Phillies Offense Stays Hot, Cristopher Sanchez deals, Taijuan Walker Earns First Save in Blowout of Rays
May 6, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) reacts with second baseman Bryson Stott (5) after hitting a two run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Phillies went into Wednesday night absolutely raking; Kyle Schwarber leads the National League with 12 home runs, Trea Turner has hit safely in five games, and entered the game hitting .381 over his last 15 games, and Nick Castellanos is hitting with authority. Even Bryce Harper was 2-5 and starting to swing better. Things are truly starting to look up for the Phillies. The pitching staff has started to gel as well.
Add to this that the Tampa Bay Rays have mightily struggled at their temporary home, George Steinbrenner Field, and it felt like another replay of last night’s 8-4 Phillies win, as they won their fourth straight series, 7-0 tonight, shutting the Rays out in their fifth shut out at home this season.
The pitching matchup coming into the game would have something to say about that — the Rays sent out Shane Baz to face Cristopher Sanchez, both looking to continue their consistent pitching early in the season. Sanchez has been throwing the ball well outside of the game against the New York Mets. The slightly concerning thing that jumped off the page at me was that the league is batting .318 against his sinker, which is his primary weapon, and truly the pitch that failed him in his Mets outing.
The pitching matchup didn’t disappoint early on. Sanchez and Baz traded zeros for the first 2 innings, until the third inning, when Turner deposited a 2-1 pitch into the left-center field seats.
In the 4th inning, the Phillies’ bats started to come alive. After Max Kepler singled, J.T. Realmuto walked, and a passed ball, which appeared to be a pitchcom issue, the Phils’ bats started finding holes. Alec Bohm reached on a fielder’s choice when they got a play at the plate, which appeared to calm Baz a bit, but that was just a calm before the storm. The play that doomed Baz was when Johan Rojas bunted a safety squeeze, and instead of getting the force out at first, he tried to glove flip to the catcher, when there was no force out at the plate.
This mental mistake rattled Baz. Bryson Stott singled, and Bohm scored. Turner singled, Rojas scored. Harper doubled, scoring Stott and Turner, and made it 6-0, chasing Baz out of the game.
The Phils added another run in the 6th to make it 7-0, and Sanchez made that stand up as he was in complete control, only giving up one hit through 6. He did walk 3 in that time, but was locating his sinker so much better than he had in his previous 3 starts.
Taijuan Walker came in for long relief and looked locked in for his first relief appearance of the season. His sinker had break that didn’t seem to be there in his starts. In addition to his sinker, his splitter looked untouchable. He moved through the Rays’ batters with ease. While I’m sure Walker would rather be in the rotation, this seems to have been the best thing for him. He gave up a hit in the 8th, but struck out 6 through the first 2 innings. He trotted back out for the 9th and shut the Rays down, earning Walker his first Major League save, which lasted 3 innings and recorded 7 strikeouts.
The Phillies’ pitching, a combination of Sanchez and Walker, dominated tonight, while the bats continued gaining momentum.
The offense shone because they manufactured runs and pounced on a pitcher who was struggling.
The pitching staff didn’t miss a beat, only giving up 2 hits. This sets up the Phils to go for the sweep tomorrow.
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Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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