Phils walk-off in 12th inning against Giants
The Phillies received some bad news before the game started as young starting pitcher Aaron Nola was placed on the disabled list with an elbow strain that may cost him the rest of his season. Phil Klein was called up to make the start tonight in place of Nola, and he struggled early as he allowed the Giants to take a 4-0 lead. The Phillies rallied in the late innings to tie the game up at 4 and force extra innings. The Phillies (50-59) were able to outlast the Giants (61-46) in 12 innings as Maikel Franco delivered the game-winning RBI to center field to give the Phils the 5-4 come-from-behind victory.
The Giants got to Klein in the first inning as Buster Posey delivered a two-RBI single to center field to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Posey struck again in the 3rd with an RBI double, and he was scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brandon Belt to make it 4-0 Giants after 3 innings of play. The Phillies’ offense was held in check by Giants starter Johnny Cueto for the first 6 innings of the game, but the Phils got on the board in the bottom of the 7th thanks to back-to-back solo home runs by Ryan Howard and Cameron Rupp to get the Giants’ lead in half. Franco delivered his for the first time in the 8th inning when he singled home two runs to tie the game at 4. The Phillies and Giants both got runners in scoring position in extra innings, but the Phillies outlasted the Giants and Franco delivered for the second time in the game as he drove in the game-winning run in his first career walk-off.
Tonight was a spot start for Phillies starter Klein, who was called up from Lehigh Valley to start in place of Nola, and he struggled through his 5 innings of work, but he kept the Phillies in the game. Klein allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and a walk in his 5 innings on the way to earning a no-decision. The story of the game was the Phillies’ bullpen. Six Phillies relievers combined to throw 7 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and a walk. Luis Garcia picked up the win after he pitched a scoreless top of the 12th inning and laid down his first career sacrifice bunt in the bottom half of the inning. Giants starter Cueto was dominant through the first 6 innings of tonight’s game, but he allowed back-to-back homers in the 7th, and a two-RBI single in the 8th that allowed the Phils to tie the game up. Cueto did not factor in the decision, however, as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk in 7 and 2/3 innings pitched. George Kontos suffered the loss tonight for the Giants, even though Jake Peavy allowed the game-winning run to score off the bat of Franco.
The Phillies will be looking for the sweep tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies starter Vince Velasquez (8-3, 3.32 ERA) will take the mound against newly acquired southpaw Matt Moore (7-7, 4.08 ERA). Moore was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline on Monday and will be making his Giants debut tomorrow afternoon as he will be pitching against a Phillies team that is playing well and looking to sweep one of the best teams in baseball.
Photo: Arturo Padavilla III (flickr.com)
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Phillies