The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Oakland A’s over the weekend as they improved their record to 38-34. The weekend was full of impressive pitching performances from the Phillies’ starters and relievers. The offense put up enough runs to win, but overall did not have a productive series against pitchers that were hittable.
Luckily for the Phillies offense, the pitching held the A’s to just five runs the whole series.
Phillies pitching dominates A’s lineup
Taijuan Walker started the first game of the series and put together a dominant outing. Walker went eight innings allowing just one earned run and struck out eight opposing hitters. After a shaky start to the season, Walker has turned things around in June as he has a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings in the month. Friday night’s performance was one of his best this season. The Phillies needed him to be better as the rotation as a whole struggled in the first two months of the season.
On Saturday the Phillies called up Cristopher Sánchez to start the second game of the series. Sánchez pitched well through four innings but was hit by a line drive that likely forced his removal from the game. The bullpen was unloaded to finish the game as it went into extra innings. Overall, the bullpen pitched well but the offense struggled to take a commanding lead. The Phillies used every available pitcher except Dylan Covey in the 12-inning victory.
Zack Wheeler took the mound in the series finale with the chance to sweep on the road. Wheeler threw six shutout innings as the Phillies won 3-2. Matt Strahm and José Alvarado each allowed a run to score in relief, but the Phillies held on to record their sixth straight win.
Kyle Schwarber leads Phillies’ offense
The Phillies’ offense scored 12 runs in the three-game series. The offense was largely powered by Kyle Schwarber who hit two home runs and recorded four RBI in the series. The month of June has once again been kind to Schwarber as he is slashing .254/.375/.627 with seven home runs and fourteen RBI in 17 games.
Over the course of the series, the Phillies had their fair share of baserunners. In game one the offense put up six runs but managed just six runs in the next two games combined. The absence of Nick Castellanos in games two and three of the series likely contributed to the offensive stall.
Hopefully with the off day on Monday, Castellanos will have time to recover from his illness and get back in the lineup for game one against the division leading Atlanta Braves.
Phillies news
Phillies’ reliever Seranthony DomÃnguez was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain on Saturday. DomÃnguez has had an inconsistent month. In six innings the right-hander has a 6.00 ERA with just five strikeouts. Perhaps the injury was contributing to some of his inconsistencies.
Phillies’ outfielder Cristian Pache was activated from the injured list ahead of Friday’s game in Oakland. Ironically, Pache was traded from Oakland to Philadelphia early in the season. Fittingly, he returned against his former club. Pache went 2-8 in the series but made a spectacular play in centerfield on Saturday.
The catch likely saved a run from scoring. Pache is known for his defense, however, prior to his knee injury the young outfielder showed some offensive promise. Getting Pache back is a nice boost for the Phillies bench going forward.
The Phillies have a tough stretch of games coming up as they face two division foes in the next two series. The Atlanta Braves come to town on Tuesday for a three-game set. The New York Mets will come to Philadelphia on Friday for a three-game weekend series. Any game against a division rival is difficult, but the Braves will be a tough test. They are an NL best 46-26 and currently lead the NL East. The Phillies will have a much tougher time facing the Braves and Mets, but the momentum carried over from five straight series wins should help them heading into the series.
