Two rain delays later, Phillies win first series after All-Star break with shutout over Orioles
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott, right, celebrates with Kyle Schwarber (12) after scoring on a sacrifice flyout hit by Bryan de la Cruz during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Phillies have finally won their first series since the All-Star break.
After four straight series losses, which included a 3-6 homestand, losing 2 out of 3 against the Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees, then being swept out of Miami in three pathetic games against a team that had a 12-game losing streak at the time, the Phils are finally back to winning ways as the Trade Deadline is just over 24 hours away.
After a solid outing by Andrew Painter on Friday, the Phillies bullpen blew the game yet again, and it looked like this series would be a repeat of what we have seen over the past few weeks. But on Saturday, they got an 11-strikeout performance from Cristopher Sanchez and followed it up with two good innings from Zack Wheeler before the rain took over, and the bullpen finished off the job to take the series over the Orioles, 8-0.
After two quiet innings to start the game, a double from Justin Crawford set up Bryan De La Cruz for a two-run home run. He’s been the Phillies’ best hitter since being called up from Lehigh Valley and gave the Phils an early lead with his second home run of the year.
After the Phillies took their at-bats in the third, the rain began to fall harder as the bottom half of the inning began. After about 10 minutes of trying to fix the infield, which was completely ruined and drenched, the game was eventually delayed due to rain.
That rain delay unfortunately took Wheeler out of his start. He only pitched two scoreless innings but looked much better than he was after his outing in Miami, where he gave up five runs in three innings with his velocity down. Wheeler threw seven pitches in the first inning that were faster than any pitch in his previous outing.
After the delay, which lasted around 1:45, the Phillies tacked on two more runs after the Orioles loaded the bases in the top of the fourth. Bryson Stott walked on four pitches, then Justin Crawford drove in another run on an RBI groundout to extend the Phillies’ lead to four.
An inning later, Bryce Harper blasted his 386th career home run, tying him with Aaron Judge and Dwight Evans for 69th all-time on the HR list. He’s 14 home runs away from 400, and a good two months could have him staring at 400 by the end of the season. It was his first homer off a lefty since he homered off Cubs left-hander Riley Martin back on April 21.
Another three runs came across for the Phillies in the top of the sixth inning. Crawford hit his second double of the afternoon to drive in the sixth run, and sacrifice flies from De La Cruz and Kyle Schwarber extended the lead to eight before, once again, the tarp came on the field.
They eventually called the game, with the Phillies picking up an 8-0 win after 5.2 innings.
After Wheeler was pulled due to the rain, the Phillies had to grab 21 outs from their bullpen, which has struggled in recent days. They got a scoreless inning to start from Kyle Backhus, and two scoreless innings from Tim Mayza as he struck out three in the process.
After three good innings Saturday night from the bullpen, the bullpen continued to blank Baltimore as they contributed to the Phillies’ 14th shutout this season.
The Phillies defense was also a contributing factor in the shutout. In the bottom of the third with the bases loaded, Alec Bohm made a great pick at third base to turn a double play and get out of the inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Brandon Marsh made a great sliding grab that saved extra bases and a possible rally.
The Phillies will return home on Monday night to take on the Nationals for a four-game series, with Aaron Nola scheduled to start.
There is a possibility we see some new faces in new places in the coming hours as the trade deadline looms. Don’t miss our live stream Monday counting down to the deadline:
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:
