Cesar Hernandez has struggled in June. (Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)
The Philadelphia Phillies (57-51) offense came to life in a big way on Thursday afternoon, scoring 10 runs to beat the San Francisco Giants (55-54) and take the series. The Phillies scored nine runs before the fifth inning to start the month of August on a good note.
Cesar Hernandez, J.T. Realmuto and Scott Kingery led the Phillies offense in the win while Jake Arrieta labored through four innings before handing things off to the bullpen. The trio of Hernandez, Realmuto and Kingery combined for eight hits, five runs, two homers and eight RBIs.
The Phillies got the scoring started in the second. J.T. Realmuto and Scott Kingery hit back-to-back one singles and then Adam Haseley drew a base on balls to load the bases . Maikel Franco failed to capitalize, popping up to third, but Jake Arrieta was able to reach on a misplay by shortstop Brandon Crawford. The error allowed Realmuto to score, giving Philadelphia the early lead. In the next at-bat, Cesar Hernandez lined a two-run double to right, scoring Kingery and Haseley to make it 3-0 in favor of the Phils.
Philadelphia padded their lead in the third. Bryce Harper hit a lead-off single and J.T. Realmuto followed with a double. Scott Kingery notched his second hit of the day, this time a two-run single, to add two more runs on the board. In the fourth, Cesar Hernandez led things off with a solo home run to run, making it a 6-0 lead for the Phillies.
Have a day, Cesar!
The solo shot gives him three RBI on the afternoon.
6-0, Phillies pic.twitter.com/g0tcshEWrQ
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 1, 2019
Following a Jean Segura walk, the Giants went to the bullpen. It didn’t do them much good though as Rhys Hoskins singled against Andrew Suarez right away. J.T. Realmuto then mashed a three-run homer over the wall in centerfield to extend the Phillies lead to 9-0.
J.T. homers!
Kevin Pillar gave everything to try and prevent the ball from getting out, but the Phillies now lead it by nine! pic.twitter.com/HkDqoJ8Gmk
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 1, 2019
San Francisco got on the board in the fifth. Austin Slater reached on Cesar Hernandez’s second error of the game and Donovan Solano singled, moving Slater to third. Brandon Belt slapped a single to right, scoring the Giants’ first run of the game. That would spell the end of the day for Jake Arrieta. Mike Yastrzemski lined a bloop single to right against new pitcher Jose Alvarez to score a run and cut the Phillies lead to seven, 9-2. Alvarez would end up walking the bases loaded before getting Steven Vogt to line into a double play and induce a flyout off the bat of Tyler Austin to end the inning.
Roman Quinn helped the Phillies get one of those runs back with a solo home run in the fifth, his second of the season.
Oppo ?#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/hYCkiR5yFQ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 1, 2019
Blake Parker made his Phillies debut out of the bullpen in the sixth. The former Twins right-hander allowed two hits and struck out two in a scoreless inning of work. Ranger Suarez followed him with two scoreless innings before Juan Nicasio finished things off in the 9th.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Jake Arrieta didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, but luckily the Phillies lead was large enough for him to get the win. Dealing with bone spurs in the right elbow, Arrieta cruised through the first two innings before command issues began to surface in the third. Still, he was able to battle through before getting pulled after two batters in the fourth. All in all, Arrieta allowed two runs (one earned) in four innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez couldn’t make it past the the third inning. The right-hander started the fourth, but gave up a solo home run to Cesar Hernandez and walked Jean Segura, which ended his day. His performance looks worse than it was, though. If it weren’t for a Brandon Crawford error in the 2nd, things could have been different. None the less, Rodriguez allowed six runs (three earned) on eight hits while walking two. He was unable to strike out any of the 20 Phillies batters he faced during the outing.
Phillies Nuggets Player(s) of the Game: J.T. Realmuto
The Phillies backstop had a tremendous day at the plate, tallying three hits in five at-bats. Realmuto fell a triple shy of the cycle. His three-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Phillies a nine-run cushion over the Giants. Realmuto has four home runs in his last seven games and has reached base in seven of the last eight. He also has three multi-hit efforts in the last five games. J.T.’s average sits at .274 on the season, 10 points higher than it was on July 26, when the Phillies were starting their home series against the Braves at the beginning of this long homestand.
Next Game
- Friday, August 2 vs. Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park
- 7:05 p.m.
- NBC Sports Philadelphia
- SportsRadio 94 WIP
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