After losing two of three to the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Phillies returned to Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, the former club of interim manager Don Mattingly. Philadelphia bounced back in impressive fashion, opening the series with a 7-0 victory behind a dominant performance from Zack Wheeler. The Phillies followed that up with another win on Tuesday before falling 12-4 in Wednesday’s finale. Despite the loss in the rubber match, Philadelphia claimed the series two games to one and continued its strong play under Mattingly. Facing a Marlins club that entered the series in fourth place in the NL East, the second-place Phillies took advantage of the opportunity to regain momentum at home. Here’s a look back at the three-game series.
Zack Wheeler continued his outstanding season on Monday night, delivering another dominant performance against the Marlins. The veteran right-hander allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings while striking out nine, helping lead the Phillies to a 7-0 victory. The outing lowered Wheeler’s ERA to 2.01, and alongside Cristopher Sánchez (8-2, 1.54 ERA), gives Philadelphia one of the most formidable front-end rotation duos in baseball. If both continue pitching at this level, the Phillies will be a difficult matchup for any opponent come postseason time.
Offensively, the Phillies’ lineup provided plenty of support, racking up 10 hits in total. Rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. supplied one of the night’s biggest moments when he launched a home run in the second inning for his first major league hit. J.T. Realmuto also homered, while Justin Crawford collected three hits and Brandon Marsh chipped in with two as Philadelphia’s offense gave Wheeler more than enough run support.
The Phillies’ bats stayed hot on Tuesday night, as Philadelphia jumped on Miami early and never looked back. The offense scored eight runs, including seven over the first two innings, with Marsh, Alec Bohm, and Kyle Schwarber all leaving the yard. Schwarber’s solo homer was his 25th of the season and marked the ninth time in his career that he has reached that milestone.
On the mound, Jesús Luzardo turned in another strong performance against his former club, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings while striking out nine and walking two. The outing continued an impressive stretch for the left-hander, who has now surrendered two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts of at least five innings, helping lead the Phillies to an 8-2 win.
Wednesday’s rubber match got away from the Phillies early, as the Marlins erupted for a 12-4 victory to avoid a three-game sweep. Andrew Painter struggled through another difficult outing, allowing six runs on six hits over just two innings while walking two and striking out three. He also surrendered a pair of home runs. The rough start raised Painter’s ERA to 7.06 through 65 innings this season, and it will be interesting to see whether the Phillies keep him in the rotation or opt to send him back to Triple-A for additional development.
Philadelphia managed 10 hits of its own but was unable to capitalize consistently. Trea Turner, back in the lineup after missing time, collected three hits in the loss. It has been a difficult season for the veteran shortstop, who owns a .595 OPS while striking out in 22.7 percent of his plate appearances, the highest rate of any full season in his career.
Despite the disappointing finale, the Phillies still claimed the series two games to one. They will now welcome the New York Mets to Citizens Bank Park for another divisional series beginning Thursday.
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