Philadelphia Baseball Review - Phillies News, Rumors and Analysis
Wilson Ramos propels Phillies to victory in his debut
Wilson Ramos pieced together a rousing debut for the Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, collecting three extra-base hits and three RBIs, helping the Phillies beat the Red Sox 7-4.

It was a crucial win for Philadelphia as Atlanta opened the day with a two-game lead in the NL East standings.

Ramos hit his second career triple to open the bottom of the sixth inning and later scored on pinch-hitter Scott Kingery's sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 4-3 advantage. He then drilled a two-run double in the seventh to push the Phils ahead 6-3 before crossing the plate himself later in the frame. He also doubled in a run in the fourth.

"He was simply heroic," manager Gabe Kapler said afterward (see video). "What a Phillies debut."

Kapler was forced to use seven relievers as Vince Velasquez lasted just 2 1/3 innings. The good news, however, is the bullpen combined to allow one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings and provided the Phillies' offense an opportunity to take the contest. Velasquez finished allowing three runs, four hits, and four walks.

The short outing coupled with the emptying of the bullpen means Kapler will enter Thursday's doubleheader with the Mets with some tired arms, but that was a price he was willing to pay in an effort to secure a victory against the best team in baseball.



"We did make some aggressive decisions tonight, and we felt like it was a game we were setting out to win," Kapler said. "We have to play to win every single baseball game. We were confident if we stuck around we would swing the bats like we did."

Hector Neris tallied two crucial outs in the third to end a Boston threat and Seranthony Dominguez stranded the tying run in the eighth en route to his 13th save of the season. Tommy Hunter notched the win.

"The save can come at any time of the game, and it's kind of ironic that Hector Neris saved this game for us," Kapler said. "This is a guy who went down to Triple-A for us, had a pride-swallowing moment, worked his tail off to get his stuff back, came up and executed beautifully for us. We definitely don't win that game without the contributions from Hector Neris."

The Phillies welcome the Mets to Citizens Bank Park on Thursday to open a rare five-game series that begins with a doubleheader. Lefty Ranger Suarez will be called up to make the start in Game 1 and Zach Eflin will be recalled as the 26th man to start Game 2.

The Mets come to Philly having won three of their last four but have the second-fewest wins in the National League on the road.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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Philadelphia Baseball Review - Phillies News, Rumors and Analysis