Phillies Cruise By Royals In Walker Buehler’s Debut

Seeing Walker Buehler in any other uniform than a Dodgers uniform is a strange look, but seeing him in the Phillies city connect jerseys is very strange, but it looked fitting. Tonight was his Phillies debut, which happened at home as he took on Michael Lorenzen, who has had an up-and-down season for the Kansas City Royals.

Buehler struggled in the first with his control, which can be attributed to nerves and adrenaline. He gave up a run in the first frame, but he settled in well to hold the Royals offense to just that one run over 5 strong innings. His control improved, and he showed exactly why the Phillies took a chance with him. What made the huge difference is that in Boston, he was trying to strike out everyone with 2 outs, and that is likely due to the Red Sox defense not being great, but here he pitched to contact and trusted his defense, making a large difference in the outcome.

After the initial hiccups, he settled in and gave the Phillies 5 strong innings. He ended the night with 90 pitches, and in his post-game interview, Rob Thomson wanted him to get through five, but had him on a pitch to ease him back into Major League action, which was sacrificed to let him get 5 innings. His start tonight had to make the Phils’ front office feel good about going out and getting him for the stretch run.

The bullpen came in to nail it, and the offense did its part for the Phils to cruise to an 8-2 victory, making their magic number 3, thanks to the Rangers beating the Mets. This is also the Phils’ 5th straight win, making them 8-2 in the last 10.

After Buehler’s first inning, the Phils’ offense came to play. They tied the game in the first by manufacturing a run. In the third, Bryce Harper hit a 2 run homer after Lorenzen appeared to want nothing to do with Kyle Schwarber, and gave him nothing near the zone. Harper’s home run took on the big part of the ballpark, and this was done in large part because Harper went with the pitch and didn’t try to pull it; he took what Lorenzen gave him and let the velocity do the work.

This marked Harper’s 7th go-ahead home run this season, and the 362nd of his career, passing Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio on the all-time home run list.

After Harper’s long ball, it not only calmed Buehler, but it also was the igniter of the offense, a role that is needed with Trea Turner on the shelf for a while. After Harper’s home run, Brandon Marsh followed that up with a triple, and Otto Kemp continued his hot hitting by singling him home. Harrison Bader drove home Rafael Marchan. Bryson Stott added a home run to bring the score to 8-2.

Tonight, the Phillies welcomed Buehler to the Phils in the best way possible, with an 8-run explosion and a win. Equally important to the win was that the high-leverage late-inning relievers got a night off, which is going to be important to get those nights off for the late-inning crew, where they can. The 6-man rotation will help keep the starters fresh, so getting nights like tonight that felt like tune-up appearances for the bullpen arms.

Tomorrow, Taijuan Walker will take the mound looking for the 6th straight win, marching closer to another National League East title.

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.

Twitter

Get new articles emailed right to your inbox.