Phillies do just enough to hold off the Giants and remain the hottest team in baseball originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies still had some gas left in the tank after putting up 14 runs Saturday night against the Giants.
And by some, I mean more than enough.
It wasn’t an offensive explosion (you can’t have that every night), but Taijuan Walker’s long pass and drop were enough for a 5-4 victory over the Giants.
The Phillies improve to 24-11, still holding the best record in baseball. Even during 2011, the best single-season record in franchise history with 102 wins, the Phillies didn’t reach 24 wins until May 11. last 10.
What about 13 games over .500? Last year, they didn’t reach that mark until August 11, when they were 65-52… and nearly 10 games out of first place in the NL East.
“I think it gives them a lot of confidence, first of all,” said manager Rob Thomson of his club’s efficiency at the start of the season. “Now, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish and we have to make sure we keep people healthy.
“I think just the awareness of the last two years, of not getting too hot until June, just motivates people and I think our guys did a really good job.”
The most important lesson from all of this? They keep finding ways to win.
The Giants scored early when Michael Conforto doubled in the first inning to score LaMonte Wade. That’s not something that happens often for the Phillies this season. It was just the third time in the last 15 games that the Phillies didn’t score first.
They soon erased the Giants’ lead after a peculiar series of events. A routine ground ball to shortstop Nick Ahmed turned into Alec Bohm reaching second base on a throwing error. Bohm reached third when Brandon Marsh grounded out and finally scored on Edmundo Sosa’s infield single. Although it was a soft ground ball, Sosa’s bat shattered in the infield and was a major factor in the play. Sometimes that’s how it happens.
After going on paternity leave during the 10-game road trip and hitting home runs in back-to-back games at Cincinnati and San Diego, Bryce Harper has gone seven straight games without passing yards. That changed in the third inning when Harper threw a ball 410 feet to right center for a three-run shot. It was Harper’s seventh of the season.
“As an attack, I think we had a really good plan tonight against [Logan] Webb,” Harper said after the win. “You know, he’s really good at trying to keep the ball on the floor and hitting the low balls that he does. So, thinking as a team, collectively we had a very good plan.
“(Walker) went out there and threw the baseball really well. Our starting pitching was obviously really, really good. So anytime we can get him some runs on the board, we have a good chance to win.”
For as many runs as the Phillies scored on Saturday, it was the perfect example of how small ball can also win games. This lineup, heavily built for long balls, can flip whatever switch they need, when they need it, to get the job done.
Walker allowed one run in the first inning, then went scoreless five before leaving a two-run homer to Thairo Estrada. It’s the second game in a row for Walker where he’s allowed a home run after going six and a third inning.
Still, Walker hit seven homers on the night and did enough to earn his second win of the season during his 200th career game in the majors.
This is the second time I’ve made it to the seventh inning,” Walker said. “Obviously, I really want to finish this one, especially after the last start. So I really wanted to, but I feel like my location was really good today. All my pitches, my splitter was better today than last start.
“It was good. It becomes a lot easier when the offense makes runs like that.”
And don’t worry, the sequel lives to see another day. Alec Bohm doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest of his career. He surpasses the Braves’ Marcell Ozuna (17 games) and has the longest hitting streak in MLB this season.
The Phillies will have their fourth sweep of the season (Rockies, White Sox, Padres) on Monday night against the Giants. Zack Wheeler will take over on his regular five-day rest and face Mason Black in his MLB debut.
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