Phillies Sweep Pirates, Extend Winning Streak To Five Wins
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
It was a wild series opener on Thursday night in Pittsburgh at PNC Park where the Phillies bullpen had some difficulties at the end of the game but made it over the hump with edging the Pirates.
Let’s get right to it, the Phillies came into the game with a chip on their shoulder as they took their series versus the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. The Phillies offense continued their stellar performances in front of a poor Pirate fan base.
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler had an excellent evening as he was on fire in the Steel City of Pittsburgh. He went seven innings, struck out eight, and only walked three batters.
It got out of hand easily as the Phillies kept smoking runs in from inning to inning. Darick Hall and Nick Castellanos were big on Thursday night as they helped win the game with a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Darick Hall hit an awesome triple and Castellanos finally got going at the plate.
In the top of the second, Phillies Alec Bohm hit a single to right field and scored Matt Vierling that extended their lead to 4-0. It was a little quiet between that half inning until up to the top of the sixth where Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber got the baseball on a good spot on the bat to smoke it out, which was a three-run-homer. Schwarber scored Matt Vierling and Garrett Stubbs and all of those runs made it 7-0 Phillies.
In the top of the seventh Phillies Didi Gregorius joined the party and contributed a hit and scored in a run that made the score 8-0.
Then, once the bottom of the seventh rolled around, Zack Wheeler’s electric start started to go bye bye as he gave up a 2-run blast that put the Pirates on the scoreboard, 8-2.
Once the bottom of the ninth came, Phillies reliever Jeurys Familia tried to come in and put the game to bed but it ended up being a nightmare for Phillies fans watching from their couches back in their Philadelphia homes as four earned runs that closed the 8-2 lead to 8-6.
The Phillies edged the Pirates with a final score of 8-7.
Familia was done at one point in that half inning and the Sereanthony Dominguez came in and was successful as he pitched to one batter but got the save although he gave up one more earned run.
Alec Bohm is continuing to dominate offensively at third base. His confidence was on another level on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The way he handled a grounder in one point of the game, it was pretty incredible to see. His batting average has been speeding up lately and he had two hits with one RBI. Hope that he can stay on the level he is on now for the rest of the series and into next week.
The Phillies bullpen needs to be talked about because it was disappointing to watch the game last night and knowing that the Pirates almost had the juice to tie the game up at nine. It was a putrid performance by Jeurys Familia and Seranthony Dominquez since they made some atrocious pitching selections. The Phillies are desperately in need of change for this specific position. It’ll be interesting to watch how they unfold on the mound in the coming weeks.
It was a very good night on the Phillies side as they played a lot better than last game and didn’t give up the lead in extra’s.
The Phillies came into Friday night’s game with a much win mindset since they were on a two game winning streak beating the Braves in the series finale and game one of a four game series in Pittsburgh.
Phillies starter Bailey Falter did a pretty decent job on the mound as he pitched six innings and only gave up two earned runs. It was the longest start of his major league career. Falter struck out eight batters and only walked one.
The Phillies got their scoring started when Kyle Schwarber hit a single to deep right and scored Matt Vierling to cut the Pirates’ lead in half, 2-1 in the top of the seventh. Moments later, the Phillies produced more runners on base as Rhys Hoskins singled to left and scored Obduel Herrera that tied the game up at two.
From the top of the seventh until the top of the tenth, the scoring was quiet and then momentum started to build back on the Phillies side as Rhys Hoskins launched a two-run home run over the wall in center field that put the Phillies in the driver’s seat with a two run lead, 4-2.
The Phillies beat the Pirates, 4-2.
The Phillies won back-to-back games in their first two meetings at PNC Park.
Rhys Hoskins had a big night offensively as he dug deeply at the plate and made an opportunity to make a big difference in the game with the two-run homer he smashed. I have faith that Rhys will continue to stride to the best of his ability and thrive each and every at bat.
Bailey Falter was amazing on Friday evening. I know he gave up two runs but he pitched a great game and it was one of the best ones he ever had in his career as of now. It’ll be interesting to watch if he can accumulate more wins on his record starts.
The Phillies tried to take three out of the four games of the series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening. It worked out as they played really well and their pitching was on point from the first inning to the last out which carried to the tenth inning.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez got in some trouble on the mound in the fourth inning but that didn’t make Suarez have a panic attack. Phillies catcher, J.T. Realmuto went to go talk to him at one point in that half inning and then fast forward to that at bat, he pitched fine as he only gave up a fly out to retire the side. Suarez finished the night as he pitched six innings, allowing only three hits, and one walk. His pitching performance was spectacular and he was really locked in.
In the first five innings of the game it was a pitchers dull. The bats really started to accumulate for the Phillies once it reached the top of the sixth inning where it was a 1-1 count and Realmuto hit an opposite field dinger off Pirates starter Mitch Keller that put the Phillies in the driver’s seat with a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Phillies Jose Alvarado gave up a solo home run by Pirates Cal Mitchell that tied the game up at one.
It didn’t take nine innings to find out the outcome of the game so it went to the tenth inning where it was in Philadelphia’s favor of winning the game as the Pirates made a terrible mistake with a throwing error which the ball was hit by Matt Vierling and drove in a run that made the Phillies re-take the lead, 2-1.
The Phillies took care of business on Saturday with a 2-1 win in ten innings.
Phillies closer, Corey Knebel, did a terrific job limiting runners on base in a crucial situation late in the game as he got the win. His velocity has improved and he did very well pitching on Saturday evening. It’ll be crucial for the Phillies to have the same type of outcomes in him in the upcoming series’.
The Phillies definitely need to be better with runners in scoring position as they went 0-for-9 in the game on Saturday. This type of stuff has got to change dramatically if they want to win more ball games. Getting runners in scoring position each and every game needs to be there and have momentum moving forward.
It was a dreary day at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon but that didn’t keep the Phillies offensive plays continuing to make a big impact to cruise their way into their fifth straight win which improved their record to 55-47 on the season and set a franchise record of winning the four game series and sweeping them and it last happened in the year of 1968 when the Pirates played at Forbes Field.
The game on Sunday totally went in Phillies favor of just torturing the Pirates offensively with hits all over and making a big impact on the scoreboard.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola was a gem as he really did a good job on the mound and had a great pitching performance. He pitched six innings, six hits, one run, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
The Phillies really poured in the runs like raindrops as they devoured the Pirates by scoring eight runs. What really impressed the Phillies fans around the Philadelphia and South Jersey area is that Nick Castellanos played out of his mind as he dodged up his stats by going four for five at the plate. He had four hits to go along with two RBI’s which were crucial for the Phillies offense.
Also with a lot of help as well in Alec Bohm, he came through clutch with terrific numbers with four hits and one RBI.
All game the Phillies pounded the Pirates inning by inning with clutch at bats and really blew the door open with the offensive playmaking they had in their game on Sunday. Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos, and Matt Vierling were definitely a huge boost as those guys made the game look better on the Phillies offense. Everyone seemed to contribute and looked really locked in.
The Phillies put a dent on the Phillies in their four game series finale, winning 8-2.
Kyle Schwarber hit his thirty-third home run. That’s what exactly the Phillies wanted in the game on Sunday. He’s trying to chase Yankees star Aaron Judge. It was awesome to see him crush another one. Hopefully he can make more magic for the Phillies in the coming days.
Alec Bohm at bat stock really went up in the last forty-eight hours as he had multiple hits in the game and made a huge impact for the ball club where they needed the most. Compared to his performance this past Saturday, it was great to see him have changed especially at the plate.
