Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Take Series Against Marlins on Heels of Big Nights From Realmuto and Harper

The Philadelphia Phillies took another series from the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night thanks to big swings from Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto.
Kade Kistner|
Philadelphia Phillies Take Series Against Marlins on Heels of Big Nights From Realmuto and Harper
Philadelphia Phillies Take Series Against Marlins on Heels of Big Nights From Realmuto and Harper

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies came out victorious again on Wednesday night, their fifth win in a row, when they defeated the Miami Marlins, 6-1. They now sit 2.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres and 4.5 ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, both of which they hold the tie breakers over. 

Almost all of the Phillies' offensive output can be attributed to the long ball. Bryce Harper hit his 17th of the year in the sixth inning, a solo shot to help tie the ball game at 1-1. It also marked the 100th homer of his Phillies' career.

Immediately following Harper's laser, catcher J.T. Realmuto decided to launch one of his own, the first of two on the evening, to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. 

Those back-to-back shots were all the offense needed to get going as Jean Segura added another run in the sixth off of a double that scored Bryson Stott to make it a 3-1 lead.

As the seventh rolled around, the Best Catcher in Baseball did it again as he made it a 6-1 ball game with one swing of his bat as he belted his second home run of the night into right field: a three-run shot.

Of course, the Phillies were aided in their victory by their pitching staff led by starter Kyle Gibson. Gibson was shaky to start the game when he gave up a run in the first inning, but settled in nicely to pitch six innings and strike out seven. 

Brad Hand took over in the seventh inning, and despite giving up two hits, was able to prevent the Marlins from scoring.

Zach Eflin then took the eighth inning, his first appearance in nearly three months, and pitched a clean 1-2-3 inning in which he only needed 11 pitches. It was a good sign from Eflin that he is healthy, capable of pitching at the Major League level, and is ready to be a significant contributor to the bullpen.

Connor Brogdon then took the mound for the ninth and struck out two of the three batters he faced to end the game and give the Phillies the series win.

Philadelphia will aim for the sweep on Thursday night as Noah Syndergaard (9-9, 4.09 ERA) is slated to take on Pablo López (8-10, 4.04 ERA) with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EST. 

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

  1. Phillies Star Bryce Harper Doesn't Hold Back on Thoughts About Joe Girardi
  2. How Mike Trout Will Join the Phillies
  3. Could Bryce Harper's Favorite MLB Player Join the Philadelphia Phillies Next Season?
  4. Why You Should Root for the Philadelphia Phillies to Lose a Few Games
  5. Phillies Release 2023 Regular Season Schedule
  6. Have the Philadelphia Phillies Found Their Centerfielder of the Future?
  7. Could The Phillies Soon Be Playing in Wawa Park?
  8. How did Philadelphia end up with Citizens Bank Park?
  9. How the Phillie Phanatic Came to be America's Favorite Sports Mascot
  10. Picking the Phillies' All-Time Single Season Lineup

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Kade Kistner
KADE KISTNER

Kade Kistner is the publisher and beat writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. An alumnus of Tulane University, Kade graduated in 2017 with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Kade commissioned into the United States Navy and attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fl. He served as a Naval Aviator and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl.  During his time in school and the Navy, Kade began covering the MLB and NFL with USA Today, SB Nation, and Sports Illustrated.  Kade covered the New Orleans Saints, Texas Rangers, and numerous other teams within the Sports Illustrated network before launching Inside the Phillies, Inside the Astros, and Inside the Cubs. You can follow him on Twitter at @KadeKistner, or if you have any questions or comments he can be reached via email at kwkistner@gmail.com.

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