The Phillies finish their past week of baseball with a 5-2 record over 7 games. They won 2 of 3 against the Royals and won 3 of 4 against the Nationals at home. Over the 7 games for the week, they outscored opponents 47-28. The Phillies delivered on expectations for the week considering the records of their opponents. It was a moving and at times emotional week at home for the Phillies, featuring welcoming a struggling Trea Turner home with a standing ovation, his apparent turnaround, and a complete game no-hitter.
They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and remain in 2nd place in the NL East with a 64-52 record, 9.5 games behind the Braves and 4 games ahead of the Marlins. They are currently alone in the first Wild Card position with a 1.5 game lead over the Giants as they go into a week with much tougher competition in the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays.
NL Wild Card Standings
Hitting Stats (last 7 days)
Pitching Stats (last 7 days)
Brandon Marsh - Marsh suffered a left knee bruise after colliding with the center field fence during the game August 5th. He was later placed on the 10-day injured list and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Weston Wilson was called up from triple A to take Marsh’s place on the roster.
Results:
8/4 vs. Kansas City Royals - L (5-7)
Aaron Nola got the start on the mound versus Jordan Lyles. The Phillies struck first with a 2-run home run by Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the 1st. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 3rd to tie the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the 4th, Johan Rojas hit a 2-run double with 2 outs to make the score 4-2. The Royals scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th thanks to a Michael Massey solo homer, Freddy Fermin RBI double, and a 2-RBI single by Dairon Blanco. Trea Turner hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th to shorten the Royals lead to 6-5. The Royals added a run in the top of the 8th on a bunt by Dairon Blanco.
The Phillies were unable to score any runs in the 8th and 9th innings as they fell in game 1 by a score of 7-5. Aaron Nola was not at his best, as he went 5.1 innings with 8 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 5 earned runs on 8 hits. The long ball continued to plague Nola as he allowed 2 home runs. Bryson Stott was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 runs. Brandon Marsh was 2 for 3 with a double and a run. Alec Bohm was 2 for 5 with a double and a run. Phillies fans welcomed a struggling Trea Turner back to CBP with standing ovations in his at bats, and Turner expressed his gratitude for the gesture post-game.
8/5 vs. Kansas City Royals - W (9-6)
Christopher Sanchez got the start against Alec Marsh. Alec Bohm hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead. Freddy Fermin hit a solo homer in the top of the 2nd to make the score 2-1. Bryson Stott hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd to go up 3-1. Freddy Fermin hit another solo shot in the top of the 4th to make the score 3-2. In the top of the 5th, Samad Taylor hit a triple off the center field wall in which Brandon Marsh collided with the wall and was removed from the game after injuring his knee.
The Royals would score 4 runs in the frame thanks to a Blanco bunt single, Maikel Garcia single, Witt Jr. ground-out, and a throwing error on a runner stealing 3rd base. Bryce Harper hit a 2-run home run in the 5th to make the score 6-5. In the bottom of the 6th, Trea Turner came up to bat with 2 runners on base. The fans continued to greet Turner with a standing ovation, and he sent the first pitch into deep left field for a 3-run home run, giving the Phillies a 8-6 lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, Turner hit a double off the left-center wall to score Realmuto from 1st base, extending the lead to 9-6. Craig Kimbrel came on in the 9th, pitched a scoreless frame and earned the save. Christopher Sanchez finished with 5 innings, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 6 earned runs on 6 hits. Harper went 3 for 4 with a home run, double, and 2 RBI. Trea Turner was 2 for 4 with a home run, double, and 4 RBI. Bohm was 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 3 runs.
8/6 vs. Kansas City Royals - W (8-4)
Taijuan Walker got the start in the series rubber match against Zach Greinke. The Royals scored 3 in the top of the 1st on a Massey single, Matt Beaty single, and Drew Waters sacrifice fly. Bryson Stott hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game at 3-3. MJ Melendez hit a solo shot in the top of the 2nd to give KC a 4-3 lead. Kyle Schwarber then hit a 2-run bomb to center in the bottom of the 2nd to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the 5th, Nick Castellanos hit a 2-run home run, extending the lead to 7-4. Bryce Harper was robbed of a home run in the bottom of the 7th, but it was good enough for a sacrifice fly, giving the Phillies a 8-4 lead. Gregory Soto pitched a scoreless 8th followed by Jeff Hoffman with a scoreless 9th. Taijuan Walker really settled in after the 2nd inning, finishing with 7 innings, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs on 7 hits. Kyle Schwarber was 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs. Harper was 2 for 3 with a double, RBI, and 2 runs, and Johan Rojas was 2 for 3.
8/8 Game 1 (8/7 postponed due to inclement weather) vs. Washington Nationals - W (8-4)
Zach Wheeler got the start in game 1 of a single admission double header against Trevor Williams. Keibert Ruiz opened the scoring for the Nationals in the top of the 2nd with a solo home run. Lane Thomas then hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 3rd to put the Nats up 3-0. Kyle Schwarber hit a 2-run homer of his own in the bottom of the 3rd, followed by an Alec Bohm solo shot to tie the game at 3-3. In the bottom of the 4th, Schwarber hit a 3-run bomb to the second deck in right field to put the Phils up 6-3.
