The Philadelphia Phillies struggled mightily on offense for eight innings on Sunday before flipping a switch and winning 4-3 in extra innings.
The Phillies nearly wasted an incredible pitching effort from Zach Eflin, who held the Dodgers to just two runs and did whatever it took to keep the Phillies in the game.
Eflin’s entire arsenal was dialed in, but it was his curveball that proved to be the biggest challenge for a Dodgers hitter. Eflin racked up an incredible 12 strikeouts with eight unique Dodgers being placed on strikes. Freddie Freeman was the only player Eflin didn’t strike out at least once.
Eflin finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 12 K.
The Dodgers went on the offensive in the third inning when the red-hot Mookie Betts put a ball into the left field seats to make it 1-0. Betts now has eight home runs in his last 22 games, including two home runs in that series alone.
Edwin Rios backed off with a solo shot of his own in the fourth inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
The Phillies offense had no answer for Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin, who gave up just one run on three hits in his six innings of work.
The only bright spot against Gonsolin was Garrett Stubbs, who hit the first home run of his young career to make it a 2-1 ball game in the sixth inning.
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At the bottom of ninth place, all seemed lost as the Phillies lost 2-1 and were eliminated until their eventual knockout. Nick Castellanos started a two-out rally with a double to the left. Kyle Schwarber was then walked on purpose, and Jean Segura took care of business with an RBI single to level the game 2-2.
The game was on its way to extras, but the job wasn’t done yet. Corey Knebel came on the court and after a walk and fielder pick, Trea Turner was able to bring Betts home with a single to the right. The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead.
JT Realmuto started the end of 10th at second base. Stubbs peaked at number one with an infield single, advancing Realmuto to third place. Throwing the third, Realmuto thought the ball had fallen and it was flagged trying to run home.
After a strike by Johan Camargo, all seemed lost for the Phillies, who had driven to their final exit. Roman Quinn kept the inning alive with a tear into right field, putting the runners in second and third place.
It was up to Alec Bohm, who hit a ground ball to second base. The ball was bobbled by Max Muncy giving both Stubbs and Quinn a scoring opportunity. The Phillies walked away with a two-run error in the infield. The perfect ending to an otherwise absurd baseball game.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Phillies found a way to avoid the series sweep. They’ve struggled offensively for the past week, but late Sunday they found a spark. This could be the boost the offensive needed to get back on track.
The Phillies will be back in action Monday night in Atlanta for a game against the Braves. Zack Wheeler will take the mound against Tucker Davidson for a first pitch at 7:20 p.m.
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