Rhys Hoskins’ single, Brad Miller’s perfect throw vault Phillies over Tigers in 15 innings

DETROIT — The trip was planned months ago, before the season started and long before anyone could have possibly known that Matthew Boyd would be starting Tuesday night for the Detroit Tigers.

“It’s a little overblown," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said before the game, "that Matt Klentak is here to scout Matthew Boyd.”

Still, it represented an opportunity.

In taking his turn as the Phillies’ designated baseball operations executive on the road here at Comerica Park, Klentak got a chance to watch a pitcher of interest who might be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline, and he had to be impressed. It wasn’t merely that Boyd went six innings or racked up eight strikeouts. It was that he stood toe-to-toe with Aaron Nola and gave the team with the worst record in baseball a chance to win.

The Tigers didn’t, of course. It took 15 innings and a game-saving play from fill-in leftfielder Brad Miller, but the Phillies finally vanquished them, 3-2, on Scott Kingery’s leadoff triple and an RBI single by Rhys Hoskins.

“Any time you play extra innings like that, you get the pitching that we did," said Hoskins, who notched his second game-winning hit in as many games, “obviously you want to win every game, but definitely good to come away with the win.”

Indeed, if the Phillies wind up making the playoffs for the first time since 2011, circle this game. They overcame striking out 18 times, a season-high, and going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They got another strong start from Nola and 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief from Nick Pivetta, a performance that manager Gabe Kapler labeled as “gutsy.”

But the biggest play came from Miller. Nick Castellanos had led off the 14th inning with a double against Juan Nicasio. Three batters later, Brandon Dixon punched a single to left field. Miller, a utility player who entered the game two innings earlier, made an accurate throw, and catcher J.T. Realmuto a perfect tag to keep the game tied at 2-2.

“I figured, shoot, what was it midnight? You’ve got to send him,” Miller said of the Tigers’ decision to send Castellanos home. “Luckily it was hit directly at me, and luckily J.T. made a hell of a tag. That was really close. But yeah, that was fun.”

Hoskins’ reaction to the play: “Wow.”

“Sitting for 12 innings, just being ready and aware in order to make that play is pretty outstanding," Hoskins said. “We don’t have another chance if he doesn’t make that throw.”

Before all of that, though, the first half of the game was a duel between Nola and Boyd.

Nola lacked his typically precise command, hitting three batters, walking one and throwing only 67 strikes out of 105 pitches. But he had a sharp curveball, a powerful sinker, and his usual ability to make pitches that got him out of jams. He got the Tigers to bounce into double plays in the second and third innings and escaped a two-on, two-out situation in the fourth when Christin Stewart grounded out.

Boyd, meanwhile, was effective with primarily a fastball-slider combination. He doesn’t throw overly hard, averaging 92 mph with his fastball and topping out at 95 against the Phillies, who took a 2-1 lead in the second inning when Roman Quinn hit his first homer since last Sept. 14 on a fastball.

The Phillies did little else against Boyd. His slider, in particular, was nasty. He got 12 swings and misses and recorded four of his strikeouts with the pitch, including two dirt-diving sliders that fooled J.T. Realmuto and Nick Williams.

“I see why he’s had the success he’s had this year,” Hoskins said. “It looked like he started to lean more heavily on the slider as the game went on. It’s a good pitch. I don’t think there’s a lot of slug on it, so I’m not surprised. He’s left-handed, he doesn’t walk guys, and he’s young. He’s got a chance to develop more into a young star in this league. Good arm.”

So why would the Tigers trade Boyd? Well, they might not.

The 28-year-old lefty is under club control for three more seasons, giving the Tigers a chance of being competitive again before he’s eligible for free agency. But if they’re able to peddle a pitcher with a 4.07 ERA this season and a 4.56 mark since 2016 for a package of major-league players and top prospects, they would be foolish not to entertain it.

It’s no secret that the Phillies must improve their starting pitching. Entering the game, their rotation ranked 17th in the majors with a 4.57 ERA and last in the National League with a 5.05 fielding independent pitching. Last weekend, they bumped Pivetta to the bullpen to make room for recently signed lefty Drew Smyly, a reclamation project two years removed from Tommy John elbow surgery. Jake Arrieta is pitching with a bone spur in his elbow. Zach Eflin says he has been feeling fatigued.

How would Boyd look in red pinstripes?

“I think he’d look great,” Hoskins said.

Klentak has eight days to figure out if there’s a way to make it happen.