Categories: 2020 Postgame Recaps

Harper stays hot as Phillies sweep first doubleheader since 2012

After putting together a convincing victory in game one of Friday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays, the Phils looked for the sweep in a bullpen game for game two. Things weren’t looking too good as they fell behind 5-2 in the fourth and 7-5 in the fifth. Fortunately, the Phillies were able to stage two big rallies and erase those deficits to earn an 8-7 victory. It was the Phils first doubleheader sweep since September 9, 2012, against the Rockies.

Bryce Harper raised his batting average 15 points during Friday’s doubleheader. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

Bryce Harper stayed hot at the plate with three hits, including a decisive one late in the game that tied things up at seven.

It was also a game of firsts for the Phillies. Rookie backstop Rafael Marchan hit his first professional homer. The 21-year-old had never hit a home run in over 760 minor league at-bats, but became the youngest Phillies player to hit a long ball in a game since Scott Rolen in 1996. He is also the youngest Phillies catcher ever to home run in a game. Meanwhile, former 2016 first round pick Mickey Moniak got his first big league hit and Connor Brogdon got his first big league win.

The win moved the Phillies back over .500 to 26-25 and the loss for Toronto also puts them at 26-25.

Top Plays

Didi Gregorious started the scoring off with an RBI-single to score Alec Bohm in the first.
In the third, Andrew McCutchen launched a solo homer to right, extending the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Phillies.

The Blue Jays answered in a big way in the fourth. Teoscar Hernandez got the Blue Jays on the board with a one-out solo home run to left field, cutting the Phils lead in half.

Randal Grichuk followed with a double, and the Phillies went to their most reliable reliever, JoJo Romero. He wasn’t his normal self though, allowing an RBI-single to Vlad Guerrero Jr. to tie the game before hitting Joe Panik.
Santiago Espinal singled to left, bringing home Guerrero Jr. to give Toronto their first lead, 3-2.
After a sacrifice bunt, Cavan Biggio hit an two-run single to extend the Jays advantage to 5-2.

The Phillies fought right back, though. Scott Kingery walked to start things off and two hitters later, rookie Mickey Moniak notched his first big league hit.

Right after Moniak tallied his first major league knock, fellow rookie Rafael Marchan hit his first big league homer, a three-run shot, tying things up at five a piece.

The Blue Jays didn’t let things stay tied for long, though. In the top of the fifth, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and and Teoscar Hernandez hit singles to start things off. Randel Grichuk plated Gurriel with a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-5 game.
The Phillies brought in Connor Brogdon to relieve Heath Hembree with one out and he quickly got the next out. He went on to walk two batters, which forced in a run with the bases loaded, giving the Jays a 7-5 edge.
In the sixth, the Phillies young guys tried to get things going. With one down, Mickey Moniak walked and Rafael Marchan singled. After an Andrew McCutchen strikeout, Bryce Harper made sure the Phils weren’t going to get out of this inning empty-handed. He laced a two-run double off the wall in center, tying the ballgame at seven.

Alec Bohm followed with an infield hit and Joe Panik threw the ball away, allowing Harper to score, giving the Phillies an 8-7 lead.
In the ninth, the Hector Neris issued back-to-back walks with two outs, but got Cavan Biggio to line out to center for out number.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

David Hale: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 34 pitches

Hale got the nod in the bullpen game as the starter and fared pretty well, leaving with the game tied. In his fifth game in red pinstripes, Hale lowered his ERA to 3.94 with the solid start.

Ross Stripling: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 65 pitches

Stripling fared only slightly worse than Hale before exiting the second half of the twinbill. The Blue Bell, PA native lowered his ERA a point from 7.04 to 6.04. He’s given up at least three runs in his last four outings

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Bryce Harper

Harper hit two home runs on Thursday night against Mets and hit another in game one this afternoon against the Blue Jays. He followed that up with a three-hit game in the nightcap, driving in the tying runs and scoring the go-ahead run. On Wednesday, Harper’s average sunk to .243 after his second hitless game, but after Friday’s two games, Bryce’s average is back up to .267 on the season. With both Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto out, Bryce getting hot is crucial for the Phillies playoff chances.

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