It began with bullpen stirrings and ended with The Undertaker’s gong echoing into the South Philly night.
Somewhere in between, the Phillies erased a three-run deficit, lost Bryce Harper to an ejection, turned to a rookie for a game-tying hit, and handed the ball to their newest weapon—who turned a ballgame into an entrance—and then into a win.
Philadelphia trailed 3–0 in the seventh and 4–3 in the eighth, but stormed back both times to knock off the AL Central-leading Tigers, 5–4, on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
The seventh was the pivot point. Jack Flaherty had dominated through six, but when Nick Castellanos led off with a single, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch went to the ‘pen. Lefty Tyler Holton came on. Rob Thomson countered—pinch-hitting Otto Kemp for Brandon Marsh and Harrison Bader for Max Kepler.
Two gambles. Two sparks.
Kemp blooped a single. Bader walked. Bryson Stott’s sac fly got the Phillies on the board. Then Trea Turner followed with a two-out RBI single. And Kyle Schwarber lined a laser to plate Bader and tie the game at 3.
But the fireworks weren’t over. Bryce Harper was rung up on a check-swing appeal by third base umpire Vic Carapazza to end the inning. He emphatically protested from the infield grass—and got tossed. A chorus of boos rained from the sellout crowd of 43,241.
Then came the eighth—and another twist.
Wenceel Pérez crushed a solo homer off Orion Kerkering to give Detroit a 4–3 lead.
But just like before, the Phillies had an answer.
Castellanos notched his third hit of the night. Kemp ripped a double to right to tie it at 4. After a strikeout and a groundout, Edmundo Sosa chopped a slow roller in front of the plate. Reliever Brenan Hanifee fielded it cleanly—but his rushed throw yanked Spencer Torkelson off the bag. Sosa was safe, the inning stayed alive.
Next came Stott, who bounced one into the hole at short. Initially called out. But after review? Overturned. Safe. RBI. 5–4, Phillies.
“That was just pure hustle,” Thomson said. “That’s who Stott is.”
Enter the closer.
With flames dancing on the video board, The Undertaker’s gong tolling, and a sea of glowing phone lights in the stands, Jhoan Duran jogged in for his Phillies debut—and looked every bit the part.
Four pitches. Three outs. One save.
“He was electric,” Thomson said. “First pitch was a 98 mph split. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. He threw strikes. He was calm and cool. He was great.”
It was Duran’s 17th save of the season—and his first in red pinstripes. Kemp delivered the tying knock. Stott had two RBIs. Harper got tossed. And a Phillies team that looked dead through six showed once again that nothing’s over until the iPhone lights come on.
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