Phillies Come Home, Keep Winning by One

6. 3. 6. Final. 2

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game weekend series.

The Phillies returned home to Citizens Bank Park following a 10-game road trip on which they went 5-5, with four of the five victories coming by a single run. So what did they do immediately upon returning home? The won by one run, of course.

The Phils defeated the Cincinnati Reds by a 3-2 score in what was the club’s 13th victory by a single run this season. They are now 21-15 overall, six games over the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 2011 season.

The Reds jumped in front in this one thanks to a horrendous error by Phillies rookie left fielder Tyler Goeddel in the top of the 2nd inning.

With two outs in that 2nd, and Reds runners at 1st and 3rd, Tucker Barnhart lofted a high fly down the left field line. It was a long run for Goeddel, but his speed allowed him to arrive in plenty of time. Goeddel reached up and appeared to snag the final out…and then simply dropped the ball.

“I was running toward the wall at first and then I looked up and it was more toward the line than I thought,” Goeddel said per MLB.com writers. “I changed direction a little bit, kind of took my eye off the ball when I reached for it, I guess and it hit off my glove.”

The two Reds runners came home easily on the gaffe, and Cincy had a 2-0 lead. Much to the credit of Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson, the would not let the boner get to him.

Hellickson provided the team with seven strong innings on the night, allowing just four hits while striking out a season-high nine batters and walking just one. The nine strikeouts was one short of his career high.

“I think Hellickson really did a good job,” Reds acting manager Jim Riggleman said per the MLB.com writers. “As the game went on, he got his changeup really working. We were swinging at it out of the zone. That’s the way the pitch is supposed to work. He really got sharp and he just held us down.”

The Phillies would give him some support in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and Goeddel was right in the middle of things. Two of the first three Phils batters, Carlos Ruiz and rookie Tommy Joseph, walked off Reds starter Brandon Finnegan to start the frame.

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Goeddel then lined a two-run triple down the right field line to score both and create a 2-2 tie. Hellickson followed, laying down a perfect safety squeeze on which Goeddel raced home with what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Finnegan would be gone after that 4th inning having allowed the three earned runs on four hits. More than anything, he was done in by bases on balls, having issued five walks on the night.

Both bullpens allowed nothing, but the Phillies had the lead, and so that was a game that the home side was content to play.

Hector Neris came on once again in the 8th inning, setting the Reds down in order and earning his 9th Hold, and then Jeanmar Gomez recorded his NL-leading 14th Save with the help of a game-ending 6-4-3 doubleplay ball.

The game was a big one for Joseph, called up from AAA Lehigh Valley earlier in the day and inserted into the lineup right away. He will take on the role of Darin Ruf, who was demoted in the same move, as the starting 1st baseman and the best option pinch-hitter and substitute against lefties.

“We might mix him in with some right-handers.” Phils’ skipper Pete Mackanin said per MLB.com’s Evan Webeck. “It’ll depend on how well he’s swinging the bat. In close to 100 at-bats he was hitting .370 or something like that and [Triple-A manager] Dave Brundage told me that most at-bats were quality at-bats. If he could do the same here, there’s no telling what could happen.“

Next: Opposition Roadblock: Zack Cozart

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