Cuz and effect: Giants 3, Phillies 1

The Phillies rarely win games in Oracle Park, so it isn’t surprising that they fell to the Giants on Monday night. But what would normally be written off as another bad night by their offense and another bad game in San Francisco feels more galling because the home plate umpire had a hand in it. Phil Cuzzi’s indeterminate strike zone was a problem all night, but it was especially awful during a pivotal eighth inning at bat by Matt Chapman. Partly due to Cuzzi’s botched strike calls, the Phillies lost 3-1.

The loss was a waste of yet another marvelous pitching performance by Cristopher Sanchez. A day after he was somehow left off the National League All-Star team, Sanchez responded by…