Coming off of a sweep of the Rockies, the Phillies looked to extend their win streak to 4 games against the visiting Chicago White Sox.
Spencer Turnbull would start his 4th game as a Phillie. He looked good early, needing just 12 pitches to get through the 1st. Eloy Jimenez became his first strikeout victim of the night, looking at a 0-2 pitch.
Fireballing lefty Garrett Crochet got the start for the White Sox. Trea Turner just beat out a grounder to short for the first hit of the game. Bryce Harper would walk to bring up Alec Bohm. Bohm got ahold of a 97 MPH fastball that carried just beyond the right field wall. It was the first home run that Crochet had given up on his 4 seam fastball of the season.
Turnbull continued his good night on the mound. He added another strikeout courtesy of Andrew Vaughn. He allowed his first walk of the night to Paul DeJong.
It was more of the same from Turnbull in the 3rd inning. He added Nicky Lopez and Dominic Fletcher to his exclusive strikeout club, moving the total to 4 members.
Phillies Go Deep Again
As the top of the Phillies’ order came around again, a pair of familiar faces got on base. Trea Turner tucked a ball inside the 3rd base line for a double and Harper walked again. And once again, Alec Bohm launched a 3-run homer, this time a cutter sent to left field.
The last time he had a multi-homer game and 6 RBI was July 1, 2023, against the Nationals.
Back on the mound, Turnbull only needed 9 pitches to get through the 4th. He’d enter the 5th with just 53 pitches.
Whit Merrifield added another run for the Phils on his first homer of the season. That homer would spell the end of Crochet’s day on the mound. Chris Flexen would enter for the Sox.
Nerves got turned up just a touch in the 5th. Not because the White Sox, precisely the opposite. He was now on a watch after retiring the side. Paul DeJong became his 5th K of the night.
Trea Turner notched his 3rd hit of the night in the bottom of the inning. Once again, Alec Bohm was up with 2 outs and a RiSP. This time, he didn’t quite get all of it, flying out to the right fielder.
With the top of the 6th came a slight hush before every Turnbull pitch. He induced a weak grounder to wnd for the first out. He struck out Martin Maldonado for his 6th K and 2nd out of the inning. Another grounder to 2nd would end the inning. The watch continued.
7th Inning Stretch
In the 7th, Turnbull would induce another grounder to 2nd for the first out. A ball finally dropped. Gavin Sheets lined a ball in front of Nick Castellanos for the White Sox’ first hit. The Phillies faithful at the Bank gave Turnbull a well-deserved standing ovation before the next batter.
A walk to Andrew Vaughn gave the Sox a RiSP. Both runners would advance on a ground out. Christan Pache corraled a deep fly ball to center to end the scoring threat.
After his excellent 7 innings, Matt Strahm relieved Spencer Turnbull in the 8th. Strahm worked around a single and a walk but escaped the inning unscathed.
Tim Hill replaced Chris Flexen for the 8th inning. To Flexen’s credit, he went 4 IP while striking out 4 Phillies.
Orion Kerkering came in to close this one out for the Phillies. In his 2nd appearance of the season, Kerkering went through the White Sox’s middle of the order 1-2-3, including a strikeout of Andrew Vaughn.
The win moved the Phillies to 4 games over .500 at 12-8.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
