The Giants didn’t just roll into Citizens Bank Park and beat the Phillies on Wednesday night. They staged a nine-walk, 13-hit parade that turned into an 11-4 unraveling — a game that featured Bryce Harper's latest home run, Aaron Nola’s latest spiral, and enough traffic on the bases to qualify as rush hour on the Schuylkill.
Jung Hoo Lee did a little of everything — a single, a double, two RBIs — and got plenty of help from a San Francisco lineup that spread the damage like peanut butter. Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, and Patrick Bailey each drove in two runs as the Giants improved to 13-5, winning for the third time in four games.
Bryce Harper did his part to keep things close with a two-run blast in the fourth, his fifth homer of the season — a 419-foot no-doubter to right-center that briefly tied the game, 4-4. But that was about as good as it got for the Phillies.
Nola, who came in searching for his first win of the season, left with something else: a fourth straight loss, the first 0-4 start of his career, and a 6.65 ERA that tells the story better than any quote ever could. The right-hander allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings, unraveling in a game that got away quickly after the fourth.
Joe Ross followed and was tagged for four runs in the seventh as his ERA ballooned to 9.39. Carlos Hernandez took the eighth and ninth and somehow made it more exhausting — throwing 41 pitches and walking three.
Meanwhile, the Giants bullpen was the polar opposite: Lou Trivino, Camilo Doval, and Spencer Bivens combined to toss five scoreless innings after starter Robbie Ray allowed four runs on six hits. Trivino earned the win, his first of the year.
The Phillies, now just two games over .500 at 10-8, have dropped six of their last nine — and suddenly have more questions than answers heading into Thursday’s series finale.
Quotable
“It drives me crazy. I mean, it’s unacceptable. Three times in my career I’ve done that, and two times in the past two games. I’ve just got to get ahead better. Too many free passes, and usually those runners have been scoring. I’m just making it harder on myself in those situations. Eight walks in two games overall. That’s not good. I’ll clean it up.” - Aaron Nola, on walking in a run and his overall performance on Wednesday, per MLB.com. Up Next
The Phillies turn to Cristopher Sanchez in Thursday's finale. The Giants will counter with righty Joran Hicks.
