CHICAGO — The Phillies haven’t had a player hit for the cycle since June 28, 2004, when David Bell did it at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies were playing the Montreal Expos that day, a team that has since relocated to Washington D.C. It’s been a while.
It seemed like Bell’s streak would end on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Trea Turner, snapping an 0-for-8 skid in Tuesday’s doubleheader, went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, but fell a triple shy of the cycle. He hit his first home run as a Phillie in the first inning off White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger.
The Phillies bounced back from a one-hit performance in a 3-0 loss in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Tuesday with nine hits in a 5-2 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday. They won two of three games in the series and head home to play the Rockies on Thursday night with an 8-11 record.
Marsh’s hot streak continues
Brandon Marsh went 2 for 4, hitting a single and an opposite-field home run to tie the game 2-2 in the second inning. It was Marsh’s third home run of the season. He’s now batting .370 with a .759 slugging percentage and a 1.156 OPS — both of which are the second-best in baseball.
A good outing from Walker
Like Bailey Falter on Tuesday, Taijuan Walker gave the Phillies length on Wednesday with 6 1/3 innings. After allowing a two-run home run to Andrew Vaughn in the first inning, Walker allowed just three singles and two walks through his next 5 1/3 innings.
Walker said in spring training that he’d like to give the Phillies 180 innings this year. To do that, he’s been trying to be more efficient, mainly in how he uses certain pitches in spots. He showed glimpses of that efficiency on Wednesday. Walker needed just nine pitches to get through the sixth inning, and seven to get through the fifth.
