Finally .500—Phillies Take Two of Three Against Seattle

The Philadelphia Phillies stayed red hot after in their midweek series against the Seattle Mariners. The team entered the series on a three-game winning streak, after winning three of the last four against the Rockies.

Philadelphia dropped the first game to Seattle, but rebounded by winning the final two.

In game one, the Phillies fell behind early and couldn’t come back. Bailey Falter started the game against Marco Gonzales. The teams were scoreless until Jarred Kelenic hit a solo home run to make it 1-0, Mariners.

The Mariners scored another in the same inning to make the lead 2-0. Edmundo Sosa hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to make it 2-1.

The following inning, Teoscar Hernandez hit a two run home run, putting the game away. Both teams added a few more runs, but the Mariners ended up winning 5-3.

In game two, the Phillies were behind again, but this time came back. The team trailed 5-2 until Kyle Schwarber hit an RBI single in the 3rd to make it 5-3. Two innings later, Nick Castellanos singled to make it 5-4.

In the bottom of the 8th, Philadelphia strung together multiple singles to take a 6-5 lead. Jose Alvarado closed the door in the ninth.

Game three was a pitcher’s duel between Matt Strahm and George Kirby. The Phillies won the game, 1-0, after an RBI single in the second.

Here are three takeaways from the series:

Bullpen finds its groove

The Phillies’ bullpen was built in the offseason to be a successful group. It started the season struggling through the first few weeks. Now, it seems to have finally found its groove.

In the series, the bullpen was spectacular, allowing them to win a series against a strong Mariners lineup. Game two was a great example as the bullpen went five scoreless innings and a one run save to win the game.

In game three, the bullpen was once again great. Matt Strahm exited in the 6th. The bullpen took care of the rest, allowing one hit and no runs through 3.2 innings.

The Phillies need the bullpen to continue their run of success to be a consistent team over .500.

Nick Castellanos continues early season dominance

Castellanos has been one of the biggest contributors for the team thus far. After an awful first season with the Phillies, he has returned to his all-star form.

The outfielder had six hits in the three-game series. In game two, he had three RBI while in game three he scored the only run in the team’s 1-0 win.

If Castellanos continues to succeed when Bryce Harper returns, Philadelphia will have one of the top lineups in baseball.

Winning in different ways

What was impressive about the series against the Mariners was the ways that the Phillies one two games. After not being able to come from behind in game one, the team came from behind late in game two.

In game three, the Phillies’ offense stalled, but the pitching and defense were so strong that it did not matter. The team one by only scoring one run.

Great teams find different ways to win ball games. The Phillies showed glimpses of a great team against Seattle.

The Phillies next head to Houston for a rematch of the 2022 World Series. The Astros are 14-11 on the season and are still without start second baseman Jose Altuve.