JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper led a strong team performance against the San Francisco Giants in a 6-4 win to even up the series 1-1.
Realmuto hit his first home run of the season a night after a horrendous called strike three ended the Phillies’ hopes for a comeback win in Citizens Bank Park. Harper hit his third home run of the season, showcasing some of the power that had been raising questions throughout the fan base.
The Phillies have not been playing their best baseball of late. They lost back-to-back series against the Braves and Cardinals due to a severe lack of production from their 7-9 hitters and all around poor pitching.
Tonight’s game was a much needed bounce-back. Much maligned third baseman Alec Bohm hit a critical RBI single with two outs from the 8-hole. Max Kepler had two hits, one of them a double, from the 7-hole.
Of note, Manager Rob Thomson recently moved Bryson Stott to lead off, a move that has aged well. Stott had a triple today, and though he did not produce any RBIs, his place as lead off has given the top of the order traffic on the bases to work with.
Jesus Luzardo was not nearly as dominant as his first three starts, but still went 5.1 innings, albeit with only four strikeouts.
The Phillies’ bullpen also showed up to play, allowing only one earned run.
For all the positives, the Phillies continue to have a Brandon Marsh problem. Marsh is hitting .100. Centerfield remains a question mark. Between Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh, there are no legitimate threats at the plate. Centerfield will be a position of need as the Phillies get closer to the trade deadline.
The Phillies look to win the series tomorrow at 6:45 PM.
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