Phillies Wrangle the Diamondbacks

Well, somehow, a change in the calendar means a change in the bats for the Phillies. June is now becoming every Phillies fan’s favorite month. The Phillies have struggled at Chase Field in Arizona. They have not won a series there since 2016. That all changed this four-game series. The Philadelphia Phillies wrangle the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

A Cycle Was Just Not Enough

Monday night’s game was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. On a night where scoring came in bunches, this game gave Phillies fans late-night heart palpitations. Scoring came in bunches and went back and forth. The Phillies had what we all thought were late-night heroics. The Phightins enter the top of the ninth down 8-9. Stott was on base after a pinch-hitting for Edmundo Sosa. Cody Clemens seems to hit the go-ahead home run. He trots around the bases but has it pulled back after review. The game ends with a Dbacks victory,9-8.

BCIB. Cycle. Complete. pic.twitter.com/U45T0uPB7J

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 13, 2023

In the midst of the night craziness, the best catcher in baseball, JT Realmuto, hits for the cycle. The first time a member of the Phillies did this since David Bell in 2004. He was the first catcher since 2011.

Arizona skipper Torey Lovullo gets tossed, after watching star outfielder Corbin Carroll get hit with a pitch for the second time in two plate appearances. J.T. Realmuto let Lovullo know the pitches were not intentional. Lovullo and Realmuto began talking, Lovullo was pointing at Realmuto with his finger and both benches and bullpens emptied. No punches were thrown, there was barely any pushing or shoving, and order was restored.

Phillies Bats Continue to Be Infeugo

Phillies have scored seven or more runs in three consecutive games. It’s the first time since a three-game streak from Aug. 5-7, 2022. Kyle Schwarber smashed a 450-foot home run to right field to set the tone of the game. It was the Phillies’ longest homer of the season and Schwarber’s fifth homer this month.

Trea Turner singled twice walked twice and tallied a couple of stolen bases. Nick Castellanos doubled twice to score three runs. Bryce Harper singled, stole a base, and scored in the third. Realmuto doubled, tripled, scored twice, and stole a base. Bryson Stott had three hits, including a homer. Clemens doubled and had that gift sacrifice fly. Brandon Marsh singled twice with a walk. It was the first time everybody in the lineup got a hit in a game since a 14-3 victory over the Reds on April 16. Also, eight extra-base hits were a season high.

450 ft, 111.6 mph. the ultimate Schwarbomb#RingTheBell x @CitizensBank pic.twitter.com/bbfY3qSl9T

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 14, 2023

Clemens hit a fly ball to shallow left field with runners at the corners and one out. D-backs all-star left fielder Corbin Carroll caught the ball for the second out, forcing J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm to retreat to third and first base. Carroll still had the ball in his glove when he casually turned and walked back to retrieve his cap behind him. Realmuto recognized an opportunity and raced home before Carroll realized what happened. That was the story of the night between the Phillies and Diamondbacks all Tuesday night.

Great pitching, coupled with these hot bats, also added to the Phillies’ victory. Phillies ace Zack Wheeler allowed one run in six innings. He has allowed one earned run in 13 1/3 innings in his last two starts and has allowed no more than one earned run in three of his last four. He has definitely been clutch lately. Phillies win 15-3, and the series is tied 1-1.

Extra Innings Blunder Helps Phillies

Ranger Suárez is back to his to what we saw in 2022. The Phillies are back to .500. (34-34) for the first time in a month. Suárez was magical in Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over Arizona at Chase Field. Suarez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and walking two. Suárez is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA in his last four starts. Suárez also got a career-high seven swings and misses on his curveball. He had never had more than five.

Forget about it #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/cNU0csz8AP

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 15, 2023

The Phillies blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning when Seranthony Domínguez got into trouble before allowing a game-tying, two-out, three-run home run to Christian Walker. Kimbrel was able to help send the game into extra innings. D-backs right fielder Jake McCarthy and second baseman Geraldo Perdomo collided on Trea Turner’s one-out pop fly in shallow right field in the 10th. The ball fell, allowing Marsh to advance to third and Turner to reach second. Nick Castellanos followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies the lead on a ball that would have been the third out had the D-backs made the play on Turner’s blooper. José Alvarado closed it out. He threw 16 pitches at 100 mph or more. Two at a season-high 101.6 mph. Phillies win 4-3 and the series lead at 2-1.

Phillies Wrangle the Diamondbacks in Game 4

Philadelphia’s offense is averaging 5.9 runs per game in this 10-2 stretch. It is batting .289 with an .847 OPS. The rotation has a 2.06 ERA following Thursday. Nola allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings. He yielded a three-run homer to Marte in the third, which opened with Kyle Schwarber misplaying a ball in left field. Nola has allowed a homer in 11 consecutive games, one shy of tying Randy Wolf (2000) for the team record. Nola retired 13 of the final 16 batters he faced. Gregory Soto, Domínguez, and Craig Kimbrel did the rest.

The Phillies had 13 hits. Bryson Stott put the Phillies on the board early with a solo home run to right field, his seventh this season. After Nola gave up the lead, the offense got it back. Schwarber hit an RBI double in the fourth inning to tie it at 4-4, and a few at-bats later, Harper hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead. Thanks to a shutdown performance from the bullpen, the Phillies held on. The Phillies wrangled the Diamondbacks for the first time in Arizona since 2016.