In a game that the Philadelphia Phillies needed badly, the bats showed up in a big way and led them to 12-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday. With the victory, the Phillies (69-63) remain two games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second Wild Card spot and win their first series against a below-.500 team since July 23-24 against the Detroit Tigers.
After a quiet first inning for both teams, the Phillies offense got things rolling in the second. Rhys Hoskins, back in the cleanup spot, got things started with a leadoff triple. After Jean Segura struck out, Cesar Hernandez drove Hoskins home with a single to left. Scott Kingery followed with a single of his own, and then Adam Haseley plated Hernandez with a double to the right field corner to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, after Bryce Harper got on base on an infield hit to shortstop Kevin Newman, Hoskins crushed a double into left field to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead.
Just like on Friday, starter Vince Velasquez cruised through the first three innings before hitting a roadblock in the fourth. After Starling Marte reached on a one out single, Josh Bell smacked an opposite-field home run to trim the lead down to 3-2. However, unlike Friday, Velasquez allowed no further damage after this home run and the Phillies stayed ahead the rest of the way.
In the fifth inning, the Phillies offense blew this one open. Corey Dickerson got it started with an opposite-field home run to lead off the inning, his fifth home run as a Phillie. Realmuto followed with a triple before Harper hit him home with a single to extend the Phillies lead to 5-2. After Hoskins walked and Segura reached on an infield hit, Hernandez knocked in two more runs with a single into center. Scott Kingery and Haseley followed with back-to-back ground outs, the second of which scored Segura and extended the Phillies lead to 8-2.
After Logan Morrison pinch-hit for Velasquez in the fifth, left-handed reliever Austin Davis came in and pitched two innings, his only blemish a solo home run to Starling Marte in the sixth.
But in the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies added two more runs on a J.T. Realmuto home run, his 20th of the season, and a Jean Segura single that scored Bryce Harper, who had reached on a walk:
While Davis and Edgar Garcia finished the game with three shutout innings, the Phillies continued to add runs. In the seventh, Haseley reached on an infield hit before eventually scoring on a passed ball by Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings. And in the eighth, Cesar Hernandez and Scott Kingery hit back-to-back doubles to put the Phillies up 12-3.
This was a very impressive performance for the Phillies offense, who have remained somewhat inconsistent but have overall been better since Charlie Manuel took over as hitting coach:
The Phillies will need contributions from everyone in the lineup to continue down the stretch if they hope to make a run at a Wild Card spot. The rotation behind Aaron Nola is incredibly inconsistent and will need plenty of run support over the next month.
Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: J.T. Realmuto
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
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