Phillies Ride Cristopher Sanchez’s Fantastic Start And J.T. Realmuto’s Cluth Homer, Down Mariners 6-4
Aug 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) celebrates his two-run home run with first base Bryce Harper (3) during the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
It’s a winning streak and a comeback win for the Phillies.
After picking up the finale of the series against the Washington Nationals, the Phillies traveled back home to take on the Seattle Mariners. After holding on to win the night prior, the Fightins secured the series win with a 6-4 win over Seattle Tuesday night.
J.T. Realmuto came up clutch in the bottom of the eighth, breaking a 4-4 tie with a two-run home run. It’s been a fantastic second half for Realmuto, who is batting .342 and slugging .521 over his last 30 games.
Cristopher Sanchez was back on the mound, coming off a very un-Christopher Sanchez-like start, where he gave up three runs and seven hits in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He kicked off Tuesday night’s game in a big way, getting Randy Arozarena to fly out to deep left and striking out Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez to end the top half of the first.
In the bottom of the first, Trea Turner kicked off the inning with a strikeout, but was picked up right away thanks to a 44th Schwarbomb on the year from Kyle Schwarber.
Bryce Harper grounded out following the home run, but Realmuto reached base after a catcher’s interference to put a runner on first for Alec Bohm. However, Bohm grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Eugenio Suarez led off the second with a single to left, but Sanchez answered back hugely. He sent Josh Naylor, Mitch Garver, and Jorge Polanco all down on strikes to end the top of the second. However, Bryce Miller made quick work of the Phillies, sending them down in order in the bottom half of the inning.
Like the previous inning, the Mariners kicked off the third with a base hit, a double off the bat of former Phillie J.P. Crawford. Sanchez picked up one out, a strikeout to Dylan Moore, but Arozarena didn’t go down swinging, as he smoked a ball off the left field wall for an RBI double to tie the game at one.
Raleigh was up next and walked, putting runners on first and second base for Rodriguez, but he struck out once again. Suarez then dug in with a chance to give Seattle the lead, but he grounded out to shortstop to end the inning, keeping the game tied.
In the bottom of the third, Bryson Stott led off with a walk, and Turner kept the line moving with a single to center, putting Stott on third, and Turner stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position. Schwarber grounded out for the first out of the inning, but was picked up by Harper, who gave the Phillies their second run of the game thanks to a sacrifice fly.
Realmuto was up next with Turner on third, and he kept the inning going, lining an RBI single to center to make it 3-1 Phillies. Bohm walked, putting two runners on Marsh, who grounded out to first to end the inning.
Sanchez picked up right where he left off in the fourth, picking up two more strikeouts, sending the Mariners down in order. After a groundout from Nick Castellanos and a strikeout to Harrison Bader, Stott added another run to the Phillies’ lead thanks to a solo bomb.
Turner grounded out to end the fourth, and in the top of the fifth, Sanchez ran into some trouble. Crawford singled to right for his second hit of the game and, after two flyouts, moved to third on a double to left by Raleigh, putting two runners on for Rodriguez once again. Unlike last time, Rodriguez didn’t even get a chance to strikeout, as on the first pitch of the at-bat, he grounded out on a screamer back to Sanchez, ending the inning.
1-2-3 went the Phillies in the bottom of the fifth and in the top of the sixth, Suarez led off the inning once again with a base hit, this time a double off of Monty’s Angle. Sanchez continued to work around it, getting Naylor and Polanco to strike out and Garver to ground out to keep the lead at three.
Bohm led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, but two flyouts from Marsh and Castellanos, as well as a flyout from Bader, ended the sixth. Sanchez sent Crawford down on strikes for his 12th strikeout of the evening, to kick off the seventh. However, Moore worked a walk, bringing the top of the order back up for Seattle, and because of that, Rob Thomson pulled Sanchez after 6.1 innings of work, finishing with 12 strikeouts, allowing two runs on six hits, and walking just two.
Orion Kerkering was called on to finish the seventh, and he struggled to do that task. Kerkering walked Arozarena and Raleigh on four pitches, loading the bases for Rodriguez. Rodriguez dribbled a ball back to Kerkering for an out, scoring a run, making it 4-2 Phillies. Suarez was up next, already recording two hits, and he made that three, smoking a two-run game-tying double down the left field line, making it four all in South Philly.
Thomson had seen enough and pulled Kerkering for Matt Strahm, who needed just two pitches to get out of the inning. With the game tied, the Phillies were sent down in order in the seventh. In the eighth, David Robertson was next out of the bullpen, making his first appearance at Citizens Bank Park this season. Robertson got Garver to ground out to lead off the inning, and struck out Polanco and Crawford to end the top of the eighth with the game still tied.
In the bottom of the eighth, Harper led off the inning with a rocket single to left field to put a runner on for Realmuto. Realmuto then smoked a first-pitch sinker deep into the left field seats for a two-run home run, giving the Phillies a 6-4 lead.
Now with the lead, Bohm worked a walk to put another runner on. Marsh then struck out, Castellanos flew out, and Bader grounded out to head to the top of the ninth. Jhoan Duran was on the mound, looking to pick up his sixth save in a Phillies uniform.
Duran got Luke Raley and Arozarena to ground out for two quick outs, bringing up Raleigh. Duran blew not one, not two, but three fastballs past Raleigh, sending him down on strikes to end the game, with the Phillies winning 6-4.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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