Phillies homer 5 times, move to 10 games above .500

Final Score: Phillies 7, Nationals 2

Just minutes after Dan Baker was honored for 50 years of service with the team, the Philadelphia Phillies stepped on the throats of the lowly Washington Nationals Friday, looking the part of a team that will bring the legendary public address announcer’s voice back to the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos and Darick Hall combined to hit 1,141 feet of home runs in the bottom of the first inning off of Josiah Gray, giving Kyle Gibson an early 4-0 lead:

Second 💣 in three days for Nick👀 pic.twitter.com/Igi9xmteeB

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 5, 2022

Before the night was out, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber would get in on the action, with the Phillies using one of the most humid days of the summer to hit five home runs, none of which was under 360 feet.

That was more than enough for Kyle Gibson, who turned in perhaps his finest start as a Phillie. Gibson was perfect through six innings, and would ultimately limit the Nationals to just two hits and one run over eight innings.

With the win, the Phillies improve to 58-48, 10 games above .500. Shortly after he took over as interim manager, Rob Thomson talked about getting to five games above .500, and then trying to get to 10 games above .500. So what’s next?

“15,” Thomson said with a smile after the game. “Well, 11 really. I always talk about building on five. Sometimes it takes a while. But that’s our next goal.”

Meanwhile, the Nationals — just three years removed from winning the World Series — have dropped to 36-72, the worst record in baseball.

Prior to tomorrow evening’s game, the Phillies will induct Bake McBride and Ron Reed onto their Wall of Fame. Ranger Suárez will then face off with Patrick Corbin as the Phillies look to clinch a series victory and move 10 games above .500.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Josiah Gray — one of the key pieces the Nationals got from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Trea Turner/Max Scherzer deal — allowed five hits and six runs over four innings Friday. After getting tagged for four home runs, the 24-year-old has a 4.92 ERA this season.
• Kyle Gibson, as noted above, was tremendous this evening. The 34-year-old’s ERA this year now sits at 4.36.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

Dan Baker is believed to be the third public address announcer in MLB history to work for a single franchise for 50 or more years. The only others are Pat Piper (59 years with the Chicago Cubs) and Bob Sheppard (56 years with the New York Yankees.

After 50 ‘fairytale’ years, Dan Baker reveals his favorite player names to announce

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Saturday, Aug. 6 vs. Nationals at Citizens Bank Park
• 6:05 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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