Bryce Harper’s seventh-inning fly ball? Gone — lifted just enough by the air to squeak over the wall for a two-run homer. J.T. Realmuto’s sixth-inning flare? A game-tying RBI single that twisted through the sky, bounced off the wind, and left Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos helpless as it dropped into no man’s land.
Somehow, it all added up to a 6-4 Phillies win over the Giants on a night when little came easily but everything eventually tilted toward red pinstripes.
Realmuto, hitting .222 entering the night and dragging through a prolonged slump, found just enough barrel and just enough breeze to finish with two hits - including a homer - and two RBIs. Alec Bohm, mired in a 5-for-45 tailspin and dropped from cleanup to eighth in the lineup last week, delivered a go-ahead single in the sixth — a first-pitch fastball laced into left-center that scored Nick Castellanos and ended Justin Verlander’s night after 104 pitches.
It was exactly the kind of at-bat the Phillies had been waiting for.
Verlander (0-1) gave up four earned runs on eight hits. His outing unraveled quickly after a brief San Francisco lead, one that had come courtesy of a Casey Schmitt two-run single in the fourth.
Philadelphia countered with an offense that spread the wealth. Bryson Stott and Max Kepler collected two hits apiece. And then there was Brandon Marsh — hitless in his last 26 at-bats, benched the night before against a right-hander because manager Rob Thomson said the centerfielder “needed a night to clear his head.” Marsh didn’t break out, but he did find a way to contribute, lifting a sacrifice fly in the second that plated the Phillies’ second run.
On the mound, Jesús Luzardo gave the Phils 5 1/3 gritty innings, allowing five hits and three runs with four strikeouts. He exited in the sixth, handing things over to Orion Kerkering (2-1), who earned the win. Matt Strahm notched his first save of the season, working a clean ninth.
The most treacherous moment came in the eighth. Leading 6-3, the Phillies saw José Alvarado surrender three consecutive hits as the Giants trimmed the lead to 6-4 and brought the tying run to the plate. But Alvarado dodged the storm: a pop-up to second, a strikeout, and a warning-track flyout that stayed in the yard — just barely.
Jung Hoo Lee and Matt Chapman each had two hits for the Giants, who dropped to 3-2 on their 10-game road swing.
One windy night, two slumping bats breaking through, and just enough lift — literal and otherwise — to carry the Phillies across the finish line.
Quotable
"Obviously, you’re going to get your ups and downs in life and in the season. It’s a hard thing to do. It is. But at the end of the day, we’re all healthy, we’re all strong. Just go out there and enjoy it because it’ll go quick and you’ll start thinking to yourself, 'Why did I take it so serious? And it’s gone now.'” - Bryce Harper, via MLB.com. Phillies WPA (win probability added)
J.T. Realmuto finished with 0.30 WPA and led the Phillies with the biggest swing of the night via his single in the sixth. Trea Turner was hitless on the night and finished with -0.10 WPA.
Up Next
RHP Aaron Nola (0-3, 5.51 ERA) is still looking for his first win and he'll be on the bump on Wednesday. The Giants counter with LHP Robbie Ray (3-0, 2.93 ERA).