Pinch hitter Cristian Pache hit a two-run, go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth inning, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over the host Miami Marlins on Friday night.
It was the Phillies’ 13th consecutive road win, tying a franchise record set in 1976.
Closer A.J. Puk (4-3), who entered in the ninth trying to protect a 3-1 lead, took the loss for the Marlins, who fell to 21-6 in one-run games. Reliever Jeff Hoffman (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Former Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto homered, singled and scored half of the Phillies’ runs.
The game featured a stellar pitching matchup between Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, who won the National League Cy Young Award last year, and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, who finished second in 2021.
Neither pitcher, however, earned a decision.
Alcantara, who has struggled this season, allowed eight hits, one run and no walks over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and lowered his ERA from 4.93 to 4.72.
Wheeler allowed seven hits, three runs and no walks in six innings. Wheeler, who struck out seven, entered with a 10-4 record and a 2.37 ERA in 20 career starts against the Marlins.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, who has 19 steals in 19 attempts, was picked off first base by Alcantara in the opening inning. However, that does not count as a caught-stealing since Turner was moving back toward first base.
Turner’s night didn’t get better from there. In the third, he grounded out, stranding a runner at second. He stranded two more runners in the fifth, grounding out again. Turner ended his ledger by lining out to center in the eighth.
Miami opened the scoring in the second as Jean Segura’s single and Joey Wendle’s double set up the rally. Jacob Stallings got an RBI on an infield single, then Dane Myers then made it 2-0 when the Phillies failed to convert his comebacker into a double play.
The Marlins extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth as Garrett Cooper went with an outside fastball and hammered the pitch 367 feet for an opposite-field homer to right.
Philadelphia cut its deficit to 3-1 in the sixth as Realmuto pulled his homer to left, hooking the ball just inside the pole. He hit a 1-1 changeup that was up.
Realmuto led off the ninth with a single, advancing on a Puk wild pitch and scoring on Alec Bohm’s one-out double to left. Puk struck out Josh Harrison, but Pache hit a low 0-1 slider 397 feet to center — just barely over the fence.
Craig Kimbrel then pitched a scoreless ninth, earning his 14th save.
–Field Level Media
