Top Moment No. 14: Phils Put Up 22 Against Reds
Top Moment #14: Phillies 10-run first inning leads to 22-1 victory over Cincinnati
Before a pitch was thrown, this looked to be one of the better pitching matchups of the season with Cole Hamels looking to jump start a mediocre season and Johnny Cueto seeking to build on an all-star caliber first half. After the first pitch was thrown, it was an entirely lopsided affair.
The Phillies jumped on the board early and often in the opening frame with a Shane Victorino home run, followed by a Greg Dobbs homer, run scoring doubles by Cole Hamels and Jimmy Rollins, and finally, a homer by Chase Utley to give them 10. The last time the Phillies had scored that many runs in the first: June 2, 2002 against the Montreal Expos. By the fourth inning, the Reds were in a 16-1 hole, and Cueto had been yanked after just 2/3 of an inning by allowing a healthy nine runs on 49 pitches. He never recovered from that demolition, giving up three or more earned runs in six of his next seven games.
Following this offensive explosion, the Phillies reeled off 10 of 11 and jumped from just two games up in the NL East to six-and-a-half up over Atlanta. Hamels breezed through seven innings of three-hit ball, saying after the game “They know there’s no real shot when you put 10 runs in the first inning. That kind of defeats them there. So knowing that, you just go out there and try to throw strikes.” Unfortunately, he could not parlay this historical scoring binge into a string of efficient starts. However, for one “Hollywood” was back on top of his game.
The 22-1 win represented the third largest margin of victory in the history of the 126-year old franchise. The two largest came against teams nicknamed the “Hoosiers” and “Colonels”; so you know it’s been ages since an opponent got a whooping like the one Reds got. Three players (Werth, Victorino, and Utley) had four or more RBI. There were 10 extra-base hits and 29 Phillies reached base. All in all, it was a healthy showing by one of the feared offenses in the National League. This game was also a stepping stone for the team as they never looked back in the NL East chase.
