Captain Jack's Phillies Postgame

Philadelphia Phillies 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 6 at Citizens Bank Park, and the Phillies take the series with a slugfest against Paul Skenes. Trea Turner hits a three-run homer, his tenth, in the second; Brandon Marsh answers a first-inning robbery with a solo shot in the third, his fifteenth; and Alec Bohm caps it with a two-run drive to dead center in the eighth, his tenth. Bryce Harper adds a two-run double, Skenes is charged with eight runs in four innings, and Zack Wheeler strikes out ten in four and two-thirds but gives up nine hits and four runs. The bullpen lets the Pirates back within two on a Jared Triolo double before Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran slam the door. Astronaut Christina Koch throws out the first pitch. The Phillies climb to forty-nine and thirty-eight, within two and a half of Atlanta and two and a half up in the wild card.

Philadelphia Phillies 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 0 at Citizens Bank Park, and one night after blowing a five-run lead the Phillies answer with a clean, complete beatdown. Cristopher Sánchez throws seven scoreless on three hits with nine strikeouts, pitching through a blister he picked up in the second, and the bullpen finishes a combined five-hit shutout. Justin Crawford, the rookie, goes three for three with three runs batted in, including the two-run single that opened the scoring. Trea Turner, on his birthday, drives in three and caps it with a two-run homer, his ninth. The Phillies improve to forty-eight and thirty-eight, still three back of a suddenly ice-cold Atlanta but two and a half up in the wild card, winners of seven of their last ten.

Pittsburgh Pirates 11, Philadelphia Phillies 7 at Citizens Bank Park, and the Phillies blow a five to nothing lead at home to a team under .500. Philadelphia jumped out early on a Trea Turner leadoff homer, his eighth, a Brandon Marsh solo shot in the first, and a Bryce Harper two-run homer, his twentieth, to lead five to nothing. Then Aaron Nola came apart, charged with eight runs, seven earned, over four and a third with two homers allowed, and the Pirates batted around for six runs in the fifth to take an eight to five lead. Brandon Marsh homered again in the eighth, his fourteenth and second of the night, but Chase Shugart gave up an Endy Rodríguez three-run homer in the ninth to put it away. Endy Rodríguez drove in four, Esmerlyn Valdez homered for the fourth straight game, and Jared Triolo hit his first of the year. The Phillies hit four home runs and still lost. They slip to forty-seven and thirty-eight, three and a half back of Atlanta, but still two up in the wild card with a seven and three last ten.

Phillies 5, Mets 4 at Citi Field, and Philadelphia takes the series two games to one. Jesús Luzardo gave five strong innings, one run on four hits with six strikeouts, and the Phillies led three to nothing into the sixth on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly, an Alec Bohm RBI double, and a Brandon Marsh RBI single, all set up by a Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber double steal in the third. Then it fell apart fast. Chase Shugart got one out, gave up three runs, the back-breaker a two-run pinch-hit homer by A.J. Ewing that tied it, and a Carson Benge forceout put the Mets up four to three. In the seventh, Kyle Schwarber answered with a four-hundred-and-eight-foot two-run homer to dead center off Kodai Senga, his thirtieth of the year and the first player in baseball to thirty, to retake the lead five to four. Orion Kerkering walked the bases loaded in the eighth and escaped without a hit, and Jhoan Duran closed it for the save. Dr. Jürgen Luftberg drops by to run the weather on the two home runs. The Phillies climb to forty-seven and thirty-seven, three back of Atlanta, and bury a Mets team that has lost eight of ten.

Phillies 2, Mets 6 at Citi Field, and the four-game winning streak is over. Philadelphia ran a bullpen game in a rain-delayed afternoon, jumped ahead two to nothing on a Bryce Harper home run, his nineteenth, and then watched it come apart. Alan Rangel took the loss after Francisco Lindor's game-tying two-run triple and an A.J. Ewing two-run single in the sixth, and Kyle Backhus gave up two more in the seventh on a Juan Soto triple and a Bo Bichette sacrifice fly. The offense managed five hits and exactly one productive swing, Harper's homer. The Mets, who had lost seven straight, snapped the skid against the Phillies and handed new manager Andy Green his first win, and their much-maligned bullpen, Minter, Brazobán, Weaver, and Devin Williams, shut Philadelphia out the rest of the way. The lone backwards bright spot: opener Tim Mayza froze Jared Young for a textbook Volpe. The Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. Philadelphia slips to forty-six and thirty-seven, falls four and a half back of Atlanta, still holds a wild-card spot by a game and a half, and keeps a run differential of plus one with the hot Marlins closing in.

