Phillies Rout Rockies in 9-5 Win
May 21, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) runs home on a wild throw after stealing third in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
No time was wasted in tonight’s 9-5 victory as the offense, especially Bryce Harper, stayed hot, producing another double-digit hit game. Taijuan Walker moved back to the starting rotation for the first time since May 1st, and he turned in a quality start with five innings of work. Since Walker was on a pitch count limit, the bullpen handled the rest of the innings with only a mild bump in the road to secure their sixth win in a row.
Their designated lineup card versus left-handed pitchers came out hot. Trea Turner led the game off with a blooped ball into centerfield for a base hit, and Bryce Harper followed that up with a seed into right. A few pitches late,r Turner conducted a double-steal which allowed him to score on Rockies’ catcher Hunter Goodman‘s errant throw to third. Nick Castellanos tacked on another run with a sac-fly to score Harper.
However, the Rockies did not concede the first inning like they had the night before. They scraped together a run in the first with two singles and a stolen base, like the Phils did. It was apparent early that Taijuan Walker didn’t have his best stuff. He wasn’t getting many whiffs in two strike counts and Rockies players were poking the ball where they needed to.
After the Phils went down in order in the second, Kyle Farmer pieced a two-strike sinker to right for a double, and a few weak, yet productive, swings later, he tied the game up.
Trea Turner and Bryce Harper were not fond of the recently tied game though. They got their two-run lead back with back-to-back bombs in the third.
It didn’t stop there; Kyle Schwarber worked a walk, Nick Castellanos lined a single to left, and J.T. Realmuto brought them in with a gapper to right–two of his four RBIs on the night.
It seemed the offense provided a break for Walker to get himself together. He tossed a nine-pitch bottom of the third that included two pop-outs. It was a considerable turnaround from his first two innings, which totaled 32 pitches.
In the fourth, Nick Martini tacked on a run against Walker with a line-drive, home run to right,t but Walker handled the rest of the inning well. Castellanos, Realmuto, and Alec Bohm got their four-run lead back with a couple of well placed knocks into right field.
When the Rockies showed life, the Phillies put them right back into the ground. Just as they should do against an eight-win ball club.
Walker finished his night with a strikeout to end the fifth, enough to secure the win. All things considered, it was a quality start; five innings of work without giving up the lead he was given, while not having his best stuff. The bullpen was left with four innings of work and if it weren’t for a low-leverage game the night before, the bullpen may have been in some trouble in regards to usage.
Luckily, with the way the offense is hitting, there hasn’t been a need for their top relievers. It’s given Rob Thomson the opportunity to see a few guys get more innings than they typically would in a more competitive series–especially important with the recent news of Jose Alvarado. Max Lazar, a reliever called up from Lehigh Valley, got his chance in Tuesday’s game and tossed a solid inning in the eighth but a shaky ninth. Tanner Banks and Joe Ross did their job well in their respective innings tonight.
Although he didn’t get the cycle, Realmuto got to join the home run party in the sixth with a two-run shot to left, which extended the Phils’ lead to six runs.
In their three games at the home run-friendly Coors Stadium, the Phillies have racked up seven home runs—Schwarber has two of them.
Although these games in Colorado haven’t been too interesting, besides the first few innings of game one, it’s probably a good thing. Hopefully, fans have been able to turn the game off and go to bed at a reasonable time with the assurance of a Phillies win.
Luckily, tomorrow’s game is at 3 p.m., so plenty of people can watch the game without yawning. Ranger Suarez will toe the slab as the Phils try to take a four-game sweep and seven-game win streak into Sacramento to face the Athletics.
Sean Regenye
Sean Regenye is a sophomore broadcast journalism major at Penn State University. He is a die-hard Philly sports fan and loves baseball, especially the Phillies.
