Early runs prove important as Phillies defeat Giants

Final Score: Phillies 5, Giants 4

Scoring early has been one of the Phillies’ strengths this season. As an offense, their .279/.359/.501 slash line in the first three innings of games was one of the best in baseball entering Sunday. Their combined 79 runs scored in the first, second and third innings led all of Major League Baseball.

The Phillies scored nine runs in the first two innings of their 14-3 win on Saturday. One day later, their early scoring was key in their MLB-best 24th win of the season.

Sunday’s game was tied at one entering the bottom of the third. The top of Rob Thomson’s batting order — Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper — was due up. Schwarber worked a walk against Giants starter Logan Webb to start the inning. Realmuto followed with a single. So with two runners on and no outs, Harper came to the plate in a big spot.

Harper scolded a grounder that resulted in an out in his first at-bat two innings earlier. The ground ball left his bat at 109.5 mph. This time around, Harper hit another ball hard (107 mph). This one was in the air, though, and left the yard for a three-run homer, putting the Phillies ahead 4-1.

Three batters later, Nick Castellanos ripped a single into left field. With Bryson Stott now up to bat, Castellanos stole second base with two outs. Stott then lined a ball into the left-center field gap. Castellanos stealing second paid off as he made his way home to score the Phillies’ fourth run of the inning.

The Phillies’ four-run third inning was also a hard-hit fest. All five of the balls they put in play, which included an Alec Bohm ground out, had exit velocities of at least 100 mph.

Getting to Webb early ended up being important. After the Giants’ starter left the game, the Phillies couldn’t score against San Francisco’s bullpen. Right-hander Sean Hjelle struck out six batters in his two innings of relief. Taylor Rogers worked a scoreless seventh and struck out two more Phillies hitters. Ryan Walker struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth on 12 pitches.

As the offense simmered down, the Phillies’ pitching started to bend. Giants’ second baseman Thairo Estrada hit a two-run home run off Taijuan Walker to make it a 5-3 game in the seventh. Two innings later, Jakson Reetz hit a one-out, solo homer off José Alvarado to bring the Giants within a run. Alvarado got the next two batters out, though, ending the game.

Highlights

• The Giants opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. After LaMonte Wade Jr. singled with one out, Michael Conforto doubled on a deep fly ball to center field with two outs. Johan Rojas may have been able to make a play on the ball, but slightly misread it. Wade scored on the play to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.
• Edmundo Sosa tied the game in the bottom of the second. With runners on second and third with two outs, Sosa swung at a center-cut sinker that turned his bat into firewood. The ball deflected off Webb’s glove, slowly rolled towards Estrada and Sosa beat the throw to first to tie the game.

• Taijuan Walker’s final line included 6 1/3 innings pitched, three earned runs, five hits, seven strikeouts and one walk.
• Gregory Soto entered the game in relief of Walker. He hit the first batter he faced and walked the second. With two runners now on, the left-hander settled down, getting Jung Hoo Lee to pop out and Wade to ground out, ending San Francisco’s threat.
• Bohm entered the bottom of the seventh without a hit, putting his 17-game hitting streak on the line. The right-handed hitter pulled a pitch down in the zone into left field for a double, extending his career-high hit streak to 18 games.
• Jeff Hoffman pitched the eighth. Conforto drove another ball deep into center field, which was nearly the second out of the inning. Rojas, again, had a read on the ball, got to it and it bounced off his glove as he slightly leaped in the air, giving Conforto what was ruled a triple. Hoffman stranded Conforto at third by striking out Matt Chapman and Mike Yastrzemski to end the inning.

Notes

• Right-hander Luis Ortiz has been on the injured list due to a sprained ankle since the first weekend of the season. He had been ramping back up recently but has been shut down for now with right shoulder inflammation.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Monday, May 6 vs. San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park
• 4:05 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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