The Philadelphia Phillies opened a three-game series Tuesday night at historic Fenway Park against the AL East’s Boston Red Sox looking to continue their recent stretch of strong play under interim manager Don Mattingly.
Behind another sharp and efficient outing from ace Zack Wheeler and a continued power surge from Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies edged Boston 2-1 in the series opener, giving Mattingly the 900th managerial win of his career.
Less than eight months removed from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, Wheeler continues to show why he remains among baseball’s elite pitchers. The right-hander allowed just one run across 7 1/3 innings on six hits, all singles, while throwing only 87 pitches with no walks and four strikeouts. He was exceptionally economical throughout the night, needing eight or fewer pitches in four separate innings, just 16 pitches through the first three frames, and only 59 to get through six innings.
Any lingering concerns about Wheeler’s effectiveness following the procedure are fading quickly. Tuesday marked his fourth start since returning, and the Phillies have won all four games. His fastball topped out at 96.1 mph and averaged 95.1 mph. He has now delivered quality starts in three consecutive outings, allowing just five runs over 19 2/3 innings during that stretch.
Offensively, Schwarber continued his scorching stretch at the plate with a first-inning solo homer, his fifth consecutive game going deep. The blast tied a Phillies franchise record shared by Bobby Abreu, Dick Allen, Odúbel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins, Mike Schmidt, Trea Turner, and Chase Utley. It was also his MLB-leading 17th home run of the season and gave Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead. Bryson Stott drove in the Phillies’ other run, while Boston managed its lone run in the seventh before Philadelphia closed the door.
On Wednesday night, it was Andrew Painter’s turn on the mound. Coming into the game with a rough 10.03 ERA over his previous three starts, the young right-hander looked much sharper this time around. He tossed five solid innings, allowing just one run on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts. That was a big step forward after getting tagged for eight runs in only 3 2/3 innings in his last outing. As planned, Mattingly pulled him after 62 pitches.
“We knew from the beginning of the game that the third time through the lineup was going to be a spot we were going to try to stay away from,” Mattingly explained. “We want to get him going, get him some confidence. He threw the ball really well. He got his command back. He didn’t walk anybody. I was happy with him. But knowing we’re going to need him all year long, we wanted to kind of get him building off a good start.”
Justin Crawford tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third with a solo home run, his first on the road this season. But the Red Sox pulled ahead in the sixth when pinch-hitter Ceddanne Rafaela launched a two-run homer off Orion Kerkering. That proved to be the difference, as Boston held on for a 3-1 victory.
Schwarber’s five-game home run streak came to an end.
In the series finale on Thursday, Jesús Luzardo took the mound against former Phillies fan favorite Ranger Suárez. Suárez spent eight seasons in Philadelphia before signing a $130 million, five-year contract with Boston back in January.
The series finale turned out to be a true pitchers’ duel. Luzardo delivered a strong outing, going six innings with four hits and no runs allowed while striking out four. Suárez matched him with 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight. The game stayed tied at zero until the eighth inning, when Schwarber came through with a two-run homer that scored Turner, who had singled ahead of him.
The Phillies added one more run later in the inning on a Stott single that plated Alec Bohm. Stott was initially called out at first, but the play was overturned after a successful challenge, giving him a hit and an RBI that put Philadelphia ahead 3-0.
Boston answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 3-1 game, but that was as close as they would get. The Phillies held on for the 3-1 victory and took the series two games to one.
The team continues to roll as May winds down and summer baseball approaches.
Up next, Philadelphia opens a three-game series against their in-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, on Friday night at 6:40 p.m. at PNC Park.
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