PHILADELPHIA— It was an offensive showcase for the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
For the second straight game, the Phillies put up a six spot early in a ballgame. The offense came out swinging against Seattle Mariners’ starter Logan Gilbert, who could not miss the Phillies’ bats.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Phillies rattled together five straight hits, and five runs before recording their first out. They batted around in the frame, highlighted by home runs from Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto. A six run outburst was exactly what starter Ranger Suarez needed.
Phillies are heating up
Turner’s hit was number 1,500 in his professional career. Turner currently leads the National League in hits and trails only Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays to lead the entire sport. It was also his first home run at home this season. Realmuto’s home run was his eighth on the year, but was important for a multitude of reasons. The Phillies desperately need to find their clean up hitter as the season nears its end. The top three has been cemented, but if Realmuto, Alec Bohm, or Nick Castellanos can step up, the spot is theirs.
After the outburst in the second, the home runs kept coming for the Phillies. In the bottom of the sixth, Bryce Harper crossed the 20 home run threshold with a huge blast to right field. In the bottom of the seventh, he one upped himself, hitting his 21st of the season to deep right-center field.
Stellar Suarez
After a few rough outings, Suarez needed to have a strong performance at his home ballpark. Since the All-Star break, the left-hander had been struggling to put it all back together. There was no struggling Monday night, as the veteran blew through the Seattle offense like the cool breeze that lingered at Citizens Bank Park.
Suarez put together another classic outing. The left-handed recorded a season high 10 strikeouts against the high powered Mariners offense. Tossing 6.2 innings, he allowed four hits, two earned runs, and allowed a solo home run. His second earned run crossed as an inherited runner by Jordan Romano later in the seventh inning.
“Ranger was big tonight. His command was impeccable. Ahead up in the count [and] strike percentage. Had his curveball tonight, fastball in and out. He was he was really good.” Rob Thomson said on Ranger Suarez’s performance. He continued saying “It’s his best start in a while. Velocity, I think was as high as I saw, was 92 not even more, I don’t know, but, but the command was really good.”
Speaking of Romano, the veteran reliever struggled once again in Monday’s game. Entering the game with two outs, Romano had a runner on first. A bloop single to left field was followed by a 3-run home run to left field. This shot gave the Mariners a chance, making it 7-4 at this point in the game. Romano would retire the next batter but would exit the field to a sold out crowd, who voiced their displeasures.
Orion Kerkering pitched the eighth for the Phillies, facing the heart of the Mariners order. Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Eugenio Suarez stepped up against Kerkering, but were no match. Raleigh, the home run leader, went down swinging. Rodriguez had a similar fate, but went down looking instead.
Due to the show put on by the Phillies’ hitters, there would be no need for Jhoan Duran’s entrance in the 9th inning of an 12-4 game. Instead, the team turned to Nolan Hoffman, who was making his major league debut. Hoffman was called up Monday morning to replace Max Lazar, and add a fresh arm to the bullpen. When announced by Dan Baker, Hoffman received a nice ovation.
Hoffman would strike out Luke Raley to earn his first big league punch out.
Notable Performances
Ranger Suarez: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 R, 0 BB, 10 K, and 1 HR
Trea Turner: 4/6, 3 hits, 1 Home Run, 1 Double, 5 RBI
Bryce Harper: 3/6, 3 hits, 2 Home Runs, 3 RBI
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
