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| Rhys Hoskins hit his 18th homer in win | Photo: JAMES GANSON |
The victory improved the Phillies to 40-42 as they remained 4 ½ games behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
The Phils fell behind early, but solo homers by Andrew Knapp and Didi Gregorius evened things out. The club took the lead in the sixth with an Andrew McCutchen RBI double and never looked back, scoring six runs in the eighth to cement the win.
“It was nice to see our offense explode for some extra runs and give us some breathing room,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Matt Moore started for the Phillies and tossed four innings before exiting for a pinch-hitter in the fifth. Connor Brogdon followed with two scoreless frames in relief. Jose Alvarado, who had been named closer less than a week ago, surrendered a solo shot to Javier Baez in the eighth to push his ERA to 8.59 over his last seven appearances.
The next opportunity for a save will belong to Ranger Suarez.
“I’ll use Alvarado in important situations, right now in the seventh or eighth innings,” Girardi said. “If I have to close with him, I’ll close with him if Ranger is down. I’m not afraid to close with Alvarado. I believe in him. I know he had a couple of rough outings, but his stuff is excellent.”
The Phillies will turn to Aaron Nola on Tuesday night as the four-game set continues. The Cubs counter with former Phillie Jake Arrieta.
