Friday’s Philadelphia Phillies–Colorado Rockies game got off to an inauspicious start for the Fightins.
Starter Aaron Nola became the fourth Phillies pitcher in four games (Bailey Falter, Taijuan Walker, Matt Strahm) to allow a first inning home run. Nola allowed consecutive bloop singles to Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon, followed by a moonshot to center field by Ryan McMahon. Two bloops and a blast and it was 3-0 Colorado and not the kind of start the Phillies were hoping for after being shut out on Thursday.
As it turns out, Nola would only allow one more hit –a single to Harold Castro to lead off the 2nd inning– before settling in for his best performance of the season. The Phils’ righty line was as follows: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K in 94-pitches (61-strikes). It’s the second consecutive quality start for Nola, and his first 7-inning outing of the season.
The Phils’ offense awoke –well, sort of– in the 4th inning after 12-consecutive scoreless innings against the Rockies and caused Colorado’s starter Noah Davis into a meltdown situation.
Nick Castellanos led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error and Brandon Marsh followed with a single to put the first two runners on for the Phillies. J.T. Realmuto was then hit by a Davis pitch to load the bases.
Or maybe he wasn’t. Judge for yourself.
Either way, Realmuto was awarded first and Rockies manager Bud Black was sent packing. Davis responded by balking in the Phils first run of the series with Jake Cave at the plate. Cave followed the balk with a single that scored Marsh to put the Phillies right back in the ballgame and seemingly changed the momentum of the contest.
Kyle Schwarber tied the game 3-3 with a 7th inning “Schwarbomb” off of Rox reliever Dinelson Lamet.
The Phils welcomed back old friend Brad Hand in the 8th inning with some classic Fightins magic. Hand allowed a leadoff double to Realmuto, who also stole third, and the eventual game winning single to Edmundo Sosa two batters later.
The Phils’ ‘pen once again was stellar.
Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado allowed one Colorado base runner to reach in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively.
Here’s a closer look at how they scored, stats and facts from the game, and what’s on deck for the Phillies.
How They Scored…
COL T1: Ryan McMahon homers (4) to CF, Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon score (COL-3, PHI-0)
PHI B4: COL P Noah Davis balks in a run with Jake Cave batting, Nick Castellanos scores, Brandon Marsh advances to 3rd, J.T. Realmuto advances to 3rd (COL-3, PHI-1)
PHI B4: Cave singles to 3rd, Marsh scores (COL-3, PHI-2)
PHI B7: Kyle Schwaber homers (5) to RF (COL-3, PHI-3)
PHI B8: Edmundo Sosa singles to LF, Realmuto scores (COL-3, PHI-4)
| Team | R | H | E |
| Colorado Rockies | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | 9 | 0 |
WP: Seranthony Dominguez (1-1, 9.39 ERA) | LP: Brad Hand (0-1, 2.35 ERA) | SV: Jose Alvarado (3)
TOG: 2:35 | Attendance: 43,261 (sellout)
Broad Street Baseball “Player of the Game”
PHI DH Kyle Schwarber: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R
Follow our daily baseball content partner, Broad St. Baseball on Social Media. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
What’s on Deck?
The Phillies and Rockies continue their 4-game set tomorrw afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Due to expected inclement weather, the start time for Saturday’s game has been moved up to 3:05 PM/EDT. Kyle Freeland will make the start for Colorado and Cristopher Sanchez will toe the rubber to the Phillies.
