Categories: 2020 Postgame Recaps

Phillies offense explodes in the sixth for fourth straight win

Final: Phillies 13, Red Sox 6

After sweeping their rivals, the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies offense struggled early in game one of their two-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

Bryce Harper hit a three-run home run in tonight’s victory over the Red Sox. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

It wasn’t until the top of the sixth where the offense woke up and did most of their damage, sending 12 men to the plate in the inning for seven runs, all of which happened with two outs in the inning.

Bryce Harper opened the floodgates in the inning by taking a pitch deep into the Phillies bullpen for his fifth home run of the season. Harper extended his nine-game hit streak as he went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a stolen base on the night.

Didi Gregorius extended his hitting streak as well to eight games with a ground-rule double to right field in the top of the fourth. Rhys Hoskins ended a 128 plate appearance homeless streak. According to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, it was just the second time in the last calendar year that Harper and Hoskins both homered in the same game.

The Phillies (9-9) will look for their second consecutive series victory tomorrow afternoon. Jake Arietta will look to bounce back from his last start against Kyle Hart.

Top Plays

The Red Sox scored first in the bottom of the first. Xander Bogaerts pulled one to the left side of the diamond into right-field, scoring Raefel Devers from second base.
The Phillies threatened in the top of the second with Alec Bohm singling up the middle for a one-out single. He would then advance to second on a passed ball. Jay Bruce and Scott Kingery both struck out to end the inning.
After holding the Red Sox scoreless in the bottom of the second, Zach Eflin ran into trouble in the third when he served up three straight doubles to Alex Verdugo, Devers and J.D. Martinez. Both Verdugo and Devers scored to increase the Red Sox lead to 3-0.
Alec Bohm came up big defensively in the bottom of the third with an incredible inning-ending double play. Bohm caught Kevin Pillar’s line drive on the ground and threw it to Scott Kingery at second to double up Martinez. The score remained 3-0 in favor of the Red Sox.

In the top of the fourth with two on and one out, Jay Bruce put the Phillies on the board. He had beaten the shift with a line- drive single into right field, scoring Gregorius from second.

After allowing three runs in the first three innings, Eflin settled in well. He retired the side 1-2-3 in both the fourth and fifth innings.
Rhys Hoskins, who came into the game on a three-game hit streak, blasted a solo shot over the right-field wall for his first home run since Sept. 17 of last year. It brought the Red Sox lead to within one at 3-2.

Eflin’s night was done after giving up a leadoff single to Verdugo in the top of the fifth. Blake Parker came in and allowed one hit as the Red Sox scored one run on a Bogaerts RBI sacrifice fly to right field.
The Phillies struck back in the next inning as Phil Gosselin scorched a pinch-hit standup double off the Green Monster scoring Gregorius from first base.
Roman Quinn knocked in the game-tying hit with a single down the left-field line, scoring Gosselin easily from second.
Andrew McCutchen drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single of his own down the left-field line. Quinn scored easily from second, who advanced on a stolen base prior to McCutchen’s hit.
Bryce Harper joined the two-out rally as he crushed a 96-mph fastball into the Phillies bullpen to break open the game 8-4 in favor of the Phillies.

After starting the top of the sixth, Gregorius hit an RBI single into right field scoring J.T. Realmuto from second to expand the Phillies’ lead to 9-4.
Gosselin stayed hot as he started the seventh inning with a lead-off solo shot over the Green Monster for his second RBI of the game.

After a 1-2-3 sixth inning by Parker, José Álvarez came in for the seventh and allowed one run on two hits. Mitch Moreland got the RBI for Boston on a single up the middle which scored Jonathan Arauz easily from second.
The two-out rally production continued in the top of the eighth as Bruce drove one to deep straightaway centerfield for a three-run home run to expand the Phillies’ lead to 13-5.

The Red Sox got one back in the ninth inning as Moreland hit an RBI double off the Green Monster, scoring Jose Peraza from first. It was Moreland’s second RBI of the night. Deolis Guerra got Michael Chavis swinging for the final out to give the Phillies the 13-6 win.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Zach Eflin: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 86 pitches

Boston fell back on one of their strengths of working deep counts and fighting off pitches to get to their opponent’s bullpen worked in this one. It worked well in the first and third inning where they forced Eflin to throw 23 and 29 pitches respectively in both innings. The 26-year-old’s sinker, which has been his go-to pitch this season, was inconsistent tonight which resulted in some of his struggles.

Zack Godley: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 84 pitches

At first, it seemed like the Phillies would not get to Godley, who pitched three scoreless innings to open the game. It was in the top of the fourth where the Phillies got to the left-hander. Godley, 30, gave up a single run as he faced six batters and threw 32 pitches in the inning.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Phil Gosselin

Gosselin, who came in for Scott Kingery in the sixth, came through once again for his hometown team. The 31-year-old infielder started the Phillies’ two-out rally in the sixth and went 2-2 with 2 RBIs on the night. As noted by Phillies Nation’s own Jonny Heller, “Goose” now has six extra-base hits in his last 28 plate appearances.

Ticket IQ Next Game

Wednesday, August 19 at 1:35 pm ET. at the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
NBC Sports Philadelphia
Sportsradio 94 WIP

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John Leuzzi

A lifelong Philly sports fan, John is a summer intern at Phillies Nation for the 2020 season. John is a native of Mount Laurel, New Jersey and currently attends Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At Marquette, John is the Assistant Sports Editor and covers women's basketball, lacrosse and soccer. His all-time favorite Phillie is Roy Halladay.