Little man provides big hit as Phillies rally past Marlins with huge eighth inning originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
What a way to start a six-game homestand.
The Phillies rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Miami Marlins, 8-3, at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night.
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Utility man Ronald Torreyes, activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, drove home the go-ahead runs with a two-run double with one out in the eighth.
Torreyes was the sixth straight Phillies hitter to reach base with one out in the eighth as the team came back from a 3-1 deficit to take the lead. Rhys Hoskins singled with one out and scored on a double by Alex Bohm to make it a 3-2 game. Odubel Herrera beat out an infield hit and Andrew Knapp drew a walk to load the bases. Rookie Nick Maton then tied the game with a base hit.
The diminutive Torreyes was then called on to pinch-hit against John Curtiss. The veteran infielder stroked an 0-1 pitch to left, scoring two runs.
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The Phils scored three more runs in the inning, two on a hit by Bryce Harper. In all, nine straight Phillies reached base in the eighth.
Torreyes, who appeared in four games with the Phillies last season, had not had an RBI in the majors since 2019 when he had one – just one – in seven games for the Minnesota Twins. That RBI was the result of his getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Phillies as they improved to 22-20 and 14-6 at home.
Miami beat the Phillies in seven of 10 meetings last season and essentially scuttled the Phillies' playoff chances.
The two teams meet again Wednesday and Thursday nights.
The Phillies got another excellent start from Zack Wheeler, who allowed just an unearned run over seven walk-free innings. He struck out 10.
The offense did not support Wheeler. Marlins rookie Cody Poteet pitched five shutout innings in his second big-league start and left leading, 1-0. The Phils eked out a run in the seventh on two singles and a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen to tie the game.
The game did not stay tied long as Jose Alvarado allowed a two-run homer to Jazz Chisholm in the top of the eighth.
Wheeler is turning into the Phillies’ resident gemologist. He has allowed just two earned runs over his last 28 innings. In his previous start at home, he pitched a three-hit shutout against Milwaukee.
Wheeler’s season ERA in nine starts is down to 2.52.
His ERA in five starts at home this season is 2.02.
Last season, Wheeler had a 2.92 ERA in 11 starts.
He is in the second season of a five-year, $118 million contract and, so far, has been worth the investment, regardless of whether he got the win or not Tuesday night.
The win, for the record, went to Archie Bradley in his first game off the injured list. He and Torreyes were both activated earlier Tuesday.
