Phillies Battle Back to Even Series, Narrowly Beating Arizona 4-3

After blowing a four-run lead in a disappointing loss last night, the Philadelphia Phillies, despite starting off slow just as they ended last night, flipped the script this time and scored four in a single inning, which would ultimately be enough to win the ballgame. Even though Phillies’ starter Taijuan Walker started off the game giving up a two-run home run, him and the Phillies’ bullpen limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to three runs, just one more in eight innings of baseball.

Though bats weren’t pretty the whole game, a spark in the bottom of the third would lead up to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper going back-to-back, something we haven’t seen as much as we used to. Even though that inning was the only inning the offense would score in, it’s still a relief to see the two of them play at their known level, and those runs scored in the inning were just enough to level the series at one game apiece, as a save from Jhoan Duran ended the game with a 4-3 Phillies’ win.

Taijuan Walker Continues to Struggle

Though he was able to bring himself back, the first inning performance from Phillies’ starter Taijuan Walker was not pretty at all, as he threw 25 pitches for two runs in the first inning, off of two hits. These two runs now make that nine first-inning runs this year for Walker, and the home run today was his ninth first-inning home run since the start of last year. Taijuan Walker’s inconsistency has always been a problem, and from what we have seen this year, not much has changed after the first inning.

With that being said, Walker was able to go four more innings without giving up a run, and threw only 60 pitches in that span. Though it wasn’t perfect, Walker was able to do his job after a major concern in the first inning. Walker may not be an option for the long term, but his rebound after going down 2-0 helped the Phillies win the game today.

Crawford Goes 1.000 on the Day

Though Schwarber and Harper both went long for the lead, the win in nine innings would not have happened without the bat of rookie Justin Crawford. Crawford, who is having an excellent season already, tallies two hits in two at-bats today. His notable hit came in the third inning, where he would get on and bring up the man who would send him to home plate, as Kyle Schwarber’s three-run home run brought home both Bohm and Crawford. After Harper went long, it was safe to say that Crawford started a rally that ended up winning the game for the Phillies.

Although it was rough to see Harrison Bader walk after a fun season last year, the Phillies not only have the next man up, but have the next man at the age of 22 years old, meaning the Phillies will have this talent for a long time. Crawford has been a clutch name on this team, and even though he’s not the biggest name that comes up today, his bat led to the win for the Fightins’.

Duran Makes Franchise History with Fifth Save of the Year

After his save today, Duran now has five saves on the year, just 14 games in. Although this sounds normal, this has not been achieved since the year 2012. Jonathan Papelbon, 14 years ago was the last Philadelphia Phillie to earn five saves in the team’s first 14 games.

Duran has been one of the greatest trade acquisitions this team has seen in the last half-decade, as he has been one of the best pieces to this team even when the Phillies enter a skid. Coming into today, Duran’s ERA at home in Philadelphia was sitting at 1.65, with 12 saves in 17 total games (accounted for non-save situations as well). After closers such as Corey Knebel, Craig Kimbrel, and Jordan Romano failed with high expectations, Jhoan Duran is a massive breath of fresh air for this club.

The Phillies, tomorrow afternoon, look for the series win against the Diamondbacks, as Zac Gallen faces off against another promising Phillies rookie in Andrew Painter.

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