6 players collect multi-hit game for Phillies, beat Dodgers 6-2 to remain atop NL
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa (33) is congratulated by designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
After taking game one of the three-game series 5-3, Los Angeles looked to overtake the Phillies for the top spot in the National League, for the first time since mid-May, when they squared off in game two.
Dave Roberts‘ team turned to future Hall of Fame lefthander Clayton Kershaw while Philadelphia countered with Cristopher Sanchez on the mound. Kershaw had allowed five earned runs, in just under eight innings, in his two starts since returning from injury while Sanchez had allowed 20 earned runs over 5 starts in the month of July, after allowing twenty-five combined the other three months.
Kershaw came out sharp, retiring the first six batters and facing the minimum nine through three innings. He started the game with a strikeout, groundout, and pop-out in the first before Austin Hays got the Phillies’ first hit with a single to start the 3rd inning. Hays was then caught stealing to end the inning, a good throw by Will Smith after corraling a breaking ball that had bounced away.
Sanchez, meanwhile, allowed a double into the right-centerfield gap to Freddie Freeman in the first and an Andy Pages single in the second before both times retiring the next batter to end the inning without any damage. Kevin Kiermaier then reached on an Edmundo Sosa error to start the bottom of the 3rd before the Phils lefty was able to induce weak contact from the heart of the Dodgers order, Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Freeman, to keep the game scoreless.
The Phillies bats threatened in the top of the 4th inning, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper collecting back-to-back singles, setting up first and 3rd with one out. Kershaw dug down and struck out Alec Bohm on a curveball before inducing a J.T. Realmuto groundout to escape the jam.
In the fifth inning, they were finally able to chase Kershaw, his final line 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, before taking a bite out of the Dodgers pen. Austin Hays became the game’s first player with multiple hits when he laced a one-out double down the leftfield line. Brandon Marsh followed up by getting hit with an 0-2 pitch and Philadelphia was in business. After an Sosa strikeout, Kyle Schwarber won another lefty vs. lefty matchup, powering a full-count breaking ball off his hands to center field for the game’s first run.
Cristopher Sanchez navigated around a one-out single by Nick Ahmed to hold the Dodgers with no advancement, getting Ohtani to hit the ball at Edmundo Sosa again, this time a lineout to end the inning.
The sixth inning was unfortunate for Los Angeles, though Philadelphia took full advantage. Brusdar Graterol came on to make his season debut after returning from injury and he started the inning getting Harper to fly out. After an Alec Bohm single to right, Graterol was behind 2-1 in the count to Realmuto. He unleashed a very high fastball and immediately grabbed at the back of his right knee/quad area before being helped off the field.
Brent Honeywell would take over on the mound and, after completing the walk to JT, allow a first-pitch RBI single up the middle to Nick Castellanos, scoring Bohm and moving JT to third. Austin Hays was called out on strikes before Castellanos stole second and Marsh walked to load the bases for Edmundo Sosa. Sosa jumped on the first pitch and smashed it down to first, Freeman getting a glove to it but was unable to make the play. Realmuto and Castellanos would score on the base hit to put Philly up 4-0.
The Dodgers finally got on the board in the sixth when Teoscar Hernandez led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a Freman groundout to Harper at first. Will Smith followed with a groundout to Bohm at third and one Amed Rosario groundball to Turner at short later and Sanchez was out of the inning.
Sanchez again found himself in hot water in the bottom of the 7th when Enrique Hernandez singled before an Andy Pages walk. With first and second, nobody out, All-Star Matt Strahm came on to try and extinguish the fire with the game delicately hanging for Rob Thomson‘s squad. Strahm proceeded to do exactly that, getting Amed to line out to center, pinch-hitter Austin Barnes to strike out, and Shohei to fly out to shallow right. Thanks to the great work by Strahm, Sanchez’s final line on this night read 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
In the 8th inning, Teoscar Hernandez pulled the Dodgers a step closer, when he greeted Jeff Hoffman with a deep home run to straightaway centerfield, making it a 4-2 game. For all their struggles lately, the Phillies still sit atop the NL and, on this particular Tuesday, they were not going to relinquish that title quietly.
Edmundo Sosa provided a quick answer to the Hernandez long ball when he led off the top of the 9th with his own homer, hitting an outside corner, 0-2 fastball about six seats inside the rightfield foul pole to restore their three-run lead. Schwarber was next up and he hit Honeywell’s 1-1 pitch off the same foul pole Sosa just flirted with, his nearly hitting the very top. Just like that, the Phillies were up four and Carlos Estevez was coming on to close it out.
Estevez did allow an Andy Pages one-out double before getting Jason Heyward swinging and James Outman to pop out to Alec Bohm in foul territory to end the game.
Against the 2nd-best record in the NL, Cristopher Sanchez recorded his 12th quality start of the season and looked much more like his old self. For the lineup, batters #1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 all had at least two hits, Bohm leading the charge with three. That is important because #3 & 4 (Harper & Bohm) had both been struggling lately though Schwarber’s five homers in the last ten games have helped carry the weight a bit. It was only one game against a rusty Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers but, with the win, the Phillies clinched the season series against LA and now look to get their first series win in seven series, since they swept LA July 9th-11th in Philadelphia.
The first pitch for the rubber game will be at 10:10 PM EST Wednesday night with Tyler Phillips (3-1, 4.39 ERA) vs Gavin Stone (9-5, 3.63 ERA).
