Phillies explode in 9th inning to avenge Friday’s late loss at Coors originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
DENVER — When Trea Turner went down with a hamstring injury on May 3, who expected the Phillies’ production at shortstop to increase?
Edmundo Sosa has been a big reason why the Phils are 17-4 since the day of Turner’s injury and was the catalyst again Saturday night in a ninth-inning comeback victory.
Sosa tripled Brandon Marsh with nobody out in the top of the ninth to tie the game and scored on a Garrett Stubbs single. The Phillies didn’t stop there, scoring four more times on a three-run homer by Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos’ RBI single. They won 8-4 after trailing almost all night.
Harper scored four runs per game after being ejected in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes. This is the way he seems to react the evening after a minor argument or controversy.
Stubbs had a productive game with two hits, a stolen base, run scored and the game-winning RBI.
Sosa has wreaked havoc this month. Turner was hitting .343 when he hit the board. Sosa has since hit .367 in 16 games, with four doubles, three triples, two home runs, 11 RBI and 15 runs scored. He also narrowly missed a home run to center in the second inning, flying 450 feet to the wall.
Sosa has hit .688 since Turner’s injury and led the National League during that three-week span.
The Phillies avoided their first series loss since the second of the season. They still haven’t dropped back-to-back games since April 23-24 in Cincinnati, going 23-5.
The win went to Jose Ruiz, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning on the night after a scoreless 10th.
Aaron Nola worked, especially early, allowing some runs in the first three innings before rebounding for a quality start.
Nola started the night with two quick outs, then lost command, walked two in a row and gave up an RBI single to Brendan Rodgers. It was a 32-pitch first inning. The Phillies then went down 1-2-3 on just six pitches, forcing Nola back onto the mound after just a five-minute cooldown.
Brenton Doyle greeted Nola with a dribble down the third base line to start the bottom of the second, stole second base and scored on a groundout. The Rockies led from then until Sosa’s triple in the ninth.
Nola approached 80 pitches in the fourth inning, but recovered to get through six pitches. The line itself looked great for Coors Field – six innings, two earned runs – demonstrating the stinginess of this MLB-leading rotation even on an off night.
It was another example of a Phillies starting pitcher limiting the damage and keeping the game close until the offense finally broke through.
The Phils are 38-15 and look to win their 12th series of 15 on Sunday afternoon when undefeated Ranger Suarez (9-0, 1.36) takes on right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-3, 3.59).
