Phillies’ 8th-Inning Rally Isn’t Enough as They Fall To Rockies in 11 Innings
May 8, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford (2) hits a two-run home run against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
It was a rough night for the first six innings at Citizens Bank Park for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Rockies had a sizable lead and were on their way to closing out a blowout victory in game one of the series. Instead, the Phillies fought back in the 8th inning and sent the game to extras, but failed to capitalize in the 10th and 11th, giving Colorado the 9-7 victory.
After two fantastic starts from Jesus Luzardo, he fell back to Earth and did not have a good start at all. He only pitched three innings and did not even make it out of the 4th, giving up six runs and throwing way to much pitches as he lost his control. It was another rough night for an inconsistent Luzardo.
The Rockies would strike first almost instantly after Luzardo led off the game with a walk to Jordan Beck. He then advanced all the way to third on a groundout and wild pitch, then came around to score after TJ Rumfield grounded out to 1st base.
For the next two innings, both teams remained scoreless with little to no action, with Rockies starter Chase Dollander only giving up just two baserunners through the first three innings. Luzardo also did not give up any runs, but his pitch count was on the rise, with him missing the strike zone on his offspeed pitches and the Rockies hitters working long counts, having 67 pitches early on.
The Rockies added on to their lead in the 4th inning, as Luzardo’s struggles of his one-inning disasters continued. He threw 28 pitches and could not record an out in the inning. After a single by Rumfield, Hunter Goodman launched a moonshot into the left field seats. Brenton Doyle followed with a walk, and a perfect bunt by Willi Castro had two on before Kyle Karros doubled down the line and advanced to third after it took an odd bounce, before Ezequiel Tovar singled in Karros to score the fifth run of the inning for Colorado. Luzardo was pulled after the single, and Jonathan Bowlan recorded the last three outs of the inning.
Dollander followed with back-to-back scoreless innings, with the Phillies finally recording their first hit of the night. Dollander still continued to mow through the Phillies lineup, with all of his pitches in command. His fastball was hitting 100 miles per hour, and his sweeper was also throwing hitters off.
The Phillies would finally get on the board in the bottom of the 6th, as for the second night in a row, it would be Kyle Schwarber breaking up the shutout, with him blasting a monster home run into the second deck, which was also his 200th homer as a member of the Phillies. The Phils would be able to pull Dollander out of the game courtesy of J.T. Realmuto hitting an opposite-field two-out double off the wall, which scored Brandon Marsh, who would’ve been out had the Rockies reviewed a potential double play he hit into.
The following inning, the Rockies would instantly get one of those runs back. Tyler Freeman was just able to sneak a line drive over the Asplundh sign in left field to make it 7-2 Colorado.
And another surprise was seeing Jhoan Duran coming into the game during the 8th inning, whilst the Phils were already down by five. It feels wrong that he’s not coming into the game for a save situation, but it looks like the Phillies are trying to ramp him up due to the fact that he did not have any rehab stints in the minor leagues.
It was 7-2 to begin the bottom of the 8th, and at the end of the inning, the game was all tied up. The rally started with a Bryce Harper single and a walk to Adolis Garcia, and Marsh singled to score Harper. A wild pitch advanced Marsh and Garcia 90 feet, and Bryson Stott drove them both in with a double. With Stott on 2nd and two outs, Justin Crawford took a hanging sweeper and launched his first major league home run to complete the rally.
Jose Alvarado worked through a scoreless 9th inning, and Victor Vodnik did the same in the bottom half, sending the game to extras. Both teams worked through scoreless 10th innings as well, with Orion Kerkering getting out of a jam with runners on 1st and 3rd, and the Phillies failing to capitalize with their runners on as well.
The Rockies would take the lead right as the 11th inning started, as on the 2nd pitch Brad Keller threw, Troy Johnston sent a line drive into the right field corner to make it 8-7 Colorado. Jake McCarthy scored Johnston to extend the Rockies’ lead to two.
The Phillies would have one last chance to rally in the 11th inning with Crawford reaching on an infield single, sending the winning run to the plate. But the Phils’ big three of Turner, Schwarber, and Harper would go down in order, giving the Rockies the 9-7 win in 11 innings.
The Phils will look to bounce back on Saturday, with Aaron Nola scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m.
Andrew Glover
Andrew is in his first year covering sports for Philly Sports Reports. He is a podcaster and a digital content creator. Right now, he is in his second semester at Temple University pursuing a degree in Media Studies and Production. He has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
