Phillies Sweep Rays To Extend Road Winning Streak To 12 Games
Photo via the Philadelphia Phillies on Twitter
Coming off a rusty series versus the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies had one thing in mind, which was to win a series against one of the best baseball teams in MLB, the 57-31 Tampa Bay Rays. Thanks to a strong bullpen and elite performances from their starting pitchers, they did just that as they became the first team to sweep the Rays in 2023.
Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola pitched a magnificent game one. He was dialed in for the entire game, pitching 7.1 innings, striking out 12 batters and giving up just one run—a solo home run hit by Wander Franco in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Facing former Phillie Zach Eflin, the scoring got started in the top of the second as Alec Bohm hit a double to center and scored Bryson Stott, making it a 1-0 game. In the top of the seventh, Bryson Stott singled to right and scored Bryce Harper, increasing the Phillies’ lead to 2.
Reliever Jalen Beeks took over for Eflin in the seventh inning, and right after the pitching change, Bryce Harper smacked a single to right field and scored Kyle Schwarber, putting the Phils ahead by three.
In the ninth, Craig Kimbrel got three quick outs to seal the Phillies’ 3-1 win over the Rays.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ offense pounded the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday evening. The Phillies had seventeen hits, and that helped in a huge way throughout the game.
Taijuan Walker pitched extremely well despite giving up five hits and four earned runs. He was locked in and pitched a great game even when he wasn’t feeling his best. Walker went seven innings and had eight strikeouts.
The Tampa Bay Rays started the game on a high note as they got the scoring going in the bottom of the first when Brandon Lowe doubled to left and scored Randy Arozarena.
The Phillies, however, started their hot stretch in the top of the second when Alec Bohm singled to center field, scoring J.T. Realmuto. Moments later, Darick Hall singled to right and scored Bryson Stott to tie the game at two.
Next inning, the Rays re-took the lead on a Francisco Mejia single that scored in a run, but it didn’t take long for the Phillies to punch back—Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos were huge contributors later in the game to help the Phillies lock up the victory.
The Phillies won the game, 8-4, which was their eleventh consecutive win on the road.
It was an exciting night on Thursday when the Phillies beat the Rays in eleven innings. Everything went well for them as they kept fighting and fighting to complete the sweep. The Phillies extended their road winning streak to twelve games, the second-longest single-season run in franchise history.
Phillies’ starter Christopher Sanchez was on the mound and pitched a stellar game, going six innings, striking out two, and giving up just one run on four hits.
The fun offensively began in the top of the fifth, as Darick Hall took Rays’ Jake Diekman yard with a 398-foot solo bomb to make it 1-0 Phillies. It was Hall’s first home run of the season.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Sanchez gave up a solo home run to Isaac Paredes that knotted the game up at one.
It all went downhill for the Rays in the top of the eleventh, as RBI singles from Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead. Rays’ reliever Ryan Thompson got the loss, and Matt Strahm—who pitched two clutch, scoreless innings—earned the win.
Nola Dominates
Aaron Nola is finally making progress despite his slow start to 2023. Hopefully, his strong performance against the red-hot Rays can build some confidence for his next few starts. His velocity and command were tremendous in his game-one start, and Phillies fans should be really hopeful for his next few starts, assuming he continues to dominate.
If Nola gets back on track and re-finds his 2022 form, the Phillies will definitely continue to have one of the strongest rotations in baseball.
Bryson Stott is Feeling It!
Stott is absolutely on another level at the plate right now. He went 4-5 with four big-time hits and no strikeouts in game two. It just shows how great of a player he is when the Phillies need him the most. He’s getting hot at the right time. He’s making contact with the baseball really well, and it’s awesome to see.
Stott is slashing .300/.336/.424 in 323 at-bats so far in 2023. It should be entertaining to see his growth for the rest of the season.
Sanchez Proves Himself
Christopher Sanchez is beginning to be more reliable after what he did Thursday night at Tropicana Field. He was dialed in and had a good feel for his command of the strike zone. This type of effort from Sanchez tells Phillies fans that the role of the fifth starter may not need to be filled before the trade deadline. It’ll be interesting to see if this type of performance can continue for Sanchez. His ERA for the season is down to 2.84.
The 47-39 Phillies travel to South Beach for a three-game series versus the 51-38 Miami Marlins starting on Friday, July 7.
What a wonderful sweep this was for the Phillies!