22 Whiffs Street: Phillies 6 Giants 4

Score five runs in the first and get out.

The Phillies came into this game in a recent scuffle with a combination of bullpen issues, defensive mistakes, and failing to hit with runners in scoring position. They started the season at 6-1 but have gone 4-7 since.

Cristopher Sánchez took the mound and ran into issues after two early strikeouts. Heliot Ramos smoked a double to left center field, then Matt Chapman took a sinker the other way to make it 1-0.

The Phillies offense came into the Giants series struggling to score early runs but have gotten after Landen Roupp and Robbie Ray. They did the same to Jordan Hicks in the first.

Bryson Stott and Trea Turner slapped singles the opposite way then Bryce Harper worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases.

Kyle Schwarber put the team on the board with a two-run single to right field.

Nick Castellanos got into the hit parade with a single to center field to make it 3-1.

The best swing of the inning came from Alec Bohm. With two outs and Castellanos on second base, Bohm scorched a 98.9 mph sinker to center field that Luis Matos couldn’t handle.

The following innings featured both starting pitchers racking up quick groundouts and strikeouts. Sánchez put together a career-high 12 strikeouts and 24 whiffs through seven innings.

His changeup recorded 11 strikeouts and Giants hitters couldn’t touch it. Sánchez generated 22 whiffs on 29 swings with his changeup and caught Christian Kloss looking with a sinker in the seventh.

The only big blemish for Sánchez came in the sixth inning. After a Willy Adames flyout, Trea Turner let a soft ground ball go right between his legs for a one-out base runner.

Matt Chapman came up and worked a two-two count until he got a perfect pitch to hit. JT Realmuto wanted a backfoot slider but Sánchez hung it and Chapman crushed it to cut the Phillies lead in half.

Jordan Hicks was able to eat six additional innings after a disastrous first. The Phillies struggled to generate consistent base runners.

After six innings, Nick Castellanos left the game because of left hip flexor tightness. Given Brandon Marsh’s knee issue from yesterday, it forced the Phillies to put Edmundo Sosa in left field with Johan Rojas and Max Kepler in center and right.

The Phillies held a 5-3 lead with the bullpen coming in for the top of the eighth inning. Orion Kerkering was the first of Rob Thomson’s options and recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless frame. It was easily the best he’s looked this season and the sweeper had plenty of bite to it.

After Hicks completed seven innings, the Giants normally stout bullpen struggled to hold the lead. Former Phillies prospect Erik Miller came in for the eighth and ran into issues. He walked Harper and Schwarber, then threw a wild pitch to put them in scoring position.

Edmundo Sosa did his job and hit a flyball to right field, which scored Harper to give the Phillies a nice insurance run.

José Alvarado came in for the ninth inning and Casey Schmidt immediately tested Sosa’s defense in left. Sosa passed the best with flying colors by casually catching the line drive for the first out of the ninth.

Tyler Fitzgerald then took a 98 mph sinker to the seats in left field to make the game interesting.

With two outs, Jung Ho Lee hit a Baltimore chopper that went under Turner’s glove for an infield hit. Fortunately for the Phillies, Alvarado settled down and threw a sinker in Christian Kloss’s kitchen for a groundball over to shortstop. There was never a doubt.