Phillies rally from five-run deficit to complete series sweep of Twins
Sunday's 7-5 victory over the Twins marked the second-largest comeback of the season for the Phillies. It also was their first series sweep since early June.
MINNEAPOLIS — Andrew Painter threw six balls to begin his start here Sunday. Upon finally landing a pitch in the strike zone, he received a derisive cheer.
So much for “Minnesota nice.”
Come to think of it, there was a sizable delegation of traveling Phillies fans in town for the weekend. For five innings, a stray strike from Painter was all there was to provoke their applause.
But a funny thing happened along the way to a series-finale egg-laying. The Phillies rallied from an early five-run deficit to pull ahead in the eighth inning of a 7-5 victory to complete a three-game, two-state sweep of the Twins.
Alec Bohm bashed a three-run homer in the sixth inning to draw the Phillies within 5-4, then dropped a fly ball inside the right-field line for a game-tying single in the eighth before Bryan De La Cruz’s go-ahead two-run single.
The ninth inning was a 33-pitch tightrope walk for Jhoan Duran. Pitching against his former team in Minnesota for the first time since getting traded 382 days earlier, he put the tying run on base with one out and went to a 3-0 count against Ryan Jeffers. But he regrouped to strike out Jeffers and Byron Buxton.
» 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.
And so, the Phillies jetted home on the fuel of three consecutive wins over 243 miles from the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, to the Twin Cities.
They also stuffed a wild-card spot into their carry-ons. The Diamondbacks lost in Atlanta, temporarily breaking a three-way tie and leaving the Phillies and Padres in possession of the last two National League wild cards.
The game ended with a familiar sight: Bryce Harper at first base, Bryson Stott at second, and Bohm at third. Interim manager Don Mattingly returned to the pre-trade deadline infield after lifting Luis Arraez for a pinch-runner in the decisive eighth inning.
It happened like this: With the Phillies trailing by one run, Harper lined a one-out single against Twins reliever Andrew Morris. Arraez followed with a double into the left-field corner. Bohm’s bloop single scored Harper, but not pinch-running Derek Hill, who stopped at third.
After the Twins intentionally walked Brandon Marsh to load the bases and got J.T. Realmuto to foul out, De La Cruz punched a single through the right side to drive in two runs and create a 7-5 lead.
It marked the second-largest comeback of the season for the Phillies, who overcame a six-run deficit on May 15 in Pittsburgh.
Also, it took Painter off the hook for a rough start.
Seeking to build off 5⅓ solid innings earlier in the week in St. Louis, Painter loaded the bases with two out in the first inning on back-to-back singles and a walk. He gave up a long, loud foul ball to Brooks Lee and hung a slider on the ensuing pitch for a grand slam.
» READ MORE: Phillies’ Trea Turner avoids injury after fouling a pitch off his leg, but gets Sunday off vs. Twins
Painter hit the next batter, Luke Keaschall, on the bill of his batting helmet with a first-pitch fastball. Not a great look, but considering Painter’s lack of command, in keeping with the rest of the first inning.
Even so, the umpires conferred behind the mound and issued warnings to both teams, a decision that irritated Twins manager Derek Shelton.
Through five innings, the Phillies not only trailed 5-0 but had three hits against Twins starter Dean Kremer. They finally stirred in the sixth inning by invoking a plate approach that has worked over the last few weeks.
In late July, the Phillies were last in the majors in on-base percentage. Hitting coach Kevin Long convened a meeting with the players in which he emphasized a “selective-aggressive” approach.
Since the beginning of August, the Phillies lead the majors in on-base percentage.
Kyle Schwarber worked a leadoff walk in the sixth to start the comeback. Stott singled and Harper walked to load the bases for Arraez, who drove in a run with a groundout before Bohm’s homer cut the deficit to one run.
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.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Kevin Stocker | Bobby Dickerson | Jim Bowden | John Middleton | Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa
