The Phillies hit the road for a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies after finishing off a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates at home. Their 4-2 home stand was capped off by a stellar outing from prospect Mick Abel, who went toe-to-toe with phenom Paul Skenes in a 1-0 victory on Sunday.
Cristopher Sánchez (4-1, 3.10 ERA) took the pill for Philly, opposed by Kyle Freeland (0-6, 5.68 ERA) for Colorado. What started as another pitchers duel, finished in a six run victory for Philadlephia, as an early season trend of struggling against starting pitching then jumping all over relievers returned for the night.
Philadelphia once again did what they are supposed to against the caliber of competition they faced, even if it took them a bit to get there offensively. Sánchez was solid again, the bats exploded late, and a superstar reached a major career milestone. The Phillies are now 29-18, going 16-5 in their last 21 games. They finished the day with the best record in the National League and are now in sole possession of first place in the National League East. Let’s break down how we got there.
Sánchez shoves
The lanky-lefty was stellar once again. Despite allowing three runs, he did a great job of getting ahead of hitters all night. Sánchez threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 24 batters he faced, mixing all three of his pitches well. He finished with 6.0 innings, surrendering five hits and three runs, while striking out seven Rockie hitters. Phillies manager Rob Thomson spoke with reporters after the game about his starter’s outing, and what the continued success on the road might mean for him:
“Today was good. I would have to go back and look at every game, but I think now he’s got confidence wherever he’s pitching,” Thomson said. Regarding tonight’s performance, he added: “He was really good tonight. Strike throwing ability, first-pitch strikes – the change-up was really good…but he’s legit.”
Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar crushed one of the few mistake pitches – a slider that hung in the middle of the zone – for a home run. Sometimes when Sánchez doesn’t have the slider early, he almost abandons the pitch – but that was not the case tonight. He was able to get outs with all three of his pitches, and forced nine ground outs – an important part of a pitcher’s game plan in Colorado if they are to have success.
Offensive Explosion
Phillies hitters have seemingly struggled against Rockies starting pitching – a staff that had the worst ERA 7.08) as a group coming into this game. Despite that, Colorado’s starters had a 1.50 ERA against Philadelphia during their three-game set in early April. On the flip side, the normal steady Rockies bullpen has been obliterated by Philadelphia. A 13.50 reliever ERA against the Phillies somehow got worse, and now sits at 14.90 after Philly pushed seven earned runs across against them.
Bryce Harper didn’t flash any power, but he did drive in the first two runs for his team – one on a low-and-away 0-2 sweeper that he flared to left field, and the other a sac fly after a throwing error from pitcher Jake Bird put runners on first-and-third. Despite only have two long balls in the month, Harper has turned it on – slashing .313/.387/.469 in the month of May. he’s been scorching the last two months, with multiple hits in seven of his last 14 – recording a .958 OPS over that period.
While the captain didn’t flash any power, a few others did. Alec Bohm crushed a pitch to dead center with a runner on to give his club the lead in the eighth. “The rally killer” did no such thing for Philadelphia Monday night, as the this kept coming in the frame. Edmundo Sosa recorded his third hit of the game, followed by Brandon Marsh singling, and Trea Turner hitting a double to opposite field to drive both runners in.
Sosa’s night wouldn’t end there, as he would record a fourth hit. This time, out of the ballpark for a two-run shot – his first homer of the season. The super-utility man recorded his first four hits game since 2021, staying in the game despite his spot in the order coming up against a right-handed reliever – something Rob Thomson hasn’t done much this season. After the good start to the game, and not wanting to limit his bench options, the manager decided to stick with the hot hand and it paid off.
Kyle Schwarber’s huge milestone
We can’t finish talking about this game without talking about Kyle Schwarber‘s momentous home run. Schwarber absolutely demolished a pitch from reliever Scott Alexander with a 109.3 exit velocity. A sinker on a 3-2 pitch that Kyle smashed into the facing of the third deck – the ball traveling an estimated 466 feet from home plate.
Through the first seven years of his career, Schwarber was known as a slugger and recorded 153 HR with the Cubs, Nationals, and Red Sox. Since coming to Philadelphia, he has 147 HR in three years (and 1.5 months). He will be one of, if not the biggest name on the free agent market this off-season. If he continues to play like this, it will be more and more difficult to let this man walk (and more and more expensive to keep him). Even better – his improvement against left-handed pitching this season was amplified by taking the left-handed reliever deep.
Closing Phillies thoughts
The Phillies are one of three teams in the National League with 29 wins, but their 18 losses are tied for least in the league, and the separator from the Dodgers and the Mets. The club has three more against Colorado before heading to Sacramento to close out the road trip. Tonight’s matchup will see Jesús Luzardo (4-0, 2.00 ERA) take the mound for Philly with a chance to guarantee they don’t lose the series – something they’ve only done once in their last seven sets. Luzardo will be opposed by Antonio Senzatela (1-7, 6.39 ERA). Despite the gaudy numbers, Senzatela manager to go 5.1 innings last time he faced Philly, surrending just a single unearned run while scattering 10 hits.
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
