Phillies end Pittsburgh series on a high note

Rookie Tyler Phillips threw six scoreless innings on Sunday as the Phillies beat the Pirates, 6-0. The victory was sorely needed for a Phils team that lost two of three to Oakland before the All-Star break, then dropped the first two games of its weekend series in Pittsburgh.

Friday’s 8-7 loss was particularly brutal. The Phillies blew two separate three-run leads and failed to score after the fifth inning. Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales delivered the knockout blow in the ninth, hitting a walk-off single against Jose Alvarado.

The Phils’ offensive struggles continued well into Saturday’s game, a 4-1 loss. The lineup mustered just four hits, failing to score until Bryce Harper smacked a ninth-inning home run.

With the rookie on the mound on Sunday and the Pirates sporting a six-game win streak, it looked like the Phillies could get swept in a series for the first time this season. But Phillips, more than anyone, helped make sure that didn’t happen. The righthander allowed just four hits on the day, walking one and striking out three. The walk was Phillips’ first in sixteen innings of major league work.

“A big thing about pitching is just throwing strikes, being in the strike zone,” Phillips said after the game. “It’s the only way to get guys out. You’ve got to make them swing the bat, and putting a lot of trust in the guys behind me has been helping me out a lot.”

“[Phillips] was throwing strikes, the stuff was good,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He had a good sinker all day. The slider or slurve was really good. Not a lot of hard contact.”

The Fightins backed Phillips up with some early offense. Alec Bohm singled to start the second inning, and Edmundo Sosa doubled to move Bohm to third. Weston Wilson brought Bohm home with a sacrifice fly, and Garrett Stubbs hit a two-out single to score Sosa.

By the end of the game, six different Phillies drove in a run. Every member of the starting lineup except Kyle Schwarber collected at least one hit (and Schwarber walked twice). Nick Castellanos put an exclamation point on the win with a ninth-inning homer.

“It was big,” Thomson. “We needed to get back on the winning side. I think that makes everybody feel good. We’ll have a happy flight and go into Minnesota and start all over again.”

With both Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull on the IL, Phillips will likely remain the Phillies’ fifth starter until at least mid-August.

Next up

Ranger Suarez (10-4, 2.76 ERA) will face Twins RHP Bailey Ober (8-5, 4.14 ERA) on Monday in Minnesota, kicking off a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. EDT. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will follow Suarez in the rotation.