Phillies make impressive comeback in sloppy series finale against Marlins – Philly Sports
Nick Castellanos (left) and Bryson Stott (right) of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after scoring on a single by Brandon Marsh against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Citizens Bank Park was the scene of a classic matchup between division rivals on Sunday afternoon. The sweltering game featured questionable pitching and defense on both sides, but the Phillies and Marlins offenses traded blows throughout the game. Philadelphia rallied and eventually fought back from a 6-2 deficit to avoid losing the series, beating the Marlins by a score of 7-6.
There were some great moves, a few mistakes, a lot of hits and the birthday boy was able to celebrate with a great game and a decisive goal. Let’s see how we got there.
The Comeback Kids
Philadelphia has had a tough time offensively in its first two games since losing Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. They combined for 12 hits and four runs on Friday and Saturday. They topped both numbers on Sunday, and the bats heated up faster than the seats in the afternoon sun.
After trailing 1-0 in the first, birthday boy Trea Turner hit a single and scored on a hit by Alec Bohm. It was home run No. 10 for the Phillies’ third baseman, and he regained the National League lead in RBIs. Philly loaded the bases in the bottom of the opening inning, but that didn’t discourage them.
Even a 6-2 deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning wouldn’t work. Back-to-back doubles from Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos brought the Phillies one step closer. They continued to be productive in the following inning, with Rafael Marchán and Bryson Stott both starting the inning. They eventually both scored on Castellanos’ bat, his second consecutive inning with an RBI.
The magic happened in the seventh inning. Whit Merrifield and David Dahl managed two consecutive walks to start the inning, Marchán brought them on with a sac bunt, and Trea celebrated his birthday with his third single of the game. This time he also had two RBIs.
Overall, the Phillies finished the game with 14 hits and 7 runs, which is almost the same as the first three games. Rob Thomson said during his post-game press conference: “that was a big event today. I think we all needed it, the clubhouse needed it. They fought like crazy the whole game.”
Why did they need it? Thomson replied:
“Just because there is so much talk, right? “The three boys are outside. How do you plan to score points?” all that stuff. Well, we’re going to score runs. These guys are capable, I said that. We just have to keep going and maybe we have to create. Hit-and-run, steal some bases, Marchan get a big sac bunt tonight. Those are the little things you have to do.”
Rob Thomson after the game, June 30, 2024
Thomson added that he learned “nothing” about his team today because he knows who they are.”I know they fight, and I know they’re resilient, and I know they never give up. That proves it.” And they proved it.
Rangers tough trip
Poor performances are a rarity this season when it comes to the Phillies’ rotation. Unfortunately, Ranger Suárez had one of the worst starts of his career today. Aside from the June 1 game where he was taken off the field after hitting a line drive, that was the only time this season he didn’t complete five full innings. The last time he made a regular-season appearance where he didn’t complete at least five frames was his final start of the 2023 season on September 27. That game was also a 7-6 comeback win for the Phillies.
His command was not there from the start. Thomson said after the game that he thought it was just one of those days: “I thought the order was short today, shorter than usual… but he fought and gave us what he could.”
Suárez likes to throw for contact, he said so himself after the game, but his ability to miss bats has been almost nonexistent in his last two starts. The Marlins hitters only missed three times all game. His 6.4% miss rate is the worst of his career.
It was also the first time in 83 career starts that Ranger did not record a strikeout. The last time he did not record a strikeout in a regular season game was on July 23, 2021 – in a one-inning relief appearance against the Atlanta Braves.
Rangers’ ERA rose more than half a run after today’s performance, from 1.83 to 2.27. After the game, he and Thomson both praised the bullpen for the excellent job it did in keeping the team in the game after Suárez’s early departure. José Ruiz, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Jeff Hoffman combined to pitch 4.1 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk and striking out six players.
More notes on the Phillies
Trea Turner turned 31 today and like many superstars, he’s a real star on his birthday. After his three hits as of June 30, Turner has a career slash line of .400/.423/.640 with a double, a triple, a home run and three RBIs in his major league career. Turner said yesterday that he felt he may have tried to do too much in an important situation yesterday, but he settled in and got the job done today. Thomson said after the game: “I think that’s huge (for him). And I think that’s huge for the club too.”
Castellanos also had a great game for the Phillies. He was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Nick has become more and more himself over the course of the month of June. After today, his final numbers for the month are in line with his career averages. Castellanos hit .276/.325/.486 with 13 extra-base hits — matching his total from the first two months of the season. He added 18 RBIs and 11 runs. A stellar month for a guy the Phillies will rely on heavily over the next few weeks.
The Phillies made five errors this afternoon – FIVE! If that seems like a lot, that’s because it is. According to Paul Casella of MLB.com, Philadelphia hasn’t made that many errors in a game since 2005. Thomson wasn’t concerned about the errors after the game, calling them “everything somehow strange“ in conversation with the media.
“Ranger makes that play a thousand times, Nick bounces the ball off the wall, which can happen, Turner’s throw is really a targeted throw – it just bounced out of Bohm’s glove. Bohm makes a crazy play on the dive play, so they were kind of weird. It’s not like five balls went through the infielder’s legs or anything.”
Rob Thomson after the game, June 30, 2024
The plan of attack for today seemed to be to hit Miami pitchers early in their at-bats. 11 of Philly’s 14 hits came within the first two pitches of a plate appearance, and two outs were recorded that quickly as well. Phillies hitters struck out on the first pitch a total of 13 times in the game, a trend worth watching to see if it’s just today or part of the game plan for the near future.
Finally
The Phillies can breathe a sigh of relief. With today’s win, they avoided a series loss and their hitters have hit their stride in their new lineup. They have a day off tomorrow as they travel to Chicago for a series against the Cubs, beginning a six-game road trip. On Tuesday, rookie Michael Mercado (1 appearance, 1 inning, 1 K) will make his first career start after making his major league debut last week. His opponent will be Hayden Wesneski (2-4, 3.60 ERA).
AP Photo/Duane Burleson
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