Despite early week weather woes forcing a traditional double header, the Philadelphia Phillies trip to the Southside of Chicago was a successful one. The Fightins’ rolled into the Windy City and took 2-out-of-3 games from the hometown Chicago White Sox. The wins –as they should be– were important, but it was how the Phils’ handled their business that showed the makeup of the ball club.
In Game 1 of the double header, the Phillies bats once again carried the team to a victory. Josh Harrison knocked in four, Alec Bohm knocked in two, and Nick Castellanos added another RBI in the Phillies 7-4 victory. The Phillies bullpen, a group that has been a weakness for the club so far this season, picked starter Zack Wheeler (W, 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 K) allowing no hits and striking out eight White Sox over four innings.
Game 2 of the double header didn’t go the Phillies way offensively after their 7-run outburst in Game 1. The White Sox downed the Phils 3-0 in Game 2, but for the first time this season a starting pitcher went 7-innings. Other than a first inning homer, Phils’ pitcher Bailey Falter looked every bit the starter the team was hoping for. The 25-year-old lefty allowed three hits –including the homer– and three runs over seven innings for the Fightins. Falter took the “L”, but his past outing should calm some nerves with the fanbase and the front office. Offensively, the Phils were nearly no hit by Chicago, but Brandon Marsh was able to sneak in one hit to save the Fightins from complete disaster.
The Phillies meshed Game 1 and Game 2 of the series into the Game 3 rubber match. The Phils once again received timely hitting, namely Trea Turner’s first home run of the season, and excellent pitching from Taijuan Walker to take down the White Sox 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
In addition to Turner, Marsh joined the homer party clubbing his third of the season while Castellanos added another RBI to his ledger. For the second day in a row a Phillies pitcher made it into the 7th inning. Walker went 6.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five White Sox. The Phils’ bullpen quietly put up another shutdown, shutout outing. The combination of Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel, and Jose Alvarado allowed one hit over the final 2.2 innings to seal the win.
Game 1
| Team | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 4 | 8 | 0 |
WP: Zack Wheeler (1-1, 4.79 ERA) | LP: Lance Lynn (0-2, 7.59 ERA) | SV: Jose Alvarado (1)
TOG: 2:43 | Attendance: 12,542
Game 2
| Team | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 3 | 0 |
WP: Lucas Giolito (1-1, 4.29 ERA) | LP: Bailey Falter (0-3, 4.50 ERA) | SV: Reynaldo Lopez (3)
TOG: 2:09 | Attendance: 12,542
Game 3
| Team | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 2 | 6 | 0 |
WP: Taijuan Walker (2-1, 3.80 ERA) | LP: Mike Clevinger (2-1, 3.26 ERA) | SV: Jose Alvarado (2)
TOG: 2:23 | Attendance: 10,149
What’s On Deck…
The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park on Thursday night to begin a seven game homestand. The Colorado Rockies make the trip to the East Coast for a four-game set. Matt Strahm is scheduled to make the start for the Phillies against Colorado’s Ryan Feltner. First pitch is set for 6:40 PM/EDT from South Philly.
