Alec Bohm has been under fire lately and justifiably so. He’s been one of the worst hitters in the game this year and came under question, even in these here pages, about his viability as a regular in the lineup. Don Mattingly sat him down for two days to give him a reset, but openly wondered about his place in the starting lineup.
Tonight at least, Bohm was king. And the Phillies reaped the rewards.
After losing Bryce Harper early due to migraines and falling behind to the Rockies in the second thanks
to a Willi Castro home run, the outcome looked bleak. When Aaron Nola, the starting pitcher, falls behind like that, it feels like a long night again is in store. Yet Nola was able to battle on the evening, giving his offense a chance to battle back on their part. In the third, Bohm did just that, tying the game with one swing.
When Bryson Stott and Trea Turner followed with singles, Kyle Schwarber broke the game open with his 14th home run of the season.
Adolis Garcia doubled, Edmundo Sosa singled and the lead stretched to 5-1. Who is this team?
Nola, though, did give a few back in the fourth when Kyle Karros hit a two-run double to make the score 5-3, yet that was where it would remain for a bit. Nola was actually pretty decent on the evening, a contrast to most of his April starts, and kept the Rockies at bay the remainder of his outing. Meanwhile, Bohm decided to have another.
A sacrifice fly by Brandon Marsh made the score 7-3 while the Phillies’ bullpen took over. Tim Mayza, Tanner Banks, Chase Shugart and Orion Kerkering combined to go 4 1/3 innings on the evening without giving up a hit or a walk. They were outstanding.
Then Alec Bohm hit another ball down the line to score two more runs and it was officially the “Alec Bohm Game” for this season.
Listen, the criticism levied at Bohm was, as said before, justifiable and fair. He just hasn’t been good this year, regardless of whatever is going on off the field. He has tried to work through it, but Mattingly wisely saw that maybe a few games off would be the best thing for him and the team. It worked tonight like a charm (an Elmo-sized influence notwithstanding). Will it continue? Let’s find out.
