TAMPA, Fla. — They stranded the go-ahead run at second base in the top of the eighth inning and again in the top of the ninth Thursday night but the Phillies kept charging ahead and finally completed their comeback in the 10th, scoring twice to sweep the Rays in a 7-6 thriller.
The Phils trailed by four to begin the eighth and had lost the finale of the prior three series they'd had a chance to sweep. On Sunday at home against the Diamondbacks, they scored seven late runs to force extra innings only to lose in the 10th.
Finally, for the first time since their second series of the season, they finished a team off.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE "Winning series is huge but we've had a sour taste in our mouths from a couple of series that have gotten away from us on the sweeps," said Matt Strahm, who closed out the win. "Just finishing the job, so to speak, is what we've got to start doing."
Bryson Stott brought the Phillies back into it with a two-out, three-run homer in the eighth, a half-inning after Yandy Diaz appeared to break the game open for his team by doing the same.
"A lot of us had a feeling Stott was about to put a really good swing on a ball, he's been doing it all series," Brandon Marsh said. "Like I've said and continue to say, that dude's a gangster, that dude can play some baseball. He came through in a big way for us."
The batter after Stott in the eighth, Trea Turner, crushed a flyball to deep left field that looked like his second home run in as many days but it somehow stayed in the yard. Christopher Morel leaped at the wall in left and didn't catch the ball but got enough glove on it to prevent it from leaving the field of play, holding Turner to a double and keeping the Rays ahead by a run. After a review, the call was confirmed, and Turner was stranded at second on a Bryce Harper groundout.
Philadelphia Phillies
Find the latest Philadelphia Phillies news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Kyle Schwarber singled on the first pitch of the ninth inning and pinch-runner Johan Rojas advanced all the way to third base on an errant pickoff throw, scoring two batters later on a Max Kepler groundout. But the Phillies stranded another runner on second base, this time with one out, giving Jose Alvarado no room to breathe in the bottom half.
Alvarado's frame began ominously with a leadoff single. But he and the Phillies overcame it all — the late homer from Diaz, the near-miss from Turner and the inability to score the go-ahead run in the ninth inning – to win for the ninth time in 11 games.
Marsh took no time in driving in the first run of the 10th, doubling on the first pitch. Turner followed with an RBI single two batters later and it proved crucial because Strahm allowed a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning.
"It was a big moment, it felt good coming through for the guys," Marsh said. "But it took all of us tonight. Almost everyone was in the game at one point. That was a huge, huge win for us in the last game of a series."
It was a multi-hit effort for Marsh, who was hitless in 38 straight plate appearances before landing on the injured list and is 5-for-11 since returning.
The 22-15 Phillies are receiving production all over the place right now — at the top of the lineup with Stott and Turner, in the middle with Schwarber, and now, at the bottom with Alec Bohm and the center fielders, Marsh and Rojas.
Stott doubled and scored in the first inning Thursday, hit the big home run in the eighth and executed a perfect sacrifice bunt in the 10th. Over his last 20 games, he has hit .295/.349/.449, scored 15 runs and driven in 14.
"The homer tonight was another example of trying to remind myself that I don't have to cheat or guess or think along with the pitcher," Stott said. "It's not cheating to pitches as much as last year, it's just reacting. ... Just trust my eyes and try to put a good swing on it."
The Phillies are on to Cleveland and will arrive at the team hotel around 3 a.m. Friday. They'll start Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler in the series.
"You always want to win the day you travel, it makes it a lot more fun," Stott said. "You can kinda be rowdy on the bus and the plane. It's good to finally sweep one."