Jake Cave hit a 2-run home run in the 6th inning to extend the lead to 8-3. Ruiz hit an RBI single in the 8th off of Luis Ortiz to make it 8-4. Ortiz then pitched a scoreless 9th to end the game. Wheeler finished with 6 innings pitched, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks, and 3 earned runs on 7 hits. Schwarber was 2 for 4 with 2 home runs, 5 RBI, and 2 runs. Cave was 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs. Johan Rojas went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and a stolen base, as well as a stellar leaping catch at the wall in left-center field.
8/8 Game 2 vs. Washington Nationals - L (4-5)
Ranger Suarez took the mound in game 2 of the double header against Josiah Gray. Trea Turner hit an RBI double in the top of the 1st to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 4th, Ildemaro Vargas hit a 2-run home run to put the Nats up 2-1. In the bottom of the 5th, Bryce Harper hit a 2-run home run, and Bryson Stott hit an RBI single later in the frame to give the Phils a 4-2 lead. Joey Meneses hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 7th off Jeff Hoffman to tie the game at 4.
After Soto pitched a scoreless 8th, Kimbrel came on to pitch in the 9th with the game tied at 4. Meneses then hit a solo home run to left field to put the Nats up 5-4. Kyle Finnegan was able to keep the Phillies bats at bay in the bottom of the 9th, earning the save. Suarez finished with 5.2 innings, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs on 6 hits. Turner went 2 for 4 with a double, RBI, stolen base, and a run. Castellanos went 2 for 5 with a stolen base and a run.
8/9 vs. Washington Nationals - W (7-0)
Michael Lorenzen made his home debut on the mound against Mackenzie Gore. The Phillies scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st on a Harper RBI double followed by a 2-run home run from Castellanos. In his first career MLB plate appearance, Weston Wilson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd. Wilson is the first Phillie to hit a home run in his first career plate appearance since Marlon Anderson did so in 1998.
Castellanos hit a solo shot for his second homer of the game in the bottom of the 3rd, extending the Phillies’ lead to 5-0. In the bottom of the 4th, Johan Rojas hit an RBI single to make the score 6-0. Alec Bohm added another run in the bottom of the 7th on an RBI single. Trea Turner went 2 for 4 and Castellanos went 2 for 4 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, and 2 runs. Weston Wilson filled up the box score in his MLB debut, going 1 for 1 with 2 walks, 1 RBI, 3 runs, and a stolen base.
The Phillies offense erupted, a 28-year-old rookie hit a home run in his first career plate appearance, and yet neither event was the biggest storyline of the night. In just his second start for the Phillies after being acquired at the trade deadline, Michael Lorenzen was near perfect. Over 9 innings pitched, he struck out 5, walked 4 batters, and allowed no runs and no hits. Lorenzen needed 124 pitches to accomplish the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history and the first since Cole Hamels accomplished the feat in 2015.
8/10 vs. Washington Nationals - W (6-2)
Aaron Nola got the start against Patrick Corbin for the final game of a 4-game series. Bryce Harper was taken out of the game in the 5th inning due to back spasms. Both starters were able to keep runs from scoring early, as the first run of the game came in the top of the 6th on an Ildemaro Vargas RBI double. The Phillies struck back in the bottom of the 6th thanks to a Trea Turner 2-run home run. Nick Castellanos then hit a 2-run home run of his own in the 7th inning, followed by another 2-run home run by JT Realmuto, giving Philly a 6-1 lead.
The Nats were able to score a run in the top of the 8th on a Vargas RBI double. Craig Kimbrel came on and pitched a scoreless 9th to end the game. It was a great start for Nola who has struggled recently. He finished with 5 innings pitched, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 1 earned run on 5 hits. Matt Strahm wound up earning the win after pitching a scoreless 6th inning. JT Realmuto was 2 for 2 with a homer, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and a run.
Looking Ahead
The Phillies begin a short Week 19 of the season with a 3-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins (60-57) over the weekend. They have an off day Monday, and travel to Toronto for a 2-game series with the Blue Jays (65-52) Tuesday and Wednesday, and then have another off day Thursday. With 2 off-days in the week, the Phillies will have to make a decision regarding the 6-man pitching rotation they’ve implemented over the last 2 weeks.
Friday, 8/11 7:05pm vs. MIN - Christopher Sanchez (0-3, 3.44 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Saturday, 8/12 6:05pm vs. MIN - Taijuan Walker (13-4, 3.98 ERA) vs. Pablo Lopez (7-6, 3.81 ERA)
Sunday, 8/13 1:35pm vs. MIN - Zach Wheeler (9-5, 3.74 ERA) vs. Sonny Gray (5-5, 3.18 ERA)
Tuesday, 8/15 7:07pm @ TOR - Ranger Suarez (2-5, 3.96 ERA) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (9-4, 3.53 ERA)
Wednesday, 8/16 7:07pm @ TOR - Michael Lorenzen (7-7, 3.23 ERA) vs. Kevin Gausman (9-6, 3.04 ERA)
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