The Phillies desperately needed wins in the wake of the firing of manager Joe Girardi, and they got them at the hands of perhaps the only MLB team in more desperate need of a win in the Los Angeles Angels. They didn’t just close out the sweep with a dramatic comeback, they made team history in the process.
Started From the Bottom…
Bryson Stott’s 3-run walk-off homer Sunday was remarkable, especially considering he had exactly zero career home runs when the series began Friday evening. Stott is the first Phillies player to start a game as the No. 9 hitter and hit a walk-off homer since pitcher Chick Fraser, who started for the Phillies on June 16, 1903. Chick pitched 12 innings, then hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 12th to give the Phillies a 2-1 win over the New York Giants.
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Slam to Tie, Walk-off to Win
Bryce Harper’s grand slam tied Sunday’s game at 6-6 in the 8th inning, setting up Stott’s 9th-inning heroics. It was the first time the Phillies hit a grand slam and then a walk-off homer in the same game since July 22, 1985 against the Astros at the Vet. John Russell hit his grand slam in the first inning off Joe Niekro, and Mike Schmidt broke a 6-6 tie with a solo shot in the 9th off Jeff Heathcock.
The MVP doing MVP Things
Harper’s slam capped off a huge series for the reigning National League MVP in which he clubbed three homers and knocked in eight runs. The last Phillies hitter to have three HR and eight RBI in a 3-game series was Maikel Franco against the Brewers in April of 2016.
MLB
Zach Attack
Zach Eflin was the beneficiary of Friday night’s Phillies offensive onslaught, although he needed almost none of it. He pitched eight dominant shutout innings, allowing just five hits and a walk. He has a 0.77 WHIP at home this season, best in the bigs among pitchers with 30 IP at home. His teammate Aaron Nola is right behind him at 0.78. In fact, the Phillies rotation ranks 2nd in baseball in home WHIP at 1.01. Only the Yankees (0.88) are better.
Taking Down the Stars
The highlight of Eflin’s Friday night gem was the first inning, when he struck out 2021 AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and multiple AL MVP Mike Trout back-to-back, on six pitches. Ohtani and Trout have batted back-to-back in the Angels’ lineup in 188 games. No other pitcher has struck both batters out consecutively on six pitches.
Tough Time for Millville’s Finest
Trout, the Millville, New Jersey native, told the media prior to Friday’s game that he was really looking forward to playing for his hometown team. He came to town cold at the plate, and left even colder. Trout was hitless in 11 at bats with a walk. It’s the first time in his Hall of Fame career that he had ever went 0-for-11 in a series against a single team. He went 0-for-10 in his career twice: earlier this season against the Yankees, and way back in 2013 against the Rangers. Through the series at CBP, Trout is mired in a career-long 0-for-26 slump.
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