Final Score: Phillies 14, Reds 3
Yesterday afternoon, the Phillies’ offense left a lot to be desired, as they were shut out for the first time in 2023. The pitching was just as bad as the offense, and with the game seemingly out of reach in the bottom of the eighth inning, utility man Josh Harrison came on to pitch.
What a difference a day can make.
Philadelphia had to wait a little longer than anticipated to take the field today to redeem themselves after Saturday’s 13-0 blowout loss. Rain moved into the Cincinnati area prior to the scheduled 1:40 p.m. ET start time — delaying the start of this afternoon’s contest nearly 45 minutes.
Once things got underway around 2:25 p.m. ET, the Phillies bats woke up in a big way and put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the first inning against Reds starting pitcher Luis Cessa.
Bryson Stott started things off with his first home run of the year on the second pitch of the game from Cessa:
The home run extended Stott’s hitting streak to 16 games. The former first-round pick’s 16-game hitting streak is now tied with Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones’ hitting streak from 1950 for the longest such streak to start a season in Phillies history in the modern era.
Trea Turner followed Stott’s homer with an infield single. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos then walked in back to back plate appearances to load the bases. With three runners on and no outs, Brandon Marsh singled Turner home to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
One out, one run and three batters later, Jake Cave stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Cave lined a ball into the left-center field gap to bring all three baserunners home to extend the lead to 6-0:
Three more runs would score in the inning for the Phillies. Altogether, they sent 13 men to the plate, tallied eight hits and scored nine runs in the opening frame.
Cave, Turner, Marsh, and Alec Bohm were at the forefront of Philadelphia’s offense today.
Cave ended the day 2-for-6 with a single, double and 4 RBIs. Turner went 3-for-3 with three singles, two walks, an RBI and three runs.
One of the veteran shortstop’s runs came on a heads-up play in the third inning where he not only showed off his speed, but his “sweet slide” — as play-by-play man Tom McCarthy put it — as well:
As for Philadelphia’s young center fielder and corner infielder, Marsh went 4-for-6 with a double, an RBI and three runs. Bohm — who extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single in the first — had two singles and a double in six at-bats with an RBI. He also scored two runs.
Aaron Nola also took an encouraging step in the right direction in his fourth start of the season. The veteran right-hander entered play with a 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 innings pitched so far in 2023. Nola’s performance today — allowing two earned runs (three overall) on five hits in six innings pitched — lowered his ERA to 5.91.
Shibe Vintage Sports Notes
- Before scoring nine runs in the first inning today, the Phillies had only scored four first inning runs all season.
- According to Phillies Notes, the nine runs scored by Philadelphia in the opening inning today is the most they’ve scored in an inning since April 16, 2019 against the New York Mets when they scored 10 runs.
- The Phillies will finish the year with a 4-3 record against the Reds as they don’t play Cincinnati again until next season.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Monday, April 17 vs. Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field
- 7:10 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and MLB Network (available out of market only)
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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