Alec Bohm wins it again in first game of doubleheader
Final Score: Phillies 6, Red Sox 5
Surrendering four home runs in a single game is not a recipe for success.
Somehow, the Phillies were able to overcome that with another clutch hit from rookie Alec Bohm. He came through with a two-out knock that scored two and won the game for the Phillies in the bottom of the seventh. They are now 2-6 this season in seven-inning doubleheaders.
It’s a tough loss for the Red Sox offense, who looked like they were taking swings in batting practice. Their shortest home run today was a mere 416-feet long. Unfortunately for them, their defensive miscues in the early going came back to haunt them.
Top Plays
A half-inning after taking a ground ball to no man’s land, Didi Gregorius belted his sixth home run of the season to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
The Phillies had a prime scoring opportunity later in the second. With the bases loaded and two away, Rhys Hoskins hit a line drive to left that was caught by Michael Chavis for the final out.
The Red Sox responded with a solo shot of their own. The red-hot Devers smacked one off the Toyota sign in right field to tie the game.
Harper’s baserunning netted the Phillies another run in the third. On what should have been an easy double-play ball, Harper stopped in Christian Arroyo’s path at second and forced a throw over to first. After moving over to third on a ground ball, Harper took a risk and lingered down the third-base line. The catcher Christian Vázquez threw over to third and missed badly, scoring Harper.
Bohm continued to prove just how seasoned of a hitter he is at the big-league level. In a situation in which a young player could try to do too much, Bohm lined a two-strike cutter to center field and scored both Gregorius and Gosselin. He now has 13 RBIs on the season.
The Red Sox went back-to-back off Eflin. Alex Verdugo launched a second-deck home run and Devers went the opposite way with his second of the game. It was his second multi-home run game in the last 10 days. Luckily for Eflin, no runners were on base for either home run.
The Phillies are pretty lucky baseball isn’t a game where the farther you hit it, the more runs you score. Bobby Dalbec tied the game with a 425-ft home run to the second deck in left field off Tommy Hunter. It was the first home run surrendered by Hunter all season.
The Red Sox took the lead on Devers’ third extra-base hit of the game. The ball was practically in the dirt. Seven-inning doubleheaders are just not the Phillies bullpen’s forte.
Bohm came up big. With two on and two out once again, Bohm delivered with a base knock. Realmuto and Gregorius scored and the Phillies mobbed Bohm at first. It’s the Phillies’ fourth walk-off win of the season. Bohm has half of them.
This is a really unfortunate line for Pérez, who was fantastic in his last outing against the Blue Jays. All three runs that came across to score in the third were earned but in reality, defensive miscues kept the bottom of the third alive. He did surrender six walks, which is never ideal.
Eflin needs to learn to get left-handed hitters out if he wants to be the team’s No. 3 starter in October. The sinker-baller was humbled again when he surrendered three long home runs to Verdugo and Devers, who are both left-handed. Interestingly enough, Eflin mostly stayed away from using his curveball. Two starts ago, Eflin relied heavily on it as a put-away pitch in his best start of the season.
This guy is going to be special. In the eyes of many Phillies fans, he already is. He finished the game with a 3-for-4 line with four of the Phillies’ six RBIs.
A lifelong native of Philadelphia, Destiny has been a contributor for Phillies Nation since January 2019 and was named Deputy Editorial Director in May 2020.