Things got a tad weird from there. Bryson Stott made good contact on a sharply hit grounder, but it bounced straight off the first base umpire’s foot and to a waiting Ray for an out. But the Phillies shook off the frustration and put runners on 2nd and 3rd via a Brandon Marsh walk and a Kody Clemens double.
Cal Stevenson, pinch-hitting for Rojas, smacked a liner to right, well clear of any umpire appendages, scoring two and once again giving the Phillies the lead.
Buddy Kennedy, once more hearing his name ring out through the Bank, blooped a single to right for his first hit and first RBI as a Phillie. 7-4 in favor of the Fightins. Then the floodgates opened: Turner hit another homer, this one also a 2-run shot to left.
Phillies fans were delighted. The Tampas, perhaps less so: Edwin Uceta plunked Nick Castellanos, causing the benches to clear; the bullpens raced to battle stations as well. No punches were thrown, but Uceta was ejected.
Tanner Banks was tasked with navigating this eventful game to an uneventful conclusion; though he loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks, he allowed no runs. A sliding catch from Cal Stevenson put the final punctuation mark on an odd but triumphant nine innings.
The Phillies are 87-58 and still in possession of the best record in baseball. They’ll go for the sweep of the Rays tomorrow night at 6:40.
This one started with a Kyle Schwarber leadoff homer. That made for the 14th such occasion this year, a new major league record. What else is new? A Phillies game starting with a Schwarber dinger is like a morning that starts with a hot cup of java and a newspaper at the breakfast table; it just feels right. The Phillies ended the 1st 1-0.
In the second the Rays put two runners on with a line drive from Junior Caminero and a bloop single from Dylan Carlson. José Caballero scored Caminero with a single to tie it.
The Phillies retook the lead in the 2nd as Johan Rojas knocked in a nice hit to right with Brandon Marsh on 1st; it should have been a double that put Marsh on 3rd, but an erroneous throw from Josh Lowe sent the hirsute outfielder sliding home and allowed Rojas to reach 3rd. But the lead went away just as quickly as it had returned via a Johnny Aranda double and subsequent Yandy Díaz single; though he kept the Rays from taking the lead, Ranger Suárez didn’t quite look like himself.
Trea Turner, however, did. He bashed a 2-run shot to left in the bottom 3rd to retake the lead, 4-2.
But it wasn’t all good news: Schwarber was pulled in the bottom 4th after feeling left elbow discomfort, and the Rays narrowed the lead with a trio of singles. In the bottom 5th Bryce Harper appeared to hit his first homer in over a month, but it turned into a double due to the discovery of fan interference.
Suárez’s off night continued in the 6th as a well struck ball from Christopher Morel bounced off of Monty’s Angle for an RBI triple, knotting the game up at 4-4. Suárez walked the next batter, and was then pulled for Orion Kerkering. Kerkering, Matt Strahm, and José Alvarado all kept the Rays at bay, keeping the game tied into the bottom of the 8th.
Kyle Schwarber's leadoff home run was his 14th of the season, setting a new all-time MLB record for leadoff home runs in a season.
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