Bottom’s up: Phillies 8, Marlins 3
Bottom’s up: Phillies 8, Marlins 3
The Phillies found themselves in unfamiliar territory in the fifth inning, as they were losing 1-0 to the Marlins. Jesús Luzardo was in complete control Miami through 5 innings on a day when the Phillies were without Kyle Schwarber in addition to already being without Trea Turner.
But Marlins manager Skip Schumaker elected to pull Luzardo with two outs in the sixth and the Phillies offense pounced on the Miami bullpen to score 8 total runs. Taijuan Walker turned in a solid start that bought the offense time to break the game open. Philadelphia is now 16 games over .500 and have not lost a series since the first week of the season.
Breaking through
Luzardo, who was making his first start back from injury, cruised through five innings. The left hander allowed just two hits and one walk with 6 punchouts in those five innings. But with one out in the sixth, leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield doubled down the left field line before J.T. Realmuto singled him in to tie the game at 1-1. The Marlins had taken a 1-0 lead in the previous half inning off a home run from Vidal Brujan.
Luzardo then struck out Bryce Harper on three pitches for the second out but was then promptly lifted for reliever Anthony Maldonado after 79 pitches. Alec Bohm greeted the new pitcher with a single followed by a stolen base. Nick Castellanos walked to load the bases for Bryson Stott. As he did so much last season, Stott collected a huge two strike hit on a pitch that looked like it was going to hit him in the knee. He somehow kept it fair down the rightfield line and ended up with a bases clearing, three run triple to give the Phillies a 4-1 lead.
Stott added another two strike RBI in the eighth with a single through the right side that scored Castellanos following a wild pitch. Edmundo Sosa and Cristian Pache followed with singles of their own that pushed the lead to 6-1. Johan Rojas capped off the rally with a third straight single, scoring Sosa and Pache. The Phillies’ 7-8-9 hitters finished the day 5-10 with 3 RBIs. Pache, who has started each game of this series over Brandon Marsh, is 5-9 through two games.
Little help from your friends
Taijuan Walker was able to finish a start on a positive note, as he went 6 innings and allowed 1 run on 8 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts. He was helped out tremendously by his defense, with J.T. Realmuto first throwing out Jazz Chisholm Jr. trying to steal second after a leadoff single to start the game. Pache later threw out Nick Gordon trying to stretch a single into a double for the second out in the second inning before Realmuto once again threw a runner out trying to steal to end the inning.
Matt Strahm came on in the seventh and worked around a base hit with two strikeouts for a scoreless inning. His ERA is now down to 1.17 on the season and he has not been charged with an earned run since Opening Day. Jeff Hoffman made quick work of the eighth inning, needing just 7 pitches to retire the side. Jose Ruiz allowed a two-run home run to Otto Lopez in the ninth but then picked up two strikeouts to seal an 8-3 win.
Tomorrow’s matchup
Zack Wheeler (4-3, 1.64 ERA) takes the mound for the Phillies looking for the sweep against Braxton Garrett who will be making his season debut.