MILWAUKEE — Just when you thought the Phillies had run out of ninth-inning magic, or that they left Rob Thomson’s pixie dust at home, they recorded their most improbable victory of the season against the most unhittable closer in baseball.
Down to their last three outs Tuesday night, trailing by one run after leaving a small army of runners on base, and facing Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader, the Phillies were powered by solo home runs from Alec Bohm and just-promoted Matt Vierling, then held on as struggling closer Corey Knebel white-knuckled his way through the bottom of the ninth in a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at American Family Field.
Make it five consecutive victories, the last four coming after president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski fired Joe Girardi and replaced him with Thomson. It’s the Phillies’ longest winning streak of the season. Thomson is also the first Phillies manager to go 4-0 in his first four games since Dallas Green, who took over for Danny Ozark midway through the 1979 season.
The latest victory came at the expense of Hader, who was 18-for-18 in save opportunities and hadn’t given up a home run this season. Oh, but that isn’t all. The Phillies snapped Hader’s streak of 40 consecutive scoreless appearances, tied with Houston Astros closer Ryan Pressly for the all-time major-league record.
Once again, it was two young, homegrown players who lifted the Phillies to a rousing win.
Two days after rookie infielder Bryson Stott’s three-run walk-off homer sent Citizens Bank Park into a state of delirium, Bohm connected on a 96 mph sinker and drove it over the fence in left-center field to tie the game. It was his first home run since May 21 and only his second since April 28.
Vierling got called up from triple A earlier in the day to give the Phillies an extra player on the bench. Thomson resisted the urge to send him to the plate for lefty-swinging Mickey Moniak in the sixth inning against nasty lefty reliever Hoby Milner, a decision that paid off when Moniak’s turn to bat came up against Hader. Up stepped Vierling, who fouled off a two-strike sinker, waited for a slider, and hit it out to left-center, his first homer since Oct. 1 of last year.
Knebel made things interesting yet again. He issued a leadoff walk to Andrew McCutchen and back-to-back two-out walks to Victor Caratini and pinch-hitting Jace Peterson. But Pablo Reyes couldn’t hold up on a 95 mph fastball, and the threat was ended.
Until the ninth inning, it had been a frustrating night for the Phillies, who scored 32 runs in their previous four games. They were held to only one run on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper in the third inning. Otherwise, they left seven runners on base through five innings, wasting one opportunity after another against Brewers rookie starter Jason Alexander.
In the first inning, the Phillies had two on and nobody out. They didn’t score. In the second, they had a runner on third and one out. They didn’t score. In the fifth, they loaded the bases with one out. They didn’t score, as J.T. Realmuto smoked a ball to third base that the Brewers turned for a double play.
Leading 2-1, the Brewers pulled Alexander after five innings and passed the baton from Milner to Brad Boxberger to Devin Williams and finally to Hader. The outcome hardly seemed to be in doubt.
But Thomson’s Phillies haven’t run out of magic yet.
Stung by the shift
Ranger Suárez got back on track after three consecutive poor starts. In particular, the lefty exhibited improved command and increased efficiency, working into the seventh inning for only the second time in 11 starts.
But both Brewers runs were aided by hits that beat the Phillies’ defensive shift.
In the first inning, lefty-hitting Christian Yelich reached on a grounder to the uncovered left side of the infield, then scored all the way from first base on McCutchen’s double down the left-field line. In the fourth, Yelich did it again, stroking a leadoff single through the left side. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later on Rowdy Tellez’s two-out double to left field on a hanging sinker.
Didi looks sharp
Making his first start since May 4, shortstop Didi Gregorius reached base three times.
Gregorius drove a one-out triple off center fielder Tyrone Taylor’s glove in the second inning. He reached on an error by Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura in the fourth inning and drew an eight-pitch leadoff walk in the sixth.
