They were without their top three right-handed hitters, were facing the pitcher with the lowest ERA in baseball, and it still didn’t matter to the Phillies on Tuesday night.
They just wipe out the teams.
The Phils went 10-1 again for the seventh straight time and 11th out of 12.
They continue to dominate early in games. Bryce Harper scored the first run after singled in the bottom of the first inning and raced around the bases on a Nick Castellanos double. Cody Clemens, using the bat of Harper, hit a two-run blast in the second inning to extend the lead.
“We have a lot of good guys,” pitcher Christopher Sanchez said. “Everyone on the bench is in good shape. We have two lineups in our team.”
The Phillies have outscored their opponents 45-10 in the first two innings of their last 20 games.
That wasn’t done there against Jose Berrios, who entered with a 1.44 ERA. The Phillies scored five more in the bottom of the fourth on Clemens’ RBI triple and Harper’s grand slam. Those were the only two hits of the inning as Berrios struck out Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber and walked Garrett Stubbs.
“We knew he was having a great year,” Harper said. “That slider is his pitch. We just tried to get it off (the plate) and tried to stay on things that weren’t coming at us or getting away from us. I thought we had a really good plan.”
Over his final 18 games, Harper has hit .344/.481/.656 with six home runs, 21 RBI, 18 walks, and 16 strikeouts. The Phillies are 17-1 in those games.
Harper and Clemens drove in nine of the 10 runs. Clemens was called up when Trea Turner went on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He started at third base for Alec Bohm, who spent the night out after his 18-game hitting streak was snapped Monday.
“He’s a lover,” Harper said of Clemens. “Anytime he gets here, he’s just another ballplayer that comes in and plays the game. He’s fun to watch. He’s got professional at-bats. To be able to get up and down and up again and do what he does.” Same mentality.
“He had a great spring, and he probably could have gotten any team out of camp. He just got the short end of the stick, and then he came in and did what he did in Cincinnati, and then tonight. It’s pretty impressive. He comes from a pro family so I think that helps, too.” “
Sanchez bounced back after two straight shaky starts, holding the Blue Jays to one run over seven innings with five strikeouts and 12 RBIs. He threw 89 pitches over his seven innings and lowered his ERA to 3.22.
The Phillies had a plan in place after Sanchez to use Spencer Turnbull, who pitched two scoreless innings in his first appearance since his rookie year in 2018.
“Sanchi was exceptional and effective,” said head coach Rob Thompson. “Really, going into the game, we were kind of thinking five and then going to Paul, but he was so effective and so good that we kept stretching him.”
Thompson said Turnbull’s off-the-field usage will depend on how long he spends those looks of relief. He won’t play in back-to-back games because he never does. Thompson said Tuesday he believes Turnbull will need one day off when playing one inning, two days off when playing two innings and four full days between appearances if he piggybacks and goes for three or more innings.
The Phillies and Blue Jays close out their series on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m., with Aaron Nola (4-1, 3.32) facing veteran right-hander Chris Bassett (2-5, 5.45). A win would give the Phils their fifth sweep in the last seven series.
Only six of the Phillies’ first 38 games have been against NL East teams but they have a 10-game winning streak after Thursday, starting with three at Marlins Park.
“Student. Incurable problem solver. Amateur baconaholic. Introvert. Infuriatingly humble music fanatic.”