The Phillies used a familiar game plan on Wednesday afternoon, one that helped them grab one of their signature wins in last fall’s postseason run: Jump on Mike Clevinger early.
Sure, the right-hander lasted longer on Wednesday than when he didn’t record an out in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series with the Padres, but it was another short outing for the current White Sox starter.
Led by a first-inning home run off the bat of Trea Turner — his first as a Phillie — Philadelphia chased Clevinger after three innings in a 5-2 victory over Chicago at Guaranteed Rate Field. Turner went 3-for-5 on the day, a triple away from a cycle, as the Phillies earned a series win in the finale of a three-game set with the White Sox.
Turner hit a laser over the left-field wall in the top of the first to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. And while Andrew Vaughn responded with a two-run homer off Philadelphia’s starter Taijuan Walker, the team got right back to work against Clevinger in the second and third innings.
Brandon Marsh continued his red-hot start to the year as he homered in the second to tie the game, and the Phillies took the lead again in the third as Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single to make it 3-2.
Clevinger exited the game after the third with three runs and 75 pitches on his line, and the Phillies continued to add in his absence as Bryson Stott and Turner hit back-to-back RBI doubles off reliever Tanner Banks in the fourth.
Walker, after surrendering the first-inning homer, bounced back for the Phillies and settled in. He allowed just those two runs in 6 1/3 innings of work.
Left-hander Gregory Soto entered to finish the seventh, and Craig Kimbrel tossed a scoreless eighth for Philadelphia. José Alvarado then recorded the save to pick up a win before the Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park for a seven-game homestand, beginning Thursday night against Colorado.
Shibe Vintage Sports Notes
- Marsh (1.156) now leads the National League in OPS this season. He is behind only Toronto’s Matt Chapman for the major-league lead.
- Although his 17-game hitting streak to begin the year ended in the second half of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Stott has still recorded a hit on every single day in which the Phillies have played this season.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Thursday, April 20, vs. Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:40 p.m. Eastern
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+, MLB Network
- Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP
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