple more shutdown innings and a couple more timely hits. Still like 120 games left, so still a lot of baseball left to play.”

Alex Wood (0-0, 2.45) is scheduled to start for the Giants on Monday.

Wood is 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA in 15 career appearances (10 starts) against Philadelphia.

Mike Yastrzemski ran the bases Sunday and could return during the upcoming series against the Phillies. He had been struggling with a strained left hamstring.

Joc Pederson (hand) also may be available off the bench.

–Field Level Media

The reeling San Diego Padres are desperately in need of a jump start.

Enter the Kansas City Royals.

The Padres return home Monday night riding a five-game losing streak that climaxed over the weekend with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Overall, the Padres have lost seven of their last eight games — dropping San Diego four games below .500 at the quarter-mark of the season.

And Sunday, the Padres got shut out for the sixth time this season, one shy of the league-worst New York Mets.

The start of the season has become something of an embarrassment for a Padres team carrying the high expectations of a $292 million salary. Yes, they have four proven stars at the top of the order in Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts and proven designated hitters in the right/left tandem of Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter. But they are also last in the major leagues with a Mendoza-line batting average with runners in scoring position.

After Sunday’s loss at Dodger Stadium – capping a series in which the Padres scored four runs in the three losses — Padres manager Bob Melvin discussed the plight of the Padres.

“It doesn’t look good when you don’t get any hits,” said Melvin. “We haven’t been able to sustain it. Until we sustain it, we’re not the team we expected to be. The offense has not taken hold with any consistency. It’s time to get home and regroup.”

And what better team to “regroup” against than the Royals, who at 12-30 have the second-worst record in the major leagues. Actually, the three-game series against the Royals represents the possible opening of a window of opportunity for San Diego. After closing the six-game homestand with three against the Red Sox, the Padres hit the road for a nine-game trip to Washington (last in the National League East), the New York Yankees (fourth in the American League East) and Miami (also below .500).

The Royals-Padres series starts Monday night with Kansas City’s Brad Keller (3-3, 4.31 ERA) going against San Diego’s Michael Wacha (3-1, 4.82) in a match of right-handers.

Before being swept by the Brewers over the weekend in a three-game series in Milwaukee, the Royals had won four of five games against the A’s and White Sox.

“We’ve been playing better,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro. “We’ve got a lot of younger players who are still finding their way. I see improvement.”

The 6-foot-5, 27-year-old Keller has a 1.765 WHIP and a .266 opponents’ batting average going into his ninth start of the season. Keller has given up nine runs (eight earned) on 20 hits and 13 walks with nine strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings his past three starts. He has given up a league-worst 32 walks in 39 2/3 innings this season with a poor 0.91-to-one strikeout to walk ratio. He has worked one inning across two previous appearances against the Padres, allowing a run on four hits and two walks with one strikeout.

“It’s command with Brad,” said Quatraro. “He depends on his breaking ball a lot. When he has it working, he’s got the weapons.”

Wacha will be making his eighth start for the Padres and has a 1.339 WHIP and a .257 opponents’ batting average. Over his last three starts, Wacha has given up four runs on nine hits and six walks in 17 innings for a 2.12 ERA and a 0.882 WHIP. Wacha is 3-2 lifetime in 10 games (nine starts) against the Royals with a 3.51 ERA, a 1.119 WHIP and a .255 OBA.

–Field Level Media