Santana, Franco lead offensive barrage against Giants

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 11, San Francisco Giants 3 ❖ Attendance: 18,448

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Philadelphia Phillies (21-15) have won their third straight game against the San Francisco Giants (19-18). Over the first three games of the series, the Phils have outscored the Giants 26-5 and have outhomered them 8-1. A lot of that has to do with the excellent pitching that the Phillies have had. Tonight's starter, Nick Pivetta, was no exception. The righty struggled a bit in the first inning, throwing over 20 pitches, but still had a solid outing. Pivetta allowed no runs and four hits over five innings. He didn't walk any batters and struck out seven. Two of the three pitchers that entered the game in relief of Pivetta, Yacksel Rios and Zac Curtis, allowed runs, but fortunately, the Phillies' bats had given the pitchers a huge lead with which to work.

While it was a combined effort on the offensive front, there were some standout performers. Odubel Herrera extended his on-base streak to 38 games with a walk in the first inning. Maikel Franco extended his hitting streak to seven games, while Carlos Santana extended his hitting streak to six games. Santana matched a career high in RBI in a single game with five. The last time he had five RBI in a game was in 2012, during his time with the Cleveland Indians. Santana has struggled thus far this season, and it's good to see him contributing more offensively. The Phillies need him to keep this up if they want to contend this season.

WP: Nick Pivetta (2-2, 4.15 ERA) ❖ LP: Chris Stratton (3-3, 4.60 ERA)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SF	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	9	2
PHI	2	0	0	1	2	6	0	0	X	11	10	0

The Phillies didn't take long to get on the board in tonight's ballgame. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Odubel Herrera walked. This extended his on-base streak to 38 games. During the at-bat of Carlos Santana, Giants pitcher Chris Stratton tried to pick Herrera off of first and threw the ball away. Herrera moved into scoring position. Santana doubled to right field to score Herrera from second and give the Phils a 1-0 lead. During Maikel Franco's at-bat, Stratton threw a wild pitch that allowed Santana to move up to third. Franco singled to score Santana and extend his hitting streak to seven games. Nick Williams grounded out to end the inning, but the Phillies were on the board.

The Phils added on in their half of the fourth inning. With one out, Franco smacked a home-run over the left-center field wall. The homer was Franco's seventh of the season. Williams and Pedro Florimon were retired on a strikeout and a fly out, respectively, for the final two outs of the frame.

The Phillies continued scoring in the fifth. Scott Kingery, pinch-hitting for Phils starter Nick Pivetta, led off the inning with an infield single. Originally, he was called out, but the call was overturned after the Phillies asked for it to be reviewed. However, Kingery was soon wiped off the basepath, as he was thrown out while trying to steal second during the at-bat of Andrew Knapp. The Phils catcher ended up walking. One out later, Aaron Altherr and Herrera recorded back-to-back walks to load the bases for Santana. He singled to left field to score Knapp and Altherr and make it a 5-0 ballgame. The Giants then made a pitching change, opting to bring in reliever Pierce Johnson. Franco grounded out to end the inning.

The Giants got one back in the top of the sixth. Phils reliever Yacksel Rios easily retired the first two batters that he faced, but then ran into some trouble. Brandon Belt hit a swinging bunt single. Evan Longoria followed with his second double of the game. The location of the hit allowed Belt to score from first base. Fortunately, Rios was able to strike out Pablo Sandoval to end the inning and leave Longoria stranded at second.

The Phils tacked on a few more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Williams led off the inning with a walk. Florimon followed with a double to left field to put runners on second and third with no outs for pinch-hitter Rhys Hoskins. He hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Williams from third. Florimon advanced to third on the play. Knapp followed with a single to knock in Florimon and make it a 7-1 ballgame. Cesar Hernandez then walked to put runners on first and second with only one out for Altherr. He singled just past a diving Longoria into left field to load the bases for Herrera. During his at-bat, Johnson threw a wild pitch. Knapp scored, while Hernandez and Altherr advanced to third and second, respectively. Herrera walked to reload the bases. Johnson was removed in favor of fellow reliever Derek Law. He promptly began Santana's at-bat with a wild pitch, scoring Hernandez from third. Altherr and Herrera each moved up a bag. Santana singled to center field to score both runners and give the Phillies a 11-1 lead. Franco followed with a single of his own to put runners on first and second. However, they were both stranded, as Williams and Florimon were retired to end the inning.

The Giants made a last attempt at a comeback in the ninth. With one out, Sandoval singled. Brandon Crawford and Gorkys Hernandez each followed with singles of their own to load the bases. Phils reliever Zac Curtis then walked Kelby Tomlinson, which forced in Sandoval from third base to make it a 11-2 ballgame. The other runners each advanced a bag. Second baseman Alen Hanson followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Crawford. Curtis was able to strike out Austin Jackson for the final out of the game.

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