Game 66 - Vierling's Homers, Wathan's Gamble Pay Off

2022 Phillies Photo Cards #19

Phillies 8, Nationals 7 (Game 2 - 10 Innings)
Game 66 - Friday Night, June 17th in Washington
Record - 35-31, 3rd Place, 8 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Matt Vierling's two home runs, an obstruction call against the Nationals, head's up baseball by third base coach Dusty Wathan, and a few other lucky breaks led to this 8-7 win over the Nationals.

What It Means:  This was absolutely the kind of game the 2012-2021 Phillies would have lost, and yet the 2022 Phillies found a way to win.  I'm optimistic?

What Happened:  This was a long game with a lot of unique story lines.  The Nationals held a 5-3 lead going to the eighth inning.  Pinch-hitter Bryce Harper, who had a strike called against him on an obvious ball four, delivered a clutch two-run double a pitch later to tie the score 5-5.  Vierling hit his second home run of the game in the ninth to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead.  With Andrew Bellatti attempting to close out the game, Didi Gregorius committed a throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Nationals to tie up the game again.

In the 10th inning, and Kyle Schwarber on second base as the ghost runner, Rhys Hoskins walked.  Both runners advanced on a Nick Castellanos ground-out, and then both runners came home on a softly hit single to center by J.T. Realmuto.  Schwarber scored easily, and third base coach Wathan wisely waved Hoskins home knowing shortstop Luis Garcia would be called for obstruction.  Hoskins was out at the plate initially, but ultimately ruled safe due to the obstruction call.  Jose Alvarado recorded the final four outs of the game to earn the win.

Featured Card:  Continuing along with cards from the recently released team-issued photo card set, here's Vierling's card.  He's found his swing and his average has crept up to .232 at this point.

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