Phillies lower their magic number to 1 in Washington
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott follows through on an RBI-fielder's choice to second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
The Phillies went into a four-game series in Washington looking to get their magic number down. And they did just that as they took three-of-four over the Nationals as their magic number is at one.
Game summaries
Before the game Friday, the Phillies recalled infielder, Darick Hall from Lehigh Valley (AAA) and optioned infielder, Yairo Munoz to Lehigh Valley. Left-handed pitcher Christopher Sanchez was added as the 29th man for Friday’s doubleheader.
The Phillies had their minds on winning the ball game on a very dreary Friday afternoon at Nationals Park in Washington, DC that was supposed to be a doubleheader, and instead, it was a single game. The Phillies came out full force offensively and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Phillies starter Bailey Falter pitched great. He went 6.0 innings with six strikeouts and didn’t allow any earned runs.
The offense showed up nicely and did well at Nationals Park. Rhys Hoskins started the day off with a big homer in the top of the first that put the Phillies up 1-0. In the top of the fourth, Jean Segura singled to center field and scored Brandon Marsh that made the score 2-0. Next, in the top of the sixth, Nick Castellanos scored on a balk which made the lead, 3-0.
It was very nice to see the defensive play-making that Phillies shortstop Bryson Stott had during a cloudy day in Washington, DC. Stott has shown why he’s been a positive influence day in and day defensively.
Phillies catcher, J.T. Realmuto made history as he stole three bases, and caught two runners stealing. He became the second catcher ever with 20 home runs and 20 steals in a season.
The Phillies ended up scoring another two runs the rest of the game and won 5-1.
The Phillies got smoked offensively on Saturday in game one of the doubleheader at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The pitching just wasn’t spectacular.
Phillies starter, Kyle Gibson, was atrocious as he gave up seven earned runs in six innings to go along with eight walks. The pitching got worse as the game got on for the bullpen. The Phillies had to go with two bullpen guys who were Nick Nelson and Chris Devenski as well as Nick Mason who is a position player.
The Nationals offense did a stellar performance of getting runs in front of a dreadful Nationals Park crowd in bad weather.
The Nationals cruised by the Phillies winning 13-4.
The offense didn’t show up and have a playoff-type performance. The Phillies’ defense just didn’t have what it took to look like a deep playoff team on Saturday afternoon, especially being Kyle Gibson not being reliable and having good command.
The Phillies, however, looked like another team out there on Saturday evening where they tortured the Nationals offensively. The pitching was finally better and the hitting was spectacular as the game progressed.
Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard pitched 5.2 innings and gave up no earned runs, only two hits, and three strikeouts. Then Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon pitched 0.1 innings and Christopher Sanchez pitched the last three innings.
Let’s get to the fun stuff!
Kyle Schwarber continued to do Kyle Schwarber things as he collected his 44th home run to right field in the top of the first that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
The Phillies clobbered offensively the rest of the game and made it an outreach for the Nationals to try and make it a close one which didn’t happen.
The Phillies went on to win and split the day-night doubleheader with an 8-2 win.
Noah Syndergaard is looking to be a reliable starter after all after his performance on Saturday evening. The type of performance Syndergaard had on Saturday evening, he needs to continue doing that the rest of the way. It’ll be interesting to see how he can do the rest of the season, with a potential shot of pitching in the postseason.
The Phillies made some noise at Nationals Park in the downpour on Sunday. The Phillies managed to win before the game was called due to rain.
The Phillies started Zach Wheeler on the mound and he was on fire as he struck out seven batters, and gave up no earned runs with only two hits.
The Phillies gave it their all before the rain came and destroyed the rest of their 8-1 game in the sixth inning.
Bryson Stott, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto all contributed nicely and helped the Phillies get the victory.
J.T. Realmuto hit his 22nd home run of the season in the top of the sixth.
The Phillies cruised by with an 8-1 victory in six innings
Zach Wheeler was dealing. You could see him being a big factor in the game on Sunday as he was on point. This is the type of pitching the Phillies need to be having, especially getting close to playoff time.
The Phillies ran up the scoreboard with runs before they called the game on Sunday. This type of offense the Phillies had has to continue their stellar effort versus the Nationals into the postseason if they get in.
Getting insurance
The Phillies did a great job capitalizing on insurance runs when they needed it the most and they were successful in doing so.
They played a lot more efficiently getting runners on base than their last series versus the Cubs in Chicago where the Cubs swept them.
Control the pitching
The Phillies need to control their pitching performance as they continue to hunt for a Wild Card spot.
In game one on Saturday, the Phillies didn’t show how strong the pitching staff was and made it a complete tornado with multiple runs given by the Phillies.
Matty V
Matt Vierling came up clutch as he homered to help the Phillies get the win.
Vierling needs to keep doing this and making it hard on the opponent pitchers, especially late this season and finishing up the regular season with the Houston Astros.
