Phillies 7, Dodgers 6: Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins lead rally and Phillies' split vs. best team in baseball

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Would you take a split against the best team in baseball?

Sure, you would.

The Phillies got one against the Dodgers.

They rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the finale of the four-game series against the Dodgers, 7-6, Thursday afternoon at rainy, muggy Citizens Bank Park.

The fans have not given up on the Phillies. A crowd of 38,043 sat through a lot of rain and showed the team a lot of support.

Starter Aaron Nola struggled, but the bats and bullpen bailed him out. Phillies pitching gave up four homers, but survived.

The Phils are 50-47.

Decisive rally

The Phillies trailed, 5-3, entering the seventh inning. Their four-run rally started when Dodgers’ reliever Caleb Ferguson hit a batter and walked a batter with no outs. Jean Segura then drove in a run with a one-out single against Dylan Floro. The Dodgers went to right-hander Joe Kelly and he allowed a game-tying RBI single to Bryce Harper and a two-run single to Rhys Hoskins as the Phillies took the lead.

(Mostly) strong relief

The Phillies’ bullpen allowed two runs in four innings. Rookie Ranger Suarez continued to open eyes. Adam Morgan delivered in the eighth and Hector Neris survived a ninth-inning homer for the save.

Big series for Bryce

Harper, who entered the game hitting .303 over his previous 21 games, singled, doubled and had a sacrifice fly.

He had a very nice series with three two-hit games. He had three doubles and drove in seven runs.

He needs to keep producing big if the Phillies have any chance at the postseason.

Nola’s day

The right-hander was not nearly as good as he’d been over the previous month. He struggled with his command of the strike zone and was hit hard. He gave up five hits and four runs over five innings. It was his shortest outing since June 15 at Atlanta.

Four of the five hits that Nola gave up were for extra bases, including three homers. Matt Beaty and Kike Hernandez hit back-to-back shots in the second and Hernandez smacked a two-run homer that barely cleared the leftfield wall in the fourth as the Dodgers took a 4-3 lead.

Nola had a given up just two homers in his previous five starts. He had allowed just three earned over 35 2/3 innings over that span.

Big defense

The Phillies made a couple of important defensive gems early in the game.

Hoskins, playing in tight with runners on the corners and two outs in the third inning, made a brilliant reaction play on a scorcher off the bat of Cody Bellinger to get Nola out of trouble.

An inning later, centerfielder Scott Kingery made a long run and leaping grab at the wall in right-center to take away extra bases from Austin Barnes.

Transactions

The Phillies added a pair of relievers, Cole Irvin and Fernando Salas, from Triple A before the game. Relievers Austin Davis and Edgar Garcia were sent back to Triple A.

Up next

The Phils begin a three-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Friday night. Jake Arrieta (8-7, 4.54) pitches the opener against right-hander Jordan Lyles (5-6, 5.16).

Zach Eflin (7-9, 4.16) opposes RHP Trevor Williams (3-3, 5.17) on Saturday night.

Vince Velasquez (2-5, 4.87) faces RHP Joe Musgrove (6-8, 4.31) in the series finale Sunday afternoon.

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