Phillies Rally Past Cardinals in Extras as Bohm Caps Seventh Straight Win With Walk-Off Triple
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Alec Bohm’s two-run triple in the tenth inning capped a wild back-and-forth win over the Cardinals, pushing the Phillies’ streak to seven straight with a 7-6 victory and pulling them within four games of first place in the National League East.
Kicking off Players Weekend, the Phillies welcomed the Cardinals to Citizens Bank Park as one of the hottest teams in baseball. The Phillies are a very different team compared to what the Cardinals saw in St. Louis, now winners of six in a row and with a record of 8-2 in their last ten.
The Cards jumped on the board early when top prospect Joshua Baez hit a two-run home run to get the scoring started in the first inning. In the bottom of the second, the Phils had back-to-back doubles by Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto to tie the game, 2-2. Alec Bohm broke the tie in the third by singling home Luis Arraez to make the game 3-2. In the sixth, Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Realmuto tied the game with his second RBI double of the game, and then Justin Crawford drove Marsh home on a sac fly to take the lead right back 5-4. The Cards tied it in the eighth on a single by Bryan Torres, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the tenth, the ghost runner scored for the Cards, putting pressure on the Phils. Luis Arraez got a base hit in the home half of the tenth, and Alec Bohm hit a two-run triple to walk off the game and gift the Phillies their seventh straight win.
Phils Offense Stays Scorching Hot
The Phillies’ offense has been among one of the hottest in baseball, and in this game, the trend continued, with Alec Bohm breaking the tie in the third, continuing his hot hitting. This was his 31st multi-hit game, and as continues to rake, especially in clutch situations. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Alec Bohm walked the game off. When you’re swinging well, balls like the walk-off fall for hits. It looked like Jose Fermin not being familiar with Monty’s Angle assisted with that ball falling. These are the hits that disappeared into gloves in July, and now, they are all falling, right when the Phils need them most.
One of the things that has made a difference to the Phillies’ offense is their approach, as they are putting themselves into good hitter’s counts by getting deeper into counts and walking more. This is something that they have not been doing consistently this season up until recently, and now, this is at the core of their strategy over the last two series. In this game, they had six walks, and that kept the line moving long enough for their big hitters to strike.
Phillies Overcome Luzardo’s Up and Down Outing
Jesus Luzardo has been on a real heater at home for the last two months. In that time, he has had a 1.55 ERA at Citizens Bank Park. In this game, he got bit by the Cardinals’ young power bats. In the first inning, he was stung by Baez, who hit a long home run to give the Cards an early 2-0 lead. That was bookended with a home run by Walker to re-take the lead after the Phils stormed back.
In between these long balls, Luzardo pitched lights out. Typically, the pitches he leans on are his four-seam fastball and his sweeper. If he has one of his other pitches working, it’s typically the icing on the cake. In this game, he had not only those two pitches working, but his changeup was, at times, more devastating than his sweeper. His undoing was on two pitches that were center cut ,and the Cardinals made him pay on both. This was the first home game where Luzardo gave up more than four earned runs, and the first time he has given up multiple home runs since June 5.
Phillies Answer Wild Card Questions in Extras
This was a hard fought game with tons of playoff implications, and neither team was ready to give up. It was a back-and-forth affair that had a playoff feel on the field. The Phillies haven’t done as well this season with back-and-forth games, but lately this “never say ‘die'” mentality has driven the renaissance in August with this team. They feel like they are never out of any game, and this was proven once again. The offensive identity has been completely transformed by newbie Luis Arraez and with the emergence of Bohm as a core piece of the lineup.
When Bohm came up with the chance to win the game in the bottom of the tenth, it felt like there was no way that the game wasn’t, at the minimum, going to be tied. When the ball kept carrying to center, it felt like this was the hit that the team has been waiting for. The 4-8 hitters are the ones that did all of the damage in this game, and this is par for the course with the Phils this season.
Ten days ago, the Phils were nine games behind the Braves in the National League East, and with this win, they’re only four games back for the NL East lead.
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.
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