Late-inning heroics from J.T. Realmuto spurred the Phillies onto a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night. Realmuto’s two-run home run set David Robertson up for his first win of 2025 as the Phillies secured a series victory against the Mariners, going into the final game of their three-game series.
Cristopher Sánchez, meanwhile, tied his career-best with 12 strikeouts on the night, allowing two runs in 6.1 innings of work. Jhoan Duran picked up his sixth save in a Phillies’ uniform, striking out Cal Raleigh to close the deal.
Taking the lead with Schwarbombs and small ball
Bryce Miller hadn’t pitched in over two months for the Mariners as he recovered from a bone spur in his pitching elbow. 13 pitches into his first outing, Kyle Schwarber gave him a welcome-back present. Reading a fastball coming in above the strike zone, Schwarber connected on the 1-2 count, sending the ball 404 feet into the heart of section 103 in right field, breaking the ice for the Phillies.
Cristopher Sánchez was cruising early against the Mariners, recording five strikeouts in the first two innings alone. Leading off the top of the third, former Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford hit a double into left field, off of Monty’s Angle. Harrison Bader, only in his seventh home game with the Phillies, read the line drive off the wall perfectly, preventing Crawford from advancing past second on what could have been, with a bad read, an inside-the-park home run.
After Sánchez notched his sixth strikeout of the game, Randy Arozarena hit his second line drive of the day into left field. Brandon Marsh tracked down the first one, but failed to do so with the second, watching as the resulting bounce off the walk took it over his outstretched glove. Bader backed up Marsh on the play, getting the ball in, but not before Crawford scored to tie the game at 1-1.
After using the long ball in the first inning, the Phillies opted for the more subtle approach to scoring in the third inning. Bryson Stott managed a leadoff walk against Miller before swiping second base during Trea Turner’s at-bat. Turner then slung a single into center field, moving Stott to third base with no outs. Turner then proceeded to steal second base before Kyle Schwarber grounded out to Crawford. With two runners in scoring position, Bryce Harper slapped a fly ball into center field, scoring his fellow Las Vegas native on a sacrifice fly.
With Turner now 90 feet away, J.T. Realmuto continued the inning’s festivities with a single up the middle, giving the Phillies a 3-1 advantage on the Mariners. Stott and Turner had previously stolen second base off Miller in the inning. Realmuto made it three Phillies runners to do so. Despite a walk from Alec Bohm, Realmuto would not advance further as Brandon Marsh grounded out to first base to end the inning.
Sánchez deals, Kerkering reels
Before the game, manager Rob Thomson displayed full confidence in Cristopher Sánchez’s ability to lead the Phillies’ rotation following Zack Wheeler’s blood clot. Citing the growth he has seen in Sánchez over the past few years, Thomson trusted Sánchez to do what he does best. Tuesday night, Sánchez did just that.
Allowing one run in the third inning, Sánchez cruised to 6.1 innings of one-run baseball. He struck out a career-high 12 Mariners batters. He threw 26 of his 27 first pitches for strikes on the night, the best mark by a Phillies pitcher since at least 2000. After striking out Crawford for the first out in the seventh, he walked Dylan Moore, prompting Thomson to go to the bullpen with the top of the lineup due up.
With one runner on base, Kerkering struggled with his command. He pitched eight consecutive balls, walking Arozarena and Cal Raleigh to load the bases. Going into tonight, Kerkering had gone 45 batters since his last walk, dating back to July 13.
Kerkering found the strike zone against Julio Rodriguez, getting the young phenom to ground out on a broken bat right back to him. Moore scored, closing out Sánchez’s line on the day at 6.1 innings with two runs scored.
Kerkering’s line, however, was not closed. Eugenio Suárez took a sweeper into left field, scoring both of the remaining runners on base, tying the game at 4-4. Matt Strahm was then rushed into the game to face Josh Naylor, working him into a fly-out to Stott to end the inning.
“I brought [Kerkering] in there in the sixth at the top of the order, because those guys were the only guys really getting good swings off of Sánchez,” Rob Thomson described post-game. “He hadn’t walked a guy in 12 outings, and he just didn’t have it tonight.”
Bombs away
With a tie game and Jhoan Duran warming up, Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, determined to give his closer a chance to do his thing. Harper took an outside sinker the opposite way to reach on a single to pass the ball to J.T. Realmuto.
Realmuto did not wait.
Seeing a 95 mph sinker coming in down the middle, Realmuto connected, driving the ball 431 feet into left field. Crossing home plate with the sound of 43,000 Phillies fans cheering, Realmuto and Harper connected with a mid-air fist bump to celebrate.
Realmuto has swung the bat incredibly well as of late. Over his past 30 games, Realmuto is batting .342 with an .895 OPS. He has hit home runs in back-to-back games twice in that span.
“It’s really impressive, but it’s a tribute to him, because he stays in such great shape,” Thomson said about Realmuto. “He’s so tough. He’s just a gamer. He goes out there every day and competes and really doesn’t want a day off.”
Alec Bohm then patiently worked a 10-pitch walk, but would be stranded there. Once Realmuto took the lead for the Phillies, however, seldom few Phillies fans were paying attention. The anticipation sank in for what was to come in the ninth inning.
The Durantula
Jogging out to his iconic “El Incomprendido” walk-up music, Duran was surrounded by the fiery red wash of Citizens Bank Park and the blinding lights of thousands of smartphone flashlights flashing to the beat.
Working his first two batters to groundouts, Duran was topping out at 102.5 mph. Cal Raleigh, Major League Baseball’s home run leader, then stepped up to the plate. With all of Citizens Bank Park to their feet, Duran struck out Raleigh on three pitches to secure the Phillies’ 6-4 roller coaster victor. The save is Duran’s sixth in a Phillies uniform and his 22nd of the season.
Inside the box score
Realmuto led the way with two hits, including a home run, and three RBI on the night.
“He’s really swinging the bat well,” Thomson elaborated. “He’s lowered his leg lift a little bit, so I think his timing’s a little bit better. They’ve been working on it. He’s using the field. he’s pulling the ball in the air. He’s really having good at bats.”
Schwarber and Stott each picked up solo shots as well. Stott also stole his 20th base of the year, making him the first Phillies’ second baseman to swipe 20 bags in three straight seasons since Juan Samuel did so over five seasons from 1984-1988.
Outside of the tough outing from Kerkering, the Phillies’ bullpen clocked in a strong performance as Matt Strahm, David Robertson, and Jhoan Duran combined to strike out three over 2.1 innings. Robertson earned the win, his first of the season.
Up Next
The Phillies will look for the series sweep on Wednesday afternoon as Jesus Luzardo faces Luis Castillo in a 1:05 p.m. day game.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
