Phillies rally twice late to salvage series vs. Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning then rallied twice to beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, at blustery Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday afternoon.
The win saved the Phillies from being swept by the Giants and their manager, Gabe Kapler. Kapler managed the Phillies for two seasons and was fired in October 2019. He was still able to lead his club to a series win with a pair of victories in his first trip back to Philadelphia.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
Red-hot Bryce Harper had another huge game for the Phillies. He tied the game at 5-5 with a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and scored the winning run on a hit by Andrew Knapp with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Harper had led off the frame with a walk against Wandy Peralta and moved to second on Brad Miller's fourth hit of the game.
The Phillies finished the homestand with three wins and three losses. They are 9-9 on the season. They open a seven-game road trip to Denver and St. Louis on Friday night at Coors Field. Vince Velasquez will make his first start of the season in that game.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Phillies starter Zach Eflin allowed just one run through six innings and was pulled at 86 pitches for pinch-hitter Scott Kingery in the bottom of the inning. Kingery struck out.
Manager Joe Girardi's decision to pull Eflin may have had something to do with the 44-minute rain delay in the third inning. It's likely that Eflin threw some pitches in the indoor cages to stay loose during the delay.
Brandon Kintzler inherited a 4-1 lead in the top of the seventh and quickly squandered it. He gave up a double and a single with no outs then allowed a booming three-run, pinch-hit homer to Darin Ruf with one out. Yes, that Darin Ruf. The former Phillie, who spent three seasons playing in Korea before joining the Giants last year, hit an 0-2 pitch that caught way too much plate. It landed over the centerfield wall.
With the game tied, JoJo Romero replaced Kintzler and got the second out. The lefty then appeared to be out of the inning but the Phillies' season-long weakness — defense — reared its head when left fielder Andrew McCutchen dropped a routine fly ball by Mike Yastrzemski for a two-base error. The Giants immediately capitalized and went ahead on an RBI hit by Alex Dickerson.
Pitching with the lead, San Francisco reliever Camilo Doval got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh before Bryce Harper tied the game at 5-5 with his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to right.
It was Harper's 11th hit in the last five games.
The Phillies got some early production from their much-maligned center field position in taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Mickey Moniak worked a full count against San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani and lined a sinker over the left-field wall for a three-run homer.
It was Moniak's first big-league home run and the first RBIs that the Phillies have gotten from the center field position all season.
The Phillies were without second baseman Jean Segura, one of their leading hitters. He was placed on the injured list before the game with a quad strain. That meant the Phillies played without both of their starting middle infielders. Didi Gregorius missed the entire series with a sore right elbow. The Phillies used rookie Nick Maton at shortstop and Miller at second base. Maton had three hits.
With Segura on the IL, the Phillies recalled Kingery from the alternate site.
Subscribe to the Phillies Talk podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube
