Altherr's clutch blast nabs win for Phillies

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 3 ❖ Attendance: 23,349

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — It wasn't pretty, but the Philadelphia Phillies (15-8) pulled out a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks (16-7). With the win, the Phillies ended the D-backs' eight game winning streak at Citizens Bank Park. Starter Jake Arrieta was solid for the Phillies, allowing three runs on four hits over seven innings. Only one of those three runs counted as an earned run, however, as the Phillies committed an inexcusable three errors. After Arrieta left the game, Adam Morgan and Luis Garcia combined for a scoreless eighth inning. Hector Neris struggled with his command in the ninth, but was able to work his way out of a jam to get his fifth save of the season.

Despite striking out 11 times, the Phillies were able to string some good at-bats together and score five runs. The team finished with 10 hits, three of which were by second baseman Cesar Hernandez. The big hit of the game came off the bat of Aaron Altherr, who got the start in right field. His three-run homer in the sixth inning ultimately decided the game. Odubel Herrera extended his streak of reaching base safely to 25 consecutive games with his single in the first inning.

WP: Jake Arrieta (3-0, 1.82 ERA) ❖ LP: Zack Greinke (2-2, 4.80 ERA) ❖ SV: Hector Neris (5)

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
ARI	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	5	1
PHI	1	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	X	5	10	3

The Phillies got the scoring started in tonight's game. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez led off the bottom of the first with a double. An error by D-backs right fielder Jarrod Dyson allowed Hernandez to continue on to third base. Carlos Santana followed with a ground out to first base to score Hernandez and give the Phils an early lead. Odubel Herrera singled to center field, but was ultimately stranded, as Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Altherr were retired on a foul out and a strikeout, respectively, to end the inning.

The D-backs tied it up in the third. Dyson led off the inning with a single to shortstop J.P. Crawford. Dyson went from first to third on a single by Jeff Mathis. This put runners on first and third with no outs for pitcher Zack Greinke. He struck out for the first out. David Peralta picked up his teammate and hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Dyson. Ketel Marte grounded out for the final out, but the D-backs had made it a 1-1 game.

The Phils took the lead back in their half of the third. Hernandez got it started with a lead-off single. Santana followed with a single of his own, on which Hernandez advanced from first to third. Herrera hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Hernandez from third. Santana was caught in a run-down during his attempt to move up to second on the play and was tagged out for the second out of the inning. Hoskins struck out for the last out of the frame.

The D-backs tied it up again in the fourth. Paul Goldschmidt reached on an error by Maikel Franco. Center fielder A.J. Pollock followed with a single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Daniel Descalso walked to load the bases for Chris Owings. He was walked as well, scoring Goldschmidt and moving Pollock and Descalso up to third and second, respectively. Dyson bunted and Phils starter Jake Arrieta made a fantastic play to flip the ball home for the force out. Mathis grounded into a double play to end the inning and limit the damage.

The D-backs took the lead in the sixth. Goldschmidt once again reached base on an error, this time by Crawford. One out later, Goldschmidt stole second during Descalso's at-bat. Catcher Andrew Knapp's throw went past Crawford, who was covering second, and into center field. This allowed Goldschmidt to advance to third base. Goldschmidt could have been held at second if Hernandez had been backing up the play at second, but the second baseman was nowhere near the bag. Descalso hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Goldschmidt and give the D-backs a 3-2 lead. Owings struck out for the third and final out.

The Phillies took back the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Santana led off the inning with a double off the top of the right field wall. Herrera followed with a walk. One out later, Altherr hit a home-run to dead center field to make it a 5-3 ballgame. After a strikeout by Knapp, Franco singled. However, he was stranded, as Crawford struck out to end the inning. That ultimately didn't matter, as the Phillies bullpen was able to secure the victory.

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Starting Pitchers