Phillies come back to stun Tigers 5-4 as Jhoan Duran shuts door in debut
Aug 1, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
You couldn’t have scripted a more captivating game after deadline day if you were Dave Dombrowski.
The Phillies rallied from down 3-0 with deadline additions Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran playing crucial roles in the win.
For most of the game, it was a fierce pitcher’s duel between Ranger Suarez and Jack Flaherty. Flaherty dominated all day long. The Phillies were unable to get their first hit until the 5th inning.
Suarez was dominant in his own right, but one mistake in the 3rd inning resulted in a 3-run home run, which, through 6.5 innings, was the difference.
Better late than never, the Phillies’ offense came to life in the 7th and 8th innings, scoring 5 runs between the two frames. With a lead in hand, the deadline’s crown jewel, Duran, made his much-anticipated Phillies debut, living up to the hype and then some.
5-9 hitter’s total 6 of 8 Phillies hits
Through 6 innings, I could not have imagined writing anywhere close to something positive about the Phillies’ offense. It was lifeless and looked like one of their worst performances of the season. 1 hit through 6 innings off Flaherty, who had a 4.51 ERA entering the game. The Phillies didn’t manage a runner in scoring position until Edmundo Sosa‘s no-hitter-breaking double in the 5th inning.
Following Sosa, Bryson Stott worked a walk to set up Trea Turner with a chance to make 2 out noise. Turner popped up after just 2 pitches, ending the inning unceremoniously.
Nick Castellanos was the next to break through Flaherty’s pitching one inning later by battling for a leadoff single, the first leadoff base runner for the Phillies up that point. Flaherty’s night ended there with 6 dominant innings as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch handed the ball to Tyler Holton.
Holton hadn’t allowed an earned run in 18 days. That ended Friday night. Otto Kemp pinch hit for Brandon Marsh and took advantage, blooping a single into shallow right field to put runners on the corners. The newest member of the Phillies, Bader, pinch-hit for Max Kepler, and then loaded the bases on a 4-pitch walk. Stott then broke the goose egg, bringing Castellanos home on a sac fly.
Trea Turner again stepped into the box with 2 on and 2 out, possibly with the game in his hands. Despite being 0 for 3 to that point, Turner delivered with one of the biggest hits of the game, cutting the lead to 1 with a 2 out single.
With speed at first and second base in the forms of Stott and Turner, Kyle Schwarber sent the Bank into a frenzy with a game-tying RBI single.
Bryce Harper was unable to give the Phillies the lead, going down swinging to end the inning. Unhappy with a close call, Harper was ejected for getting into an argument with 3rd base umpire Vic Carapazza.
All the energy and electricity from the 7th inning felt like it disappeared after the Tigers retook the lead in the top of the 8th. The magic wasn’t over yet, and the rally again started with a single from Castellanos, this time with 1 out. Kemp came through with a clutch hit yet again, arguably the biggest hit of the night, shooting a double down the left field line to tie the game.
A strikeout from Bader brought Sosa to the plate with the potential winning run in scoring position. In one of the season’s wilder plays, Sosa barely reached 1st base thanks to Tigers pitcher Brenan Hanifee botching a routine throw.
The inning continued, and Stott again found himself in a crucial situation. Stott, who hadn’t even registered an at-bat with 2 walks and a sac fly, sent a weakly hit ground ball to shortstop for an infield single. While he would at first be called out, the Phillies challenged, and the call was overturned.
Phillies pitching makes just 2 mistakes
Suarez made his 2nd start since the All-Star break after pitching well against the Yankees. Suarez, for the most part, was his usual dominant self. He retired 7 straight batters to begin the game, but the 3rd inning gave him trouble.
Consecutive one-out singles from Wenceel Perez and Javier Baez gave the Tigers their first scoring opportunity of the game. Suarez did get a fielder’s choice to get to 2 outs, but was taken deep by All-Star 2nd baseman Gleyber Torres to put the Tigers in front 3-0.
After that, it was lights out for Ranger. The Tigers managed just 1 hit off of Ranger for the rest of the game, including 10 straight outs to end the outing. Suarez pitched better than the box score will say he did while striking out 5 and allowing no walks.
In what was then a tied 3-3 game, Orion Kerkering came on to pitch the 8th. The usually reliable Kerkering made the 2nd of 2 mistakes Phillies pitchers made all night, giving the lead right back to the Tigers on a solo shot from Wenceel Perez. He’d prevent any further damage, and fortunately, the offense went on to retake the lead.
Then it was the moment all of Philadelphia had been waiting for since the moment the trade was announced. Duran entered the game for the first time as a member of the Phillies and looked to be everything Phillies fans hoped he would be.
He sealed the comeback to get his first save as a Phillie on just 4 pitches, all being splinkers. His pitching was elite, but you could argue his entrance was even better. Truly one of the coolest things Phillies baseball has seen in a very long time.
Duran earning his first save in Philly after an electrifying comeback made for arguably the best Phillies game this season. While it wasn’t perfect, stealing a game like this from a team as good as Detroit says a lot to the upside of this team in the second half.
At the bare minimum, we have 2.5 more years of that entrance from Duran, so all can never be bad.
Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
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