Phillies Vs. Diamondbacks: Phils Win 3rd Straight to End Homestand

An OK homestand is better than a terrible homestand as Phillies continue to hang around originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

What had the makings of being a terrible homestand ended up OK -- not great, but OK -- for the Phillies on Sunday afternoon.

For the second game in a row, they put a couple of early runs on the board en route to a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.

After losing the first three games of the homestand -- two to Tampa Bay and one to Arizona -- the Phils came back to beat the Diamondbacks three straight to finish the homestand at 3-3. The series win was their first since the first week of August when they swept the New York Mets on their way to briefly capturing first place in the NL East.

It wasn’t the winning homestand that manager Joe Girardi said his club needed back before it began, but it did allow the Phils to remain within shouting distance of first-place Atlanta with 32 games to play. The Phils will be no more than 4½ games back at the end of the day. 

Ranger Suarez pitched 5⅓ innings Sunday and got the win. He has a 2.03 ERA in six starts and the Phils are 4-2 in those games.

Freddy Galvis started at shortstop and drove in three of the Phillies’ five runs with a sacrifice fly and a two-out single in the fifth.

J.T. Realmuto made his first start of the season at first base. He drew a walk in the first inning, moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Bryce Harper -- yes, he did -- and scored a run. However, Realmuto exited the game before the start of the sixth inning. He had fouled a ball off his ankle earlier in the game. There was no immediate update on his condition.

Realmuto is already playing with a sore right shoulder and the Phillies are already playing without Rhys Hoskins (and likely Zach Eflin) for the rest of the season. Losing Realmuto would be another huge blow to the club. The Phils completed the game with just one healthy catcher, Rafael Marchan. Andrew Knapp is on the COVID-related injured list for at least eight more days. The Phils have no other catchers on the 40-man roster. Suddenly, they are very thin and vulnerable at the position.

There could also be a health question in the bullpen. Archie Bradley was called on to protect a three-run lead in the eighth inning. He got the first two outs then allowed four straight batters to reach base (three hits and a walk) and two runs as Arizona made it a one-run game.

Hector Neris had to come on for a third day in a row and get out of the inning.

Bradley had not pitched since Tuesday because of a sore shoulder. His fastball topped out at 94 mph, but his command was poor as 11 of his 24 pitches were balls. There could be something to watch there.

The Phillies built their lead back to three on back-to-back triples by Marchan and Travis Jankowski in the bottom of the eighth. That gave Ian Kennedy some breathing room for the save.

The Phils, who have scored seven runs in four straight games, now face another test as they hit the road for nine games at Washington, Miami and Milwaukee. For several years now, the road has not been kind to the Phillies. They are 27-36 on the road as opposed to 39-28 at home.

Of the team’s final 32 games, 18 will be played on the road and 14 at home.