Bamboo Brad gets his revenge as Rangers sweep Phillies

Final Score: Rangers 2, Phillies 1

“Old friend” Brad Miller wasn’t too kind to the Phillies on Wednesday night. Against the lefty Brad Hand, the two-time Phillie broke a 0-0 tie on a two-run single to right in the 10th inning, scoring the “ghost runner” Adolis García and Eli White. The timely hit decided the game and handed the Rangers a two-game sweep of the Phillies on the road.

To make matters worse, former Phillie Matt Moore played a huge role in shutting down the Phillies offense. He threw 1 2/3 shutout innings as the first reliever out of the bullpen. He now has a 0.75 ERA with the Rangers as a multi-inning, high-leverage arm with a potent curveball.

It had appeared at first glance that the Phillies had a one-run lead over Texas in the bottom of the sixth. New father of two Nick Castellanos hit a fly ball the other way to right that carried. A fan in the first row leaned over to catch the ball and dropped it. Home run was the original call on the field, but it was overturned and Castellanos was told to go to second. Bryce Harper flew out to end the inning.

The Rangers’ best threat against Wheeler came in the seventh. García reached on a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Mitch Garver hit a blooper that landed between Kyle Schwarber and Didi Gregorius. Both charged the ball and the result was a collision between the two with Gregorius’ foot glancing off Schwarber’s head. Both appeared to be OK.

One pitch later, Mitch Garver hit a similar pop up that drifted closer to the third-base line. With Alec Bohm, Schwarber and Gregorius all moving toward the ball, Bohm caught it and made a perfect throw to home to get the tagging García for the final out.

Gold Glove caliber play by Alec Bohm. pic.twitter.com/NMpJNYMhtI

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) May 5, 2022

Facing the former Phillie Moore for the second-consecutive inning, Schwarber reached on an infield single with two outs in the ninth. Roman Quinn came into the game as a pinch-runner and stole second. With the winning run at second, Segura lined out to the new pitcher Matt Bush to bring the inning to an anticlimatic end.

It’s early, but the Phillies are in a tough spot. They head into what should be a tough four-game series against the Mets with three-straight losses and an 11-14 record. They could finish anywhere between two or 10 games back of first place in the NL East.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Martín Perez: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 88 pitches

Perez was solid in his sixth career start against the Phillies. He had only two 1-2-3 innings the entire night, but was able to get out of any trouble he found himself in thanks to three double play balls.

Zack Wheeler: 7 2/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 78 pitches

Pulling Wheeler after 7 2/3 innings and 78 pitches was an unpopular decision. Wednesday was his most electric outing by far. He averaged 96 mph on his fastball, missed 16 bats and struck out seven Ranger hitters. He threw 90 pitches over six innings in his last start. You would have to think that the decision to take him out of the game had more to do with the number of “up-and-downs” and not matchups or his performance.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

One fly ball from Hoskins in the ninth looked like it had the chance to win the game.

Rhys Hoskins just threw his hands up in shock over having his 9th-inning rocket caught at the track.

According to Statcast, that ball had an expected batting average of .930.

Meaning historically, balls hit at 105.1+ mph exit velo, 27 degrees LA, have been a hit 93% of the time

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) May 5, 2022

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Thursday, May 5 vs. New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park
• 6:45 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network
• Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION

1. Phillies 2022 Walk-Up Songs
2. ‘That Was Pretty Special’: Brad Miller Reflects On Best Moments With Phillies
3. Media Review: ESPN’s New Sunday Night Baseball Booth, In-Game Interviews
4. Sam Fuld Talks Decision To Demote Bryson Stott To Triple A
5. Is There Value In Going Ballistic On An Umpire? Joe Girardi Weighs In.
6. 2021 First-Round Pick Andrew Painter Strikes Out 13 Consecutive Batters For Single-A Clearwater
7. ‘It’s A Moment That I’ll Always Have’: Andrew McCutchen Reflects On HR In First Phillies At-Bat
8. Nick Castellanos Talks Supporting Alec Bohm After 3-Error Game: ‘I Didn’t Want Him To Feel Alone’
9. What’s The Latest On JoJo Romero’s Recovery From Tommy John Surgery?
10. For Now, Alec Bohm Will Have To Play Third Base. But Is There A Long-Term Fit?