‘Hit’em where they can’t see it’: Phillies take opener from Rockies
Final Score: Phillies 8, Rockies 2
In a season that hasn’t gone their way so far, the Phillies caught breaks left and right in a series-opening win against the Rockies. Colorado made three errors and allowed four unearned runs to score in an 8-2 loss to the Phillies, who are now 7-10.
Poor defense from the Rockies gave way to a bases loaded opportunity for the Phillies in the first. An error by the third baseman Ryan McMahon on a ground ball from J.T. Realmuto loaded the bases for Kyle Schwarber, who struck out against the lefty Kyle Freeland.
A couple innings later, an egregious miscue between the right fielder Charlie Blackmon and the center fielder Randal Grichuk gifted the Phillies the lead. Down by one with a run already in on a Realmuto double, Schwarber hit a towering fly ball to the right-center field gap that should have been the final out of the inning. Instead, the ball landed between Grichuk and Blackmon and two more runs came in to score for the Phillies.
Bryce Harper doubled the lead on a solo home run to left-center field to break an 0-for-8 and give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.
It must have been refreshing for Kyle Gibson to look up and see that his offense picked him up after a rough start on the mound for the 34-year-old. On the first pitch of the game, Connor Joe, one of the hottest hitters in the sport, sent a ball to the facing of the upper deck in left to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. Gibson allowed back-to-back solo home runs in his first two innings of work.
The Phillies scored four more runs in the bottom of the seventh to give way to a relatively comfortable victory.
“I think a lot of these guys are really going to start to heat up. I really do believe that in my heart and we’ll see some bigger outputs from this offense for sure,” Joe Girardi said after the game.
They’ll look to at least clinch a series split with Colorado on Tuesday. Zach Eflin will pitch against Germán Marquez.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Kyle Freeland: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 7 SO, 1 HR, 101 pitches
It was a tough night for Freeland, who allowed four runs with only one of them earned. Believe it or not, Freeland became only the sixth pitcher in MLB this season to eclipse 100 pitches thrown in an outing.
Kyle Gibson: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, 94 pitches
Outside of two bad pitches, Monday was a good outing for Gibson. He continues to miss bats at a somewhat high rate as he induced 17 swing-and-misses in total on the night. Ten of those came on his slider.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
Nick Castellanos’ seventh-inning walk was the 300th of his career.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Tuesday, April 26 vs. Colorado Rockies
- 6:45 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP
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