Phillies offense finally beats one of baseball’s best in final victory originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Lifeless offensively for 16 consecutive innings and, in fact, for much of the last five games, the Phillies finally broke through in the top of the ninth Tuesday against one of the most powerful pitchers in the game.
Bryce Harper started the game-winning rally in a scoreless game against Jhoan Duran, closer to triple figures, doubling to left field with one out. The Phillies effectively waited out Duran on a busy night, with Alec Bohm and JT Realmuto walking to load the bases.
Brandon Marsh, 0 for his last 16, walked with a sacrifice fly and Nick Castellanos followed with a hit that was equally important, an opposite-field two-run double to turn a one-run lead into a 3-run Phillies victory. 0.
Matt Strahm retired the Twins 1-2-3 for his first save of the season. The Phillies have at least temporarily moved Jose Alvarado to a lower-leverage role and Strahm could end up being the lefty counterpart to Jeff Hoffman, who recorded two outs in the eighth. Gregory Soto, the other lefty in the bullpen, took the bottom of the eighth on a 3-1 count with the bases loaded, inducing a tough play for Bohm, who stepped on the third base bag as the Phillies scrambled out of the jam.
The late rally was sorely needed because the Phillies were held off the board in 35 of 40 innings entering the ninth inning.
In the big picture, the most significant story of the night was Zack Wheeler’s dominance. He returned to the rotation after missing a start due to back spasms and pitched as well as he had all season, allowing three hits in seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. His fastball hit 95-97 mph in the first inning and he maintained it, averaging 95.1 overnight.
Wheeler is 10-4 with a 2.55 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 20 starts in his bid to win a Cy Young award.
The Phillies pressed him in their first start in two weeks. Wheeler threw 107 pitches after throwing 76 on July 9. The Phillies had a plan to limit the first four starters of the half to 90-95 shooting, but apparently not Wheeler.
The Phils are 64-37 after the win, with a chance to win the series in Wednesday’s rubber match at 1:05 p.m. Aaron Nola makes his second start of the second half, while the Twins will use former Marlins left-hander Steven Okert.
