The Philadelphia Phillies had dropped five straight and nine of their last 10 games heading into Monday night. The mojo that kickstarted their early-season winning has receded, and the Phillies now find themselves in a bit of a free-fall before reaching the half-way point of the season. Turning it around has been somewhat of a specialty for the Phillies, and they showed that by collecting 16 hits and a 4-3 walk-off win in extra innings against the Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies had their work cut out for them by taking on an early National League powerhouse, but had all the help they needed to climb their way back into the win column, backed by having ace Zack Wheeler on the mound again. The stars weren't the usual suspects, but certainly did their part to bring the Phillies their second win in the month of June.
Phillies' walk-off win fueled by Otto Kemp, J.T. Realmuto, Brandon Marsh and ... bunts?
Bryce Harper missing from the lineup means others need to step up, and that's exactly what happened. Otto Kemp got the call-up from the minors after Harper went on the IL and has manned third base while Alec Bohm moved to first base.
In just his third MLB game and first ever at Citizens Bank Park, Kemp went 3-for-5 and scored the Phillies' first run of the game, per Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. His first hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning on a first-pitch fastball and drove into left-center field at a sizzling 105.9 mph. He also laid down a beautiful bunt in the 11th inning to load the bases.
First Major League hit for Otto Kemp! pic.twitter.com/7iEErsgLyI
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 9, 2025
Catcher J.T. Realmuto has been painful to watch in the batter's box this year. Coming into Monday, he was batting .223 with a ground ball rate of 45.6 percent, but that didn't stop him from delivering a two-hit, two-RBI night and tying the game up at three in the bottom half of the 11th inning.
Atta way, J.T.! pic.twitter.com/cEeXhxUhkR
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 10, 2025
Outfielder Brandon Marsh was also batting .216 coming into Monday and possibly had the worst start of the bunch, going hitless in 29 at-bats in April, but followed it up with a .298 average in May.
Marsh came in to pinch hit for Weston Wilson in the bottom of the seventh and collected two hits in three at-bats, including the walk-off hit. Marsh has been an after-thought at times with his continuous struggles at the plate, but his contributions proved monumental in securing the Phillies a much-needed win.
BARK BARK BARK pic.twitter.com/XByfIgUqk1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 10, 2025
The Phillies have had to scrape out some wins, with five of their last seven wins being decided by two runs or fewer. They were down again late, but four straight knocks, capped by Marsh's first walk-off hit of his life, as reported by The Athletic's Matt Gelb, got them the needed two runs to send the boys home happy.
The Phillies sit now at 38-28 on the season and four games behind the New York Mets in the NL East. They've dropped some games of late, but Tuesday could see the Phillies secure not only this series win, but the season series against the Cubs. It's the small-ball wins like this that can re-unite a ball club, per MLB.com's Paul Casella. It's just one win in the standings, but could prove much more valuable if this turns out to be a pivot point for them moving forward.