Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos each drove in a pair of runs and Taijuan Walker threw five scoreless innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon. The win gave the Phillies a series victory over the Dodgers and ended a successful homestand with a 7-1 record.
The story of the day was Taijuan Walker.
The much maligned starter was once again on top of his game. Walker scattered two hits and struck out five in his five innings of work. Phillies manager Rob Thomson opted to lift Walker prior to the 6th inning despite only throwing 84 pitches. Walker needed to be consoled in the dugout by multiple Phillies including Kyle Schwarber.
What a leader Kyle Schwarber is. Taijuan Walker pitched 5 shutout innings and is coming out of the game. He probably wanted to stay in. Schwarbs is talking him through it.
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) June 11, 2023
Taijuan has given up just 6 earned runs over his last 5 starts pic.twitter.com/vKa1zsqJEF
Thomson’s move paid off, sort of.
The bullpen trio of Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez, and Jose Alvarado threw an inning each. Each allowed an earned run in their respective innings also. The trio was picked up by the Phillies offense, in addition to Stott and Castellanos, Bryce Harper, Kody Clemens, and Garrett Stubbs each drove in a run, respectively. Craig Kimbrel closed out the Dodgers with two Ks in a scoreless 9th for the Phillies.
The win, the Phillies seventh in their last eight games, brings their season record to 32-33 and is good enough for 3rd place in the NL East. The Phillies sit 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for the final NL Wild Card spot.
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
PHI B1: Bryce Harper singles to LF, Trea Turner scores. (LAD-0, PHI-1)
PHI B3: Bryson Stott singles to CF, Turner scores. Harper scores. (LAD-0, PHI-3)
LAD T6: Freddie Freeman homers (13) to CF [Umpire review, call upheld]. (LAD-1, PHI-3)
PHI B6: Garrett Stubbs singles on a bunt to the pitcher, Stott scores. (LAD-1, PHI-4)
LAD T7: Jason Heyward homers (7) to RF. (LAD-2, PHI-4)
PHI B7: Nick Castellanos homers (8) to CF. Turner scores. (LAD-2, PHI-6)
PHI B7: Kody Clemens singles to RF, Stott scores. (LAD-2, PHI-7)
LAD T8: Max Muncy grounds into a force out, Mookie Betts scores. (LAD-3, PHI-7)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | X | 7 | 13 | 0 |
WP: Taijuan Walker (6-3, 4.67 ERA) | LP: Caleb Ferguson (3-3, 3.91 ERA)
TOG: 2:44 | ATT: 44,287 (Sellout)
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Phillies RF Nick Castellanos- 2-for-5, HR (8), 2 RBI, R
2nd Star: Phillies SP Taijuan Walker- Win, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
3rd Star: Phillies SS Trea Turner- 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R
What’s on Deck?
The Phillies hit the road on Monday for the start of a seven-game West Coast road trip to Phoenix and Oakland. The Fightins’ will start a four-game set against the National League’s winningest team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, on Monday in the desert. Monday’s game will likely be a bullpen game for the Phillies with Matt Strahm as the likely “opener” against Arizona’s Tommy Henry. First pitch from Phoenix is set for 9:40 PM/EDT.
