The Phillies rebounded nicely after a disappointing previous two series. The club welcomed the Toronto Blue Jays to Citizen’s Bank Park for a short mid-week series. The Phillies won both games after seeing much improved performances from the starting pitching.
Game one
The Phillies sent Aaron Nola to the mound in game one of the series as he faced off against Blue Jays’ starter Alek Manoah. The Phillies were in desperate need of a good start from Nola, and he delivered. The right-hander went six innings allowing two earned runs and struck out six Blue Jays’ hitters. Nola found himself in a jam in the sixth inning when he allowed a leadoff home run to Bo Bichette. Nola then walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and allowed a single to Daulton Varsho. He managed to settle down, however, and get Matt Chapman to ground out and retired the next two batters to get out of the inning.
The Phillies offense looked alive on Tuesday night. The offense was led by Nick Castellanos who went 3-4 with a home run and two RBI on the night. The Phillies offense put up eight runs in total, however, they found themselves up by just one run entering the bottom of the eighth inning. They were able to tack on some insurance runs on a double by Brandon Marsh and a fielder’s choice from the bat of Bryson Stott.
The Phillies bullpen pitched well enough to allow the offense to stay ahead. The game was capped off by Craig Kimbrel— who made one of his best appearances since becoming a Phillie. His velocity looked much better as his fastball sat in the high 90s. Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth inning and struck out two hitters in a positive outing for the struggling right-hander.
Game two
The Phillies won the second game of the series in an unorthodox way, but a win is a win. Starter Zack Wheeler twirled a gem as he tossed seven innings of one run baseball. He allowed just four baserunners and struck out seven Blue Jays. Wheeler looked like the ace that the Phillies expect to see when he takes the ball every fifth day.
While Wheeler was dealing on the mound, the offense struggled to score runs. The club found themselves down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning. That all changed when J.T. Realmuto stepped to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second base. Realmuto ripped a double to left field scoring Bryce Harper and tying the game.
The Phillies bullpen continued to keep the Blue Jays’ offense at bay. Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, and Kimbrel held Toronto to just one hit over three innings, keeping them off the scoreboard.
In a game that lacked offense on both sides, the Phillies were able to score one more run than Toronto in extra innings on a walk off error that allowed Edmundo Sosa— who began the tenth inning on second base— to score giving the Phillies the win.
Takeaways
The Phillies won this series because the pitching and offense clicked together. The starting pitching was much improved after a dreadful series in Los Angeles and against Boston. The Phillies turned to their two aces, and both delivered. They will need Nola and Wheeler to continue pitching well as they add Ranger Suárez back to the rotation this coming weekend.
The club will be without José Alvarado for a few weeks as he was placed on the 15-day IL on Wednesday with elbow inflammation. The good news is that an MRI did not reveal anything more serious. Rob Thomson said that Alvarado will take it slow, but he seems to have avoided a more serious injury.
The Phillies are off on Thursday then begin a three-game series in Colorado. The Phillies rotation is set up to be Taijuan Walker pitching Friday, Suárez making his 2023 debut on Saturday, and Nola taking the mound Sunday. The Rockies are a struggling team, and the Phillies need to take at least two of three to get their momentum fully back.
