Phillies Take 2 Out of 3 From The San Francisco Giants

As the Philadelphia Phillies left Williamsport, PA on Sunday evening into early Monday morning, they had a chip on their shoulders as they fell to the Nationals. That was motivation for them as they went into a big-time series versus the San Francisco Giants desperately needing to gain more separation in the Wild Card race. It definitely paid off as the Phillies offense absolutely blasted off offensively and the pitching started out on the rough side but things went smoothly as the game went on.

Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola started the game out on a rollercoaster as he let a pitch slip straight in the strike zone area to Joc Pederson who got out in a hurry into right field. Despite giving up seven hits and two home runs, Nola was locked in once the game progressed and managed to go seven innings, striking out five batters. 

The fun for the Phillies began in the bottom of the first as Bryce Harper hit an RBI single that scored Trea Turner to tie the game up at one. Next, in the bottom of the second, Edmundo Sosa stepped into the plate and wasted no time on a pitch that he liked and Sosa demolished a go-ahead two-run home run which carried over to the bullpen area in center field. 

In the top of the third Nola gave up a home run to LeMonte Wade Jr. into the bushes in center field that made it a one-run game with the Phillies still leading 3-2. In the bottom half of the inning, the Phillies made it a two-run game as Alec Bohm homered to center and made the score 4-2. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Bryce Harper stepped into the batter’s box and completely clobbered a deep base hit which made it hard for the Giants center fielder to handle and Harper didn’t stop rounding the bases as he got home safely which was an inside the park home run that made the score 5-2. Moments later, Bryson Stott pulled away as he doubled to right field which scored a run, making the score 6-2.
The offense continued to go nuts as Johan Rojas joined the party as he hit a big two-run triple that made the score 8-2. Moments later, Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run bomb that landed in the second deck in right field that made the score 10-2.

In the top of the ninth, Phillies reliever Dylan Covey was in a bad situation where he couldn’t throw strikes so reliever Jeff Hoffman took his place and finished the job up.

The Phillies’ electric offense heated up at the right time. With Johan Rojas, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Edmundo Sosa, they absolutely thrived in the win against a very solid San Francisco Giants team. These types of moments are what the Phillies need in the late days of the summer chasing a Wild Card spot. It’ll be fun to continue to see what they do for the rest of the series and so on.

Alec Bohm has been terrific with his swings of the bat. He is definitely making a big impact in each and every game. This is something Phillies fans love seeing from him. Also, watching the game tonight, he made two great plays at first base. He’s definitely going to be a big help towards the end of the season, that’s for sure.

The Phillies took game one of the three-game series, winning 10-4 over the Giants.

On a beautiful overcast Tuesday evening in South Philadelphia, the Phillies continued to spark offensively in a big way. Everyone contributed nicely and it worked out well and made Phillies fans leave as happy as ever. 

The Phillies started Taijuan Walker and he wasn’t perfect but he grinded it out once the game progressed. Walker gave up six hits, and two earned runs, and struck out seven in five innings. 
The San Francisco Giants got on the board first as Wilmer Flores grounded out to fielder’s choice to second and scored LaMonte Wade Jr. making it a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, Bryce Harper stepped up to bat in a big way and hit a go-ahead two-run home run to right field. 

In the top of the fifth, the Giants re-took the lead on a Joc Pederson two-run double that made the score 3-2. 

The offense for both teams was quiet from the bottom of the fifth to the bottom of the ninth, but when the bottom of the ninth arrived, Trea Turner stepped up to the batter’s box and hit a bullet which took a big bounce in the air off of Camilo Doval’s glove where the ball bounced past the second baseman which made Turner get to first longer and walked off the Phillies to take the series in game two of three. 

Trea Turner is absolutely making huge progress at the plate. Turner’s confidence in this game in a big-game situation was phenomenal to see. He’s seeing the baseball well and he is driving the ball terrific. It’s definitely going to be a fun ride the rest of the season for every at-bat he has. 

Phillies reliever Gregory Soto was a huge help as he was terrific with his strike zone mechanics and velocity. There’s a bright feeling that he will be a crucial reliever behind Craig Kimbrel for the rest of the Wild Card run.

The Phillies took game two of three, winning 4-3 in a fantastic comeback.

Coming into the series finale game on a humid Wednesday late afternoon start time in South Philadelphia, the Phillies had one thought on their mind which was to sweep the Giants, but they didn’t go as planned as Phillies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen struggled the first half of the game. 

Lorenzen didn’t have a good outing as he fell off the mountain quickly with hit after hit during his outing. He had trouble locating his pitches in the strike zone and wasn’t on his A-game. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two home runs, and four earned runs with eight hits. 

The Giants’ offense came alive for the majority of his outing that blew the energy out of Citizens Bank Park as Wilmer Flores played a big part in the game as he racked up a home run in the top of the first and one-run single in the top of the third where they found themselves up 2-0. 

An inning later, Giants Paul DeJong came up to bat and hit a two-run home run that extended their lead to 4-0. 

The Phillies bats quickly came in a big way from the bottom of the fifth to the end of the ninth where Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run to right field and then Trea Turner went back-to-back that made it a two-run San Francisco lead, 4-2.

A half inning later, the Giants tallied another run from Austin Slater who hit a one-run double that made the score 5-2. 

Things really got interesting once the bottom of the ninth happened as the Phillies had runners on first and second with Bryce Harper up to bat with no outs. On a 3-1 count, Harper took a fastball that traveled hard enough to make it a game-tying home run which was a line drive that hit the right field foul pole. It was as electric as a playoff game when the fans knew what he did.

The Phillies couldn’t take the lead in the bottom half of the inning so the game went to extra’s knotted at five where Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel didn’t have a bright performance and the Giants took advantage of it and got three more runs, 8-5.

The offense of the Phillies tried their hardest to rally back in a big way but they only got one run out of the bottom half of the inning where Edmundo Sosa hit a sharp one-run double to left field that made the score 8-6. 

Bryce Harper and Trea Turner’s duo is as magical as ever. These two guys are absolutely smoking the baseball all over the field. It’s a sign of relief for Phillies fans watching these two as they know not to be too worried about them struggling. It’s going to be a heck of a ride for the remainder of the season as they march to the finish line to grab a spot in the Wild Card race. 

Should Phillies fans be worried about Michael Lorenzen and Craig Kimbrel’s pitching performance Wednesday night? People should definitely not overreact like the season is over after one bad game of pitching. It’ll be like this multiple times throughout the season and knowing the Phillies have a solid offense behind them makes them have an easier mental game, especially for the fans. It’s going to be just fine, Philadelphia. Hey, they won the series, that’s all that matters. Gotta move forward and focus on the next series.

The Giants went on to win 8-6 while the Phillies got the series win. The Phillies are now 69-58 on the season.

NEXT UP: St. Louis Cardinals come into Philadelphia to start a 3-game weekend series on Friday, August 25th as 1-3 Christopher Sanchez will start. First pitch is slated to be at 7:05 pm ET. The games can be seen and heard on NBC Sports Philadelphia and 94.1 WIP.