The Phillies held on to a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth, but a play at the plate shifted momentum to the Reds, ultimately giving them a 6-4 victory. Carlos Ruiz blocked the runners' path to the plate in the fifth, allowing the go-ahead run to score and the Reds hung on from there. It took the umpire crew over five minutes to come to a decision on the play.
The Reds jumped on the board in the first inning. Brandon Phillips hit a lead-off single and two batters later, Todd Frazier drove him in with an RBI-double to give the Reds an early 1-0 edge.
The Phillies responded in the bottom half of the frame. Ben Revere started the inning off with a triple. Revere would score on an RBI-groundout by Jeff Francoeur to tie the game. Chase Utley followed with a double to right and then scored two batters later on an Maikel Franco RBI-double to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
Fast forward to the fifth, Aaron Harang walked Skip Shumaker to lead off the inning. Reds starter Anthony DeScalfani singled and two batters after, Brandon Phillips hit an RBI-double to lock the game at 2-2. After the Phillies opted to intentionally walk Joey Votto, Todd Frazier hit a grounder to short and Freddy Galvis threw the ball home to nab DeScalfani at the plate. Unfortunately, Carlos Ruiz was in the pathway of the runner, so after a five minute umpire review, DeScalfani was ruled safe, making it a 3-2 Reds lead. The block the plate rule in this situation is rather silly. If Ruiz wouldn't have gone for the tag, but instead touched the plate for the force out, DeScalfini would have been out.
In the sixth, Harang issued back-to-back one out walks to Zack Cozart and Skip Schumaker. Anthony DeScalfani bunted the runners over and the Billy Hamilton drove in two runs with a single to center, extending the Reds lead to 5-2. A Brandon Phillips RBI-single plated Billy Hamilton to make it a 6-2 game . That was all for Aaron Harang.
The Phillies had a chance to rally in the eighth. Carlos Ruiz singled and Cesar Hernandez walked to put runners on first and second with no out, chasing Reds starter Anthony DeScalfani from the game. Ben Revere smacked an RBI-double to left, scoring Ruiz from second to make it a 6-3 game. After Jeff Francoeur went down swinging, Chase Utley brought home Hernandez with a sacrifice fly to bring the Phillies within two, 6-4.
Aroldis Chapman came on for the Reds in the ninth after surrendering the game-tying home run to Maikel Franco last night. Tonight was a different story as the Reds closer got Franco to go down swinging on a 102 mph fastball. Cody Asche and Freddy Galvis also struck out to end the game.
Starting Pitcher Report:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anthony DeSclafani (W, 4-4) |
7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 |
|
Aaron Harang (L, 4-6) |
5.2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.45 |
- DeSclafani: 104 pitches, 74 strikes; 8 groundouts, 6 flyouts; 27 batters faced
- Harang: 99 pitches, 58 strikes; 9 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 28 batters faced
Out of the 'Pen
Reds
- Tony Cingrani (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.91 ERA
- Aroldis Chapman (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 2.22 ERA, SV (10)
Phillies
- Jake Diekman (6th, 7th): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 6.75 ERA
- Justin De Fratus (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 3.86 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.55 ERA
At the Plate:
Reds
- Brandon Phillips (.311): 3-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI's, SB
- Billy Hamilton (.222): 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI's
- Todd Frazier (.270): 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Phillies
- Ben Revere (.269): 3-for-4, R, 3B, RBI
- Chase Utley (.206): 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI
- Maikel Franco (.227): 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, K
What's Next
Friday, June 5th 2015: vs San Francisco Giants, 7:05 pm
- RHP Jerome Williams (3-5, 5.49 ERA) vs. RHP Tim Lincecum (5-3, 3.00 ERA)
- TV: NBC 10; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Saturday, June 6th 2015: vs. San Francisco Giants, 3:05 pm
- RHP Severino Gonzalez (2-1, 6.88 ERA) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (6-2, 3.12 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Sunday, June 7th 2015: vs. San Francisco Giants, 1:35 pm
- RHP Sean O'Sullivan (1-4, 5.03 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 4.26 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
