Saturday, October 1, 2022

Game 156 - Phillies Scratch Out Win Before the Rain

2022 Topps Now #668
Phillies 5
, Nationals 1
Game 156 - Friday Afternoon, September 30th in Washington
Record - 84-72, 3rd Place, 13 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies snapped their ill-timed five-game losing streak with a few manufactured runs, clutch hitting from Rhys Hoskins and a gutsy pitching performance from Bailey Falter.

What It Means:  With the remnants of Hurricane Ian making its way up the coast, the Phillies and Nationals planned to play a double header on Friday.  Only one game was played before rain forced the postponement of the second game.

What Happened:  Falter pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits and walking two while striking out six.  He delivered a huge start and turned the game over to Zach Eflin, Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez to secure the win.  Dominguez loaded in the bases in the ninth before thankfully inducing a game-ending ground out from pinch-hitter Cesar Hernandez.

Hoskins set the tone with a solo home run in the first, his 30th of the year.  Jean Segura and Hoskins would later add RBI singles.  J.T. Realmuto had a pair of hits and stole his 20th base of the season, joining Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez as the only catchers in MLB history with a 20 home run/20 stolen base season.  Realmuto also threw out a pair of Nationals baserunners attempting steals.

Featured Card:  As impressive as Realmuto's day was, the Hoskins home run let everyone take a deep breath and enjoy a lead in a game for the first time in a long time.

Transaction:  Darick Hall (1b) was recalled (finally) from Lehigh Valley and Yairo Munoz (inf) was optioned.  Cristopher Sanchez (lhp) was added as the 29th man for the double header.

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