Phillies 2, Mets 1 at Citi Field, and after three straight slugfests in Washington the Phillies won a completely different kind of game, a two-to-one pitcher's duel in New York. Zack Wheeler was the headliner, seven innings, four hits, one run, five strikeouts on ninety-eight pitches, with a pickoff thrown in. But the play of the night belonged to Derek Hill, who in the bottom of the first leaped at the center-field wall to rob Juan Soto of a two-run homer and preserve a one-nothing lead. Harper drove in the first run and is on an absurd heater. Trea Turner singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh, scoring, of all people, Derek Hill, on a ball hit out to Soto in left. The bullpen finished it, a perfect Kerkering eighth and a Jhoan Duran ninth for his twentieth save, the final out an ABS-confirmed strikeout. The one blemish was Alec Bohm, who hit into three double plays. The Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. Philadelphia wins its fourth in a row, climbs to forty-six and thirty-six, pulls within three and a half of Atlanta, and buries a Mets team that has now lost seven straight.

Phillies 10, Nationals 5 at Nationals Park, and for the third straight night Philadelphia walked out of that ballpark with a comeback. Down five to nothing after Cristopher Sánchez got roughed up early, the Phillies scored ten unanswered, capped by a five-run ninth, to win going away and take the series three games to one. Brandon Marsh put them on the board with a two-run homer in the sixth, his twelfth. Bryce Harper hit the go-ahead two-run shot in the ninth, his eighteenth, and Derek Hill, the man who won it last night, did it again, a four-hundred-and-forty-one-foot two-run blast to make it ten to five. The bullpen was the unsung hero, four scoreless innings from Chase Shugart, José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, and Tim Mayza after Sánchez left trailing. And the number this whole region has been waiting on finally flipped, the Phillies' run differential is positive for the first time in months, plus four. The Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. Philadelphia rises to forty-five and thirty-six, takes three of four in Washington, and pulls within four of an Atlanta team that has now lost four straight.

Phillies 5, Nationals 4 at Nationals Park, and for the second night in a row Philadelphia walked into the ninth inning beaten and walked out winners. Down 4-3 with two outs in the top of the ninth, Kyle Schwarber pinch-hit and worked a ten-pitch walk after sitting two days, Garrett Stubbs came on to run, and Derek Hill, pinch-hitting for Justin Crawford, turned on a one-and-two pitch from Richard Lovelady and drove a two-run homer to right-center to take the lead. Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth to nail it down. Aaron Nola gave the Phillies five innings, two earned, five strikeouts, the only damage two solo homers. Washington went deep three times, Luis García Junior, Jorbit Vivas, and a Curtis Mead two-run shot that had put them back ahead. The Phillies clawed back with three in the fourth on a Stott double, a Realmuto sacrifice fly, and a Rincones single. The Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. Philadelphia rises to forty-four and thirty-six, takes a two games to one lead in the four-game set, and pulls within five of a suddenly ice-cold Atlanta.

Phillies 14, Nationals 9 at Nationals Park, and Philadelphia did not win this game so much as rob it. Down eight to six in the top of the ninth, two outs, nobody on, Trea Turner stepped in oh-for-four on the night and hitting two twenty-six on the year, fought off a one-and-two count, and lined a single to center to keep the season breathing. What followed was an eight-run ninth inning: a Brandon Marsh two-run homer to tie it, a Bryson Stott three-run homer to take the lead, a two-run Edmundo Sosa double, and a second Turner knock to drive in the fourteenth. Sosa finished with five runs batted in and a home run, Stott went three-for-four with four runs scored, and Jesús Luzardo struck out thirteen in six and two-thirds but left trailing. Orion Kerkering coughed up a three-run Jorbit Vivas homer in the eighth and somehow walked away the winner. Dr. Jürgen Luftberg breaks down the five home runs, a north-northwest wind that crossed the field instead of carrying it, and why a ballpark that points due north matters. The Past visits Jeff Hoffman in Toronto; the Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. The Phillies climb to forty-three and thirty-six, second in the East, two games up in the wild card, and the run differential jumped from minus seven to minus two in a single night.

Phillies 1, Nationals 4 at Nationals Park, and Philadelphia opens the road trip with a flat one. A rain-delayed first pitch and a planned bullpen game ran into Foster Griffin, the Washington lefty who went seven and a third, four hits, one run, nine strikeouts on a hundred and five pitches. Tim Mayza opened and took the loss after a one-run first. Alan Rangel was the bright spot in bulk relief, five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts, the lone damage a Luis García Junior solo homer. Seth Johnson got tagged in the seventh, a two-run Curtis Mead shot that made it four to one. The offense managed one run, a Brandon Marsh solo homer in the seventh that broke up the shutout. Bryce Harper went two for four, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber each struck out twice in oh-for-four nights, and Alec Bohm grounded into two double plays. The Past stops in on Michael Lorenzen in Colorado; the Future leans on Double-A arm Braydon Tucker and seventeen-year-old Francisco Renteria. The Phillies fall to forty-two and thirty-six, still second in the East and still a game and a half up in the wild card.