In this day and age of not scoring runs, the Phillies erupting for 10 actual, honest to goodness runs actually feels something akin to bountiful. The wind was blowing in, which in Chicago terms usually means a low scoring affair. Instead the Phillies were able to jump on Ben Brown (former Phillies prospect) and score a bunch of runs, even accomplishing the rare add on runs scored.
It was a good day.
For the first three innings, it felt as though a pitcher’s duel was shaping up between Brown and Jesus Luzardo. On a national broadcast, Luzardo was generating a lot of buzz, deservedly so. He was magnificent. Brown was doing his best to match him, but in the fourth, the Phillies were able to break through. Kyle Schwarber was hit by a pitch to start thing, then made it to third on back to back singles by Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto, loading the bases. Max Kepler and Alec Bohm followed with singles, keeping the parade moving and putting the Phillies up 2-0. John Rojas hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0, Bryson Stott has his own RBI single to make it 4-0, then to cap it all off, Bryce Harper hit a two run double to end the rally and make the score 6-0.
This is literally the stuff dreams are made of.
Luzardo looked as though he would make it stick, but in the fifth, a two out error by Trea Turner allowed the Cubs to keep alive, then a single, a walk and a single by Seiya Suzuki gave Chicago some life.
Luzardo got out of that and added another inning of work to cap another stellar outing for the southpaw.
The Phillies tacked on a few more runs, Turner atoning for his error with an RBI single and a two RBI double by Schwarber. Kepler homered in the seventh to give the team their tenth run, an impressive shot considering the elements.
The Cubs were able to scratch out two more runs off of a shaky Matt Strahm, but the rest of the team’s bullpen shut things down, giving the Phillies a much needed victory.
Seeing the offense come alive was a sight for sore eyes, particularly given the struggles of the past few games. It would be nice if a few players got hot, something we can hope happens tomorrow in the rubber match on Sunday Night Baseball.
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