The residents of Philadelphia are once again seeing one of their teams on the rise to the top of their respective professional sports league with the Phillies. After a disappointing 2017 record of 66-96 and finishing last in the National League East, this year, the Phillies have found themselves at the top of the standings.
One of their best victories this year came in the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers July 23-25. With the Dodgers at the top of the standings in the National League West, this was a big win for the Phillies.
The three-game series began with a close loss for the Phillies 7-6. The Dodgers opened the game with the top of the first inning as Max Muncy and Yasmani Grandal both hit solo home runs.
Phillies’ Maikel Franco hit a home run in the bottom of the second to put the Phillies on the board.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Phillies had Jorge Alfaro and Jesmuel Valentin on the bases with Rhys Hoskins stepping up to the plate next. Hoskins hit his 17th home run of the season to bring in three runs and tie the game.
Odubel Herrera then hit a solo home run, and the Phillies were on top.
The Dodgers tied the game in the seventh, and a single from Matt Kemp with the bases loaded drove in two runs in the top of the ninth. Franco hit another home run for the Phillies at bat but it wasn’t enough for the win.
The teams returned to the field July 24 for the second game of the series. The Phillies had a slow start to this game as well falling back 3-0 by the fifth inning before getting on the board. Nick Williams hit his 12th home run of the season for the first run for the Phillies.
The Dodgers increased their lead to 4-1 with a home run from Grandal.
In the bottom of the seventh, Franco doubled bringing in a run from Carlos Santana. Then Alfaro hit his seventh home run of the season to bring in himself and Franco to tie the score.
No game can end in a tie, so extra innings are added for as long as it takes for the decision to be made. This time, the game went to 16 innings.
In the top of the 16th, Dodgers’ Chris Taylor grounded out for the first out of the inning. Enrique Hernandez hit one right to Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez for the second out. The third out came from Logan Forsythe as he struck out off of a foul tip ball.
The bottom of the 16th saw Nick Williams hit a line drive to the right field and get the first out for the Phillies. Valentin got a walk to first base, and then Alfaro also walked.
With those two on first and second, it was Trevor Plouffe’s turn at bat. For his first home run of the season, Plouffe gave the Phillies the deciding victory 7-4 after eight scoreless innings.
This momentum carried into the final game of the series July 25.
In the top of the first, Kemp hit a sacrifice fly for the Dodgers driving in Joc Pederson to score.
Hoskins responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to tie the score. The Phillies held the Dodgers scoreless for the next four innings until the fifth when it was their turn at bat.
After Phillies’ Scott Kingery had hit a fly ball to right field for his fifth home run of the season, the play was called into question and the umpire had to review it. The decision on the field was upheld by the umpire and the Phillies were now up 2-1.
Andrew Knapp then doubled to right field allowing Valentin to score, but then made it to third base as the Dodgers tried to get the ball back to the bases.
With two outs, Dodgers’ pitcher Walker Buehler intentionally walked Hoskins to first before he was replaced by Scott Alexander.
Herrera then got a walk which left the bases loaded with Knapp on third and Hoskins on second. Santana then hit his second triple of the season which drove in all three players on base to put the Phillies up 6-1.
The Dodgers were able to score two runs in the sixth inning, but the Phillies sealed the deal with one more run in the eighth to win 7-3.
The Phillies began a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds July 26. They won the first game 9-4. They will then move on to play the Boston Red Sox July 30-31, the Miami Marlins Aug. 2-5 and the Arizona Diamondbacks Aug. 6-8.
For more information on upcoming games and updates, visit www.mlb.com/phillies.