Phillies Pitching Puts on Clutch Performance, Beating D-Backs 2-1 to Take Series Opener
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper tosses his bat after flying out against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Phillies take the series opener against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix behind a clutch pitching performance where the pitchers got outs when they needed them and Bryson Stott launched a career-long home run, sparking a 2-1 win, gaining a game on the Braves in the process.
The Phillies stormed into the Arizona desert riding high after sweeping the Angels in Anaheim, trying to crush any hopes that the Diamondbacks have at getting into the playoffs via the wild card. With the Braves losing a make-up game to the Giants, the Phils had a chance to gain some ground on Atlanta.
The scoring got started with a blast when Stott hit the longest home run of his career, a 464-foot moonshot that got the Phils on the board first.
In the next inning, the Phils tacked on another run when Bryce Harper doubled home Garrett Stubbs to double the lead. The Diamondbacks got one of those back when Gabriel Moreno doubled, scoring Geraldo Perdomo and making the game 2-1. This was all the scoring that would be needed as the Phils bullpen would make this hold up for a tightly contested 2-1 win for the Phils.
Nola Grinds Out a Win
Aaron Nola continued to build on his incredible turnaround this month with another solid outing. The biggest issue has been the innings where he throws 20+ pitches, and how these innings tend to stack up. This happened in the second and third innings on Tuesday night, where he threw 20+ pitches in both. The biggest issue was that he wasn’t missing bats like he has all month, where he has the sixth-highest K-rate among National League pitchers at 31.4.
When Nola isn’t missing bats, it gives the opponents a chance to foul off pitches and extend at-bats, which is what happened in the second and third innings here. He did make it through the fifth and got into the sixth with over 100 pitches, but wasn’t able to finish.
The saving grace for Nola in this start is that he was working the bottom of the zone where he could keep the ball in the park. He didn’t have his best stuff in this game, but he has turned the corner this season and hasn’t left hittable pitches up so they can be hit into the stands. This is the seventh consecutive start where he has allowed fewer than three earned runs, which is the first time for him since April and May of 2019.
Stott Set the Tone
Stott has hit the ball very well in August, as have most of the Phillies hitters. As if he understood how important it was to get Nola a lead to allow him to settle in, he took a center cut fastball and turned it around for a no-doubt home run that got the Phillies off and running.
In typical fashion when Nola is on the mound, they didn’t provide him too much run support after Harper’s single doubled home Stubbs, but that would be enough to keep Nola in the game. Brandon Pfaadt kept the Phils off kilter all game, only allowing four runners in scoring position in his six innings. This is what baseball down the stretch is; not every game is going to feature an offensive explosion, especially against teams fighting for a wild card berth, so getting close, low-scoring wins like this one are something that the Phils will need to continue to do for the month ahead.
Phillies Bullpen Locks Down Strong Win
In August, the Phillies bullpen truly took the next step in its evolution. When Nola left the game in the fifth, Alex McFarlane came in with runners on first and second with nobody out, and he came in to get three outs, including a big strikeout on Nolan Arenado.
McFarlane has been unhittable in his first 10 appearances, with opponents hitting a paltry .147 off of him. He is moving himself into higher leverage situations, and earning the trust of Don Mattingly. We can all expect him to be in the later innings down the stretch.
Though Orion Kerkering bent but didn’t break, Brooks Raley came in to clean up the runners Kerkering let on. Even Jose Alvarado came in, and after allowing runners on first and second, he came up with a clutch strikeout of Tim Tawa to end the threat in the eighth. Jhoan Duran came in to nail down the save in the ninth, securing the Phils fifth win in a row, finishing August 21-7, their best month since September of 2010, setting them up for a push through September into the playoffs.
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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