USATSI_18879079 — © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Phillies Trounce Cincinnati Reds to Earn 10,000th Franchise Victory

The Philadelphia Phillies' bats came alive on Tuesday night, smacking five homers and eighteen hits in a commanding victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Aug 17, 2022 10:37 AM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

Tuesday evening marked a big moment for the Philadelphia Phillies. As the 2022 team cruised to an 11-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, the Phillies collected their 10,000th win in franchise history.

While it certainly would have been nice if the club reached that milestone a long time ago, Tuesday’s night victory was nevertheless a fun and exciting way to collect such a momentous win.

Things started off well, as Kyle Gibson looked sharp to start the game. Over the first two innings, he struck out five of the first six Reds batters he faced.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia got the offense going in the top of the third. Darick Hall crushed a two-out, two-strike solo home run to give the Phillies the lead and finally end their six-game homerless streak.

A few pitches later, Nick Castellanos followed that up with a towering solo shot of his own, putting Philadelphia up 2-0.

Unfortunately, Gibson wasn’t looking quite as sharp in inning number three, and he gave those runs back on a two-out, two-strike home run of his own. This one was a two-run shot off the bat of Jake Fraley, and the game was tied.

On the very next pitch, Jonathan India smacked another home run to give the Reds a 3-2 lead. To make matters worse, Brandon Marsh landed awkwardly on his left leg after trying to rob the homer and had to come out of the game.

With Kyle Schwarber still nursing a calf strain, Rob Thomson had no choice but to move Matt Vierling to center and send Nick Maton out for his first big league appearance in left field. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but the team is lucky that Maton is such an athletic and versatile player allowing him to handle left field for a game or two.

After Joey Votto grounded out to finally end the highly eventful third inning, Maton stepped up to bat in the top of the fourth and laced a base hit to center field. Vierling reached on an infield single, and with two outs and two men on, Rhys Hoskins stepped to the plate.

Hoskins proceeded to hit his 25th home run of the year, driving in Maton and Vierling to give Philadelphia back the lead.

Gibson came back out for the bottom of the fourth and shook off the dust from his poor third inning. He retired the side, adding two more strikeouts to his tally for the night.

Castellanos led off the fifth inning with a double, his second extra-base hit of the contest. Jean Segura legged out an infield single to put runners on first and second with no outs, and that would mark the end of Reds starter T.J. Zeuch's night.

Ross Detwiler came in and walked Garrett Stubbs, loading the bases. Vierling came up and hit a strong line drive to right center that unfortunately found the glove of a diving Albert Almora. Thankfully, Castellanos was quick to tag up and still managed to score on the play. The Phillies took a 6-3 lead.

Gibson continued to dominate Cincinnati's lineup in the bottom of the fifth, adding three more strikeouts to his tally. That brought his total for the day up to 11, which tied his career high.

Both teams went down quietly in the sixth inning, and the highlight of the frame was Maton's inning-ending diving catch out in left. The infielder looked very pleased with himself as he jogged back to the dugout.

Connor Brogdon came in to pitch the seventh and handily retired the side on just nine pitches. It looked like the Phillies lead was going to hold.

Just in case though, Rhys Hoskins clubbed his second home run of the night in the top of eighth, an absolute bomb to straightaway center. Stubbs, who bunted himself aboard to open the inning, came around to score.

Philadelphia took a commanding 8-3 lead, and they weren't done either. Castellanos led off the ninth with another double, his third extra-base knock of the game. Clearly, he enjoyed returning to his old stomping ground in Cincinnati.

Segura followed up with his third hit of the night, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Then Stubbs came to the plate, and the backup catcher knocked a home run over the right field fence, making it an 11-3 ballgame.

Nick Nelson pitched the ninth and ran into a little trouble, giving one run back to the Reds, but he ultimately got the three outs he needed to seal the deal.

The Phillies beat the Reds 11-4, earning the 10,000th victory in franchise victory.

It was a nice way to win such an important game, as Philadelphia outplayed Cincinnati on both sides of the ball. The offense was on fire, Kyle Gibson made a quality start, and the bullpen pitched three solid innings to close out the victory.

The Phillies are now 14 games above .500 and 1.5 games ahead of the Padres in the Wild Card race. They'll take on the Reds one more time on Wednesday afternoon in hopes of securing a series sweep.