The Philadelphia Phillies rallied on Tuesday night for a victory over the host Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Phillies came from behind in the top of the 9th inning against Arizona closer Brad Ziegler, scoring two runs to pull out a 4-3 victory at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Dbacks carried a 3-2 lead into the 9th largely thanks to the longball. Yasmany Tomas cranked a solo homer in the bottom of the 6th off Phils’ starter Jerad Eickhoff to tie the game at 2-2, and then Jake Lamb‘s solo homer in the bottom of the 7th off former Arizona reliever David Hernandez put the Snakes on top.
Eickhoff had given himself the lead way back in the top of the 2nd inning when he slung a first-pitch offering from Arizona starting pitcher Zack Greinke into right field for an RBI single, driving in Freddy Galvis to make it 1-0.
It was not a particularly strong outing for the Phillies right-hander, but he managed to get out of the trouble that he was working into most of the night. Eickhoff went five innings, allowing seven hits and walking three, with a half-dozen strikeouts. He tossed 62 strikes in over the 105-pitch effort.
“I didn’t obviously go as deep as I’d like,” Eickhoff said per Philly.com’s Matt Gelb. “It was just a battle. They were taking good pitches.”
Greinke would get the game tied in the bottom of the inning, lifting a one-out sac fly that scored Lamb to even the affair at 1-1.
It would prove a short night for Greinke, who lasted just two innings and allowed one run on four hits before being pulled from the mound when he simply could not get loose for the top of the 3rd frame.
After a quick trip into the trainer’s room and a mound consultation with manager Chip Hale, the Dbacks skipper decided it was better safe than sorry with their massive financial investment, and pulled the righty early.
In the top of the 5th, the Phillies regained the lead on a two-out solo home run off the bat of Maikel Franco. It was a team-leading 13th round-tripper for the young 3rd baseman, and put the Phils up by a 2-1 score.
After the two home runs described earlier had pushed Arizona in front by 3-2, the game moved into the top of the 9th, and what would prove the decisive sequence for the visitors.
Phils’ manager Pete Mackanin sent up pinch-hitter Jimmy Paredes to bat for reliever Hector Neris (2-3), who had thrown a scoreless 8th inning. Paredes rapped a double to left, and the Phillies immediately had the tying run in scoring position.
Andres Blanco then wasted no time in getting it tied, grounding a base hit to right field to score Paredes and knot it up at 2-2. When Odubel Herrera followed with a single of his own, Blanco rolled all the way around to 3rd base, where he stood 90 feet away as the go-ahead run.
After a visit to the mound, Ziegler walked the white-hot Peter Bourjos, who had entered the night hitting .519 on a 14-27 stretch over 30 plate appearances covering the last seven games.
For a moment, it seemed the right move, as Ziegler then struck out Franco swinging. But Ryan Howard then stepped in, working a bases-loaded RBI walk on a full count pitch. The disciplined at-bat by the veteran 1st baseman scored Blanco with the run that gave the Phillies the 3-2 lead.
“I’m sure would have preferred to hit a grand slam to win the game, but I’m sure he’s happy with getting that run across with a walk,” Mackanin said per MLB.com contributors. “He battled.”
Unfortunately it was all the club could muster, as Howard’s fellow 2008 World Series alum Carlos Ruiz grounded into a 6-3 doubleplay.
In the bottom of the 9th, Jeanmar Gomez came on and registered his 21st Save of the season by setting the Diamondbacks down in order on an easy fly out and a pair of easy grounders.
The Phils clinched their first series victory of Junes with the win, and will now go for a sweep of the series in the Wednesday afternoon finale, trying to avenge a sweep at the hands of the Dbacks just a week and a half ago in Philly.
The finale will also wrap up a long road trip, with the Phillies returning home on Friday night to Citizens Bank Park where they will welcome in the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals for the weekend.