Realmuto, Gregorius have big days as Phillies finally win series in Miami

Final Score: Phillies 10, Marlins 0

MIAMI — For the first time since April of 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies have won a series in Miami. And J.T. Realmuto, a former Marlin, has been at the forefront of two series-opening victories at loanDepot Park, which has largely been a house of horrors over the last half decade for the Phillies.

In his Major League Debut, Marlins’ righty Max Meyer kept the Phillies off the board for the first three innings. However, Realmuto got the Phillies on the board in the top of the fourth inning, pulverizing a ball to left-center field for a two-run home run:

J.T. welcomes Max Meyer to the bigspic.twitter.com/ITkQTkNiJ0

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) July 16, 2022

Realmuto would add an opposite-field double in the top of the sixth inning. It was part of a three-run inning that saw Rhys Hoskins hit his 19th home run of the season, and Didi Gregorius drive two runs in with a single:

Dead-center for 17. pic.twitter.com/aaEPx3CKpm

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) July 16, 2022

For good measure, the Phillies added five insurance runs off of reliever Cody Poteet in the top of the eighth inning, including a three-run shot by Gregorius, his first home run of the season:

Sir Didi finally gets his first! pic.twitter.com/0QQUwElFTP

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) July 16, 2022

Still, the most positive development of the weekend thus far for the Phillies has been the performance of Realmuto, who also drove in one of the two runs in Friday’s 2-1 victory.

A three-time All-Star, Realmuto won’t be participating in the midsummer classic this year. But after the first two games of this series, Realmuto’s OPS has climbed all the way up to .717. If the Phillies are going to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011, they’ll need that number to continue pushing closer to the .813 OPS that he’s averaged over the last four seasons.

The Phillies and Marlins will wrap up their respective first halves Sunday with a matchup of former All-Stars, as Aaron Nola is slated to face Trevor Rogers.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Ranger Suárez was excellent in his return from the injured list, limiting the Marlins to just four hits over five shutout innings. The 26-year-old will enter the All-Star Break with a 4.07 ERA.
• Max Meyer had some impressive moments during his Major League Debut, but the former No. 3 overall pick ultimately allowed seven hits and five earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. Still, the Phillies figure to see plenty of the 23-year-old in the coming years.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

As part of the five runs that the Phillies posted in the top of the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber hit a 393-foot solo home run. An All-Star for the second consecutive year, Schwarber leads the National League with 29 home runs. He can make some history if he has a monster performance Sunday:

A complete list of Phillies to hit 29 or more home runs before the All-Star Break:

Mike Schmidt – 1979 (31)
Kyle Schwarber – 2022 (29)

That’s it.

— Jonny Heller (@JonnyHeller) July 16, 2022

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Sunday, July 17 vs. Marlins at loanDepot Park
• 1:40 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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