Every hitter in the starting lineup collected at least one hit by the end of the second inning as the Phillies jumped all over Mariners starter Logan Gilbert in a 12-7 win. The bottom of the second inning opened with five straight hits and finished with six runs on the board and ten men having come to the plate. Trea Turner blew the game open with a three-run home run, his first home run at Citizens Bank Park this season and the 1,500th hit of his career. Bryce Harper later launched two mammoth home runs over 440
feet for the 3oth multi-home run game of his career.
Meanwhile, Ranger Suárez cruised through 6.2 IP while allowing just a solo home run before Jordan Romano melted down again and temporarily made it a game. But Harper’s second blast of the game capped off a four run seventh to regain control of the game. The Phillies totaled 21 hits, the most they’ve had in a game at home since 2009.
Barrels
Brandon Marsh led off the second with a hard-hit single to right off of Gilbert. Nick Castellanos quickly followed with a single of his own to right on a soft line drive. Max Kepler then drove in Marsh for the first run of the game with a base hit back up the middle for the first run of the game.
But the offense wasn’t done there. Bryson Stott followed with a 108 MPH double down the right field line that plated Castellanos and moved Kepler to third, still with no outs in the inning.
With Gilbert on the ropes and in a full count, Trea Turner delivered the knockout blow, homering to left field to push the lead to 5-0 and capture his first long ball of the season at home.
Gilbert however stayed in the game to retire Kyle Schwarber and Harper, but then J.T. Realmuto worked the fifth full count of the game before ending it in a home run.
Gilbert would finally end the inning after an Alec Bohm single and a Marsh fly out, but the damage was done. The Phillies tagged the Mariners righty for six runs on nine hits in just two innings while forcing him to throw over 40 pitches in just the second inning alone.
Harper would tack on another run later on in the sixth, as he blasted the first pitch he saw at 112 MPH and deposited it into the upper deck in right field for his 20th home run of the season. The ball traveled an estimated 440 feet.
Off-balance
Ranger Suárez fared much better than Gilbert, as the Phillies lefty rebounded nicely from his recent string of rough outings. He had just 81 pitches through six innings and collected nine strikeouts. Suárez’ curveball was especially effective tonight, generating six whiffs and five called strikes on 21 pitches.
The slow curve’s effectiveness also allowed Suárez to freeze the Seattle hitters with sinkers at the knees, registering 13 called strikes on 27 pitches despite the pitch averaging just 91.1 MPH.
Suárez went back out for the seventh but couldn’t finish it off, as he allowed a two-out home run to Mitch Garver before hitting Dominic Canzone, ending his night at 102 pitches. But it was a very encouraging start, as Suárez tied his career high in strikeouts with 10 and was charged with two runs on four hits and no walks.
No, more
Jordan Romano was tasked with getting the last out of the seventh inning in a 7-1 game. But he allowed a single to J.P. Crawford to put two on before allowing his ninth home run of the season to Cole Young which cut the lead to 7-4.
Randy Arozarena grounded out to end the inning, but the Phillies now had to get Orion Kerkering up and warming in a game they were up six runs.
Luckily for them, the offense decided to get more breathing room, as Turner doubled in another run in the bottom of the seventh, pushing the lead to 8-4 and collecting his third hit of the night. Turner would finish the night 4-6 with five RBIs and a triple short of the cycle after notching another RBI single later on in the eighth.
Schwarber followed with an RBI single before Harper demolished another home run, this one traveling 448 feet at 112 MPH. This blast erased the four runs that the Mariners scored in the top half of the inning and extended the lead to 11-4.
Cleaning up
Orion Kerkering was already warmed up, so he came in to pitch the eighth and threw a clean inning with two strikeouts. Newly promoted to the Majors Nolan Hoffman pitched the ninth and allowed three runs on three hits and a wild pitch but collected the first two strikeouts of his career to finish the game.
Tomorrow’s matchup
The Phillies will send Cristopher Sánchez (11-4, 2.45) to the mound to try and secure a series win against Bryce Miller (2-5, 5.73) for the Mariners.
