By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
Final: Philadelphia Phillies 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 3 ❖ Attendance: 35,659
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Philadelphia Phillies (57-44) defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers (56-46) in this afternoon's game, but that wasn't the real story. This series was the last opportunity for the city of Philadelphia to see former Phillie and fan favorite Chase Utley play in a regular season game, as he recently announced his retirement at the end of this season. The second baseman started both Monday and today's games and pinch-hit in last night's game, earning standing ovations before his first at-bat in each game and applause before every subsequent at-bat and upon reaching base. To put it simply, Utley is a Philadelphia sports icon, beloved for his hard-nosed style of play. As a result, this series has been more emotionally charged, for both Utley and fans. Utley had a rough series at the plate, going 1-8 with a pinch-hit single in last night's game. There's a chance that Utley could play at Citizens Bank Park once again if both the Phillies and Dodgers make the playoffs and face off in October, but that's not guaranteed by any means. On the off chance that it does, it's a guarantee that Phillies fans will still show their appreciation for one of the greatest second baseman in franchise history.
After last night's 16 inning, almost six hour long game that crept into the early hours of this morning, a regular nine inning game was sorely needed and much appreciated. Phillies starter Jake Arrieta was solid and helped out the tired bullpen by throwing six innings. He allowed three runs (only two earned) on five hits and struck out six. Arrieta added another unearned run to his breathtaking season total of 17, which leads all of MLB. Victor Arano, Adam Morgan and Seranthony Dominguez combined for three scoreless innings to nail down the win.
The Phillies' bats played a big part in beating the current first place team in the NL West division. The biggest hit of the game game off the bat of Carlos Santana. The first baseman hit a bases clearing triple in a fifth inning in which the team scored five runs. Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery both homered. Hoskins extended his hitting streak to five games with his first inning homer, while Kingery's home-run was his first since June 29. Andrew Knapp also contributed with a RBI double.
WP: Jake Arrieta (8-6, 3.45 ERA) ❖ LP: Walker Buehler (4-3, 3.92 ERA) ❖ SV: Seranthony Dominguez (10)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| LAD | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| PHI |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 7 | 7 | 3 |
The Dodgers took advantage of multiple errors to grab an early lead. Joc Pederson led off the game with a single to right field. Manny Machado followed with a walk. Normally, this would put runners on first and second, but a head-scratching error gave the Dodgers an edge. On the fourth pitch of the walk, catcher Andrew Knapp inexplicably threw to second base, presumably to try to get the runner at second, who was running on the pitch. However, the throw was pointless, as the pitch was called ball four, and even worse, the throw sailed into center field, which allowed Pederson to advance to third. One out later, Matt Kemp hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Pederson to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. A bit more defensive insanity occurred during the at-bat of Alex Verdugo. Machado stole second base. Knapp attempted to throw out the Dodgers' third baseman, but the throw went off of shortstop Scott Kingery and ended up in center field, allowing Machado to move up to third. Fortunately, Phils starter Jake Arrieta was able to retire Verdugo on a groundout for the final out.
The Phillies were quick to tie up the game in the bottom of the first. With one out, Rhys Hoskins homered to left-center field. The bomb was his eighteenth of the season. One out later, Carlos Santana reached on a single. However, he was stranded, as Maikel Franco popped out to end the inning.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Phillies' bats came to life. After Nick Williams struck out to lead off the frame, Scott Kingery homered to right field. The call was reviewed, as the umpires weren't sure if a fan had reached over the fence to make a catch. Fortunately, the call on the field was upheld and Kingery's home-run handed the Phils the lead. The home team was only just getting started. Jesmuel Valentin singled to right. One out later, Knapp hit a double to right field to score Valentin and make it a 3-1 ballgame. Knapp moved up to third base on the throw home. Hoskins was intentionally walked to put runners on first and third with two outs. This marked the end of Dodgers starter Walker Buehler's outing, as manager Dave Roberts opted to bring in reliever Scott Alexander. He promptly walked Odubel Herrera to load the bases. Santana followed with a clutch bases-clearing triple to give the Phils a 6-1 lead. Unfortunately, Santana was stranded at third, as Franco was retired on a flyout for the third out.
The Dodgers got a few runs back in the top of the sixth. Pederson led off the inning with a double to right field. One out later, Max Muncy homered to left-center field to make it a 6-3 game. It was Muncy's 24th home-run of the season. After Kemp was retired on a strikeout, Verdugo singled to right. Arrieta retired Chase Utley on a flyout to left for the final out of the inning and of his outing.
The Phils tacked on another run in the eighth. With one out, Santana walked. He moved up to second on a groundout by Franco. A passed ball during the at-bat of Williams allowed Santana to advance to third base. Williams hit a bloop single to left field to score Santana and increase the Phillies' lead. Kingery struck out to end the frame, but the four run lead was more than enough for the Phillies bullpen to work with to secure the victory.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walker Buehler | 4.2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3.92 |
| Jake Arrieta | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3.45 |
Dodgers
- Matt Muncy: 1-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, .272 AVG
- Joc Pederson: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, .269 AVG
- Chase Utley: 0-3, .236 AVG
Phillies
- Carlos Santana: 2-3, R, 3B, 3 RBI, .215 AVG
- Rhys Hoskins: 1-3, 2 R, HR, RBI, .255 AVG
- Scott Kingery: 1-4, R, HR, RBI, .234 AVG
Dodgers
- Scott Alexander (5th): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.26 ERA
- Caleb Ferguson (6th, 7th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 3.45 ERA
- Pedro Baez (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.41 ERA
Phillies
- Victor Arano (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.31 ERA
- Adam Morgan (8th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.82 ERA
- Seranthony Dominguez (8th, 9th): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.02 ERA
- Thursday, July 26, 2018: at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 p.m.
- Cincinnati – Great American Ball Park
- LHP Ranger Suarez (2018 Triple-A: 1-0, 0.57 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Mahle (7-8, 4.32 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, WTTM 1680
