Bryson Stott singled home Brandon Marsh with one out to cap a stunning three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, Saturday.
Andrew Vasquez (1-0) allowed one run on one hit in the ninth inning before earning the win for the Phillies, who won their sixth straight at home against Cincinnati while defeating the Reds for the eighth time in the last nine games overall between the teams.
The Reds wasted a stellar outing from starter Nick Lodolo, who struck out a career-high 12 over seven scoreless innings. He limited the Phillies to three hits in an overpowering performance that had many Phillies batters swinging and missing at the lefty’s sharp breaking ball — including Josh Harrison, who swung at strike three to end the second despite being hit with the pitch.
Spencer Steer homered while Jake Fraley added a sacrifice fly for the Reds, who lost their third straight in manager David Bell’s return to the dugout after missing Friday with a minor surgical procedure.
Reliever Alexis Diaz (0-1) was dominant in the eighth, striking out the side while facing the top of the Philadelphia order. However, Diaz lost command in the ninth, walking Nick Castellanos before Alec Bohm singled.
Marsh singled home Castellanos before Ian Gibaut replaced Diaz with no outs. Edmundo Sosa drove the first Gibaut pitch to center for a sacrifice fly that tied the game.
After successfully challenging a critical call in the third, Cincinnati appeared poised for the win, especially once Fraley added a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.
The Reds took a 1-0 lead when Steer — the second batter of the game — capitalized on a hanging breaking ball from Bailey Falter and launched it 438 feet to the batter’s eye shrubs beyond the center field fence.
Following Stuart Fairchild’s leadoff single in the second, Falter retired the final 12 batters he faced before getting pulled after five innings. Falter allowed only the one run on four hits, striking out two and walking none.
After a fielding error by Lodolo on a Cristian Pache bunt and a passed ball charged to Reds catcher Curt Casali, the Phillies thought they had tied it in the third when Kyle Schwarber’s grounder to third was fielded by Spencer Steer and Pache was ruled safe, allowing Stott to score.
But after a Cincinnati challenge and a six-minute replay review, the call was overturned as Pache was called out on a tag by Steer before Stott crossed home plate for the third out, ending the inning.
–Field Level Media
