Final Score: Phillies 12, Angels 7
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Angels manager Phil Nevin took a risk. With a base open and nobody out, Nevin intentionally walked the hottest hitter in baseball, Bryce Harper.
The next batter, Alec Bohm, represented the go-ahead run. It was a pick your poison situation. Bohm came into the game with a .902 OPS against lefties.
Tyler Anderson, who allowed only two runs on four hits prior to the sixth inning, started missing badly arm side and Bohm made both Nevin and Anderson pay with a three-run shot to left center to give the Phillies a 5-4.
It was the second time this homestand the Phillies made the opposing team pay for handing out an intentional walk. Trea Turner’s walk-off hit against the Giants came after San Francisco gave Kyle Schwarber a free pass to get to Turner.
The home run swing kicked off a late-game rampage for the Phillies offense.
They scored nine runs in the sixth and seventh inning combined. Every batter in the Phillies starting lineup, excluding Rodolfo Castro and Johan Rojas, recorded at least one hit. Schwarber, Harper and Bryson Stott all hit home runs that were at least off the facing of the second deck in right field.
Harper’s home run was career home run No. 299. Could he reach 300 by the end of this homestand?
Trea Turner, who now has a 19-game hitting streak at Citizens Bank Park, tripled in the sixth inning and homered in the eighth.
The Phillies finished the game with 57 home runs in the month of August.
It was an old fashion beatdown of a team that has literally and figuratively mailed it in. Prior to the game, the Angels reportedly waived six players as part of a salary dump. One of those players, Randal Grichuk, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. The Phillies would be wise to at least consider putting in a claim for the right-handed hitting outfield.
Los Angeles made it somewhat interesting in the ninth inning. They scored two runs, including one on an RBI double from Shohei Ohtani. The threat was enough for Rob Thomson to get Craig Kimbrel throwing in the bullpen following Brandon Drury’s at-bat.
The vibes were great all around at Citizens Bank Park. More than 36,000 fans packed the park for one last electric August night. Fans in the left-center field seats were even doing a “roll call” at the end of the game.
The Phillies will go for a second-consecutive series sweep on Wednesday afternoon. Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will take the mound against fellow southpaw Reid Detmers.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Wednesday, Aug. 30 vs. Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park
- 1:05 p.m. EST
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network (out-of-market only)
- Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP
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