In a game where ace Cristopher Sanchez wasn’t at his strongest, the Phillies offense carried the team to a win, snapping a four-game losing streak.

The Phillies came into this game looking to close out this dismal homestand, looking to improve on the 2-7 record since coming off of the All-Star break. In this series, they have scored one run against the Yankees in the series and have struggled most of the month offensively.

The Phils started off the scoring when Trea Turner scored on a Kyle Schwarber sacrifice fly. In the second inning, Bryson Stott hit a solo home run to make the score 2-0. In the third inning,

Alec Bohm hit a double with the bases loaded, scoring Schwarber, Brandon Marsh and Bryce Harper.

Stott singled home Bohm making the score 6-0. In the fifth inning, the Yankees got three runs back on several sloppy plays, which extended the inning and allowed the Yankees extra bases, which was capped off with an Anthony Volpe double to score Amed Rosario, making the score 6-3. In the sixth inning, Turner hit an RBI single after a couple of defensive misplays by the Yankees. After loading the bases again, Bohm got hit by a pitch, scoring another run, and Stott cleared the bases with a double, making the game 11-3. Ben Rice hit a solo home run, making the game 11-4. This would be where the scoring would end, sending the Phils on the road on a positive note.

Sanchez Guts Out Difficult Win Against Yankees

Sanchez was on cruise control in this game until the fifth inning, when he struggled a bit, first with a missed pickoff throw which allowed Ali Sanchez to go to second, and eventually he was the first run that scored. In the first four innings, Sanchez was able to hit the inside corner to right-handed hitters, and that allowed him to keep the Yankees’ power bats in check. In the fifth inning, he was missing that corner and leaving pitches over the plate too much, or missing the zone entirely. You could see this starting in the fourth inning, when he had the bases loaded, but he tightened up and got out the inning. In the sixth inning, he was controlling the corners again, and it was a quick inning.

This is a return to form for Sanchez against a confident offense, and the Phillies offense needed to give Sanchez a little breathing room to avoid the sweep. The Phillies offense did just that in this game. When getting three runs of support this season, Sanchez is now 12-0 in these starts, showing the importance of supporting their ace with a little more offense than they have.

Phillies Continue Sloppy Play Leading to Yankees Runs

The Phillies have had a massive issue over the last month with lapses on the defensive side of the ball. This game was no different. In the fifth inning, when the Yankees scored their runs, there were several defensive plays where the Yankees were given 90-foot gifts by the Phils, starting with Sanchez airmailing a throw to first on a pickoff throw; this gift directly led to the first run of the inning.

The second miscue was something that the Phils have done too often: Justin Crawford over-threw the cutoff man, and though it didn’t directly lead to a run because it fortunately was rounded up and kept Rosario at third, far too often this season those errant throws end up turning into runs. In the previous inning, Turner was eaten up by a line drive that took a strange hop, and he was just in an unfortunate position, but it also ended up being an error as well.

The Phils defense has not been good enough to be a team that plays into October, and little things add up as the season wears on. There is still time to turn this trend around, but this needs to happen soon.

Stott and Bohm Carry Struggling Phillies Offense to Win

The Phillies offense has needed the bottom of the lineup the entire month of July, and in this game Stott and Bohm combined for nine RBI. This was the offensive breakout that has eluded this offense for more than three weeks. The top of the lineup, which started so strong, has struggled to score runs consistently since the end of June.

Bohm started strong by getting ahead, fouling off several pitches, and forcing Yankees Will Warren to come in to him, and Bohm didn’t miss. Adding insult to injury, Warren walked Brandon Marsh to get to Bohm because they were playing the percentages, but Bohm made them pay for that decision by clearing the bases. Right after that, Stott singled him home.

In the sixth inning, Bohm was hit by a pitch up and in with the bases loaded, scoring a run; then it was Stott’s turn to unload the bases with a double. This came because he worked the count and forced Yankees pitcher Ryan Yarborough to come in, and when he did, Stott doubled into the right field corner and scored all three runs.

The pitch wasn’t a bad one; ABS wouldn’t have called it a strike, but it got enough of the plate for Stott to get enough to clear the bases.

This is just what the offense needed as they hit the road, going to Miami in a pivotal series. They’ll send Zack Wheeler to the mound to try and string together another win.

Steve Hamilton

Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.

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