Phillies keep the bats going, Trea Turner avoids injury scare in 9-1 throttling of Twins
A seven-run fifth inning and another dominant outing from Jesús Luzardo helped the Phillies cruise to a much-needed win as the NL wild-card race heats up.
MINNEAPOLIS — In a span of 30 days, they hosted the All-Star Game followed by the Dodgers and Yankees, traded for a three-time batting champion, displaced three-fourths of the infield, and played a game in an Iowa cornfield.
And you think you’ve had a busy summer.
It’s been one thing after another for the Phillies, and the calendar isn’t slowing down. Next up: the wild-card race. So, after taking a day to catch their breath, they picked up where they left off at the Field of Dreams, with a 9-1 throttling of the Twins here Saturday night.
» READ MORE: The Phillies know what’s needed to make the playoffs. Here’s how the race for the last two spots is shaping up.
The Phillies erased a run on a play at the plate — and a well-used challenge — in the fourth inning, then scored seven runs in the fifth. Bryson Stott smashed a three-run homer; Alec Bohm set a career-high with five hits; Jesús Luzardo continued one of the best three-month rolls of any pitcher in baseball.
It would’ve been an old-fashioned knee-slapper if Trea Turner hadn’t exited in the eighth inning after fouling a pitch off his right knee. His status was being evaluated.
Jim Leyland, Dave Dombrowski’s close friend and former manager with the Tigers, always said the pennant races began on Aug. 15.
In that case, the Phillies were right on time.
With a second consecutive victory over the Twins after back-to-back losses in St. Louis, the Phillies kept pace in what’s shaping up as a three-team — and perhaps even five-team — race for two wild-card spots. The Padres lost and the Diamondbacks won, leaving them both tied with the Phillies at 66-58, an 86-win pace.
The momentum turned in the fourth inning. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Luzardo gave up two-out singles to Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee. Twins third base coach Ramon Borrego waved Keaschall home on Lee’s hit, which split the gap in left-center field and deadened in the grass.
» READ MORE: Bryson Stott adjusting to the new challenge of playing third base; Jhoan Duran makes first return to Minnesota
Derek Hill hit the cutoff man, and second baseman Luis Arraez fired a one-hopper to the plate. And after umpire Alex Tosi called Keaschall safe, J.T. Realmuto signaled to the dugout for a challenge. A replay showed he tagged Keaschall on the forearm, and the call was overturned.
Their lead intact, the Phillies teed off on Twins lefty starter Connor Prielipp an inning later. With two out and a runner on first, Turner, Bryce Harper, and Arraez drew walks to force in a run. Bohm drove in another with a single before Edmundo Sosa’s two-run single and Stott’s homer made it 8-0.
Luzardo, meanwhile, pitched into the seventh inning for the fifth consecutive start. The only blemish against him came in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis.
In his last 17 starts, Luzardo has a 2.19 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 106⅔ innings. Since May 11, he ranks second among all pitchers in ERA and innings and third in strikeouts.
Tony Gwynn Jr. is a former major league outfielder and son of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Over the last two years, he got to know new Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, whose contact skills at the plate often draw comparisons to Gwynn. Tony Jr. joined Phillies Extra to discuss his father, Arraez, and the bonds that connect them. Watch here.
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