MIAMI — Marlins starter Sandy Alcántara has been nearly unhittable this season, and in the first few innings of Friday’s game, it seemed as if he might throw a no-hitter or even a perfect game. The Phillies didn’t reach base until the top of the fifth inning, when J.T. Realmuto hit a line-drive single to right field.
They kept working their at-bats, and in the seventh inning, the dam finally broke (or, at the very least, it started to leak). Rhys Hoskins got on base with a one-out walk. Nick Castellanos moved him to second with a single to right field. And then power-hitting rookie Darick Hall crushed a double to left field that just bounced fair to drive home Hoskins.
Castellanos came running toward home after Hoskins but was tagged out at the plate. But Realmuto followed with a double to drive in Hall and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead over the Marlins that proved just enough to earn a badly-needed win. The Phillies snapped a four-game losing streak.
Alcántara entered his start with a 1.73 ERA and only three losses. Besides being dominant, he is also a workhorse; entering Friday, he led baseball with 130 1/3 innings pitched. The Phillies knew that they’d have face him for seven or eight innings — or more — so the fact that they were able to muster enough offense for a win was impressive.
It didn’t come easy. The Phillies recorded only five hits with three walks on Friday, but it seemed less of a reflection of their recent offensive woes than of Alcántara’s hot streak.
Good start for Gibson
Like Alcántara, Phillies starter Kyle Gibson was sharp. He didn’t pitch as deep as Alcántara, but he earned the win, allowing four hits, one earned run, one walk, and striking out five over six innings. It was easily one of his best starts of the season.
After a historically bad start against the Cardinals on July 2 in which he gave up four straight home runs, Gibson has bounced back well in his last two starts. On July 9, he allowed only two hits over seven innings of work.
Interim manager Rob Thomson said before Friday’s game that Gibson looks like a different pitcher. He’s locating his pitches better, keeping the ball down, inducing soft contact, and, most importantly, throwing strikes.
Phillies bullpen dominant
With a narrow one-run lead to protect, Thomson deployed his best relievers to face the Marlins after Gibson exited the game. They did their job. José Alvarado entered the game in the seventh inning and struck out the side (while hitting triple digits multiple times, including a sinker that touched 102 mph).
Brad Hand came in for the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless frame, allowing no hits while striking out one. Seranthony Domínguez walked three batters but narrowly earned the save with a force out at home plate and a strikeout of Miguel Rojas to end the game.
