Stubbs later came up to bat a home run away from the cycle in the ninth against position player pitching Garrett Hampson. But, he was hit by a 57 MPH slider to dash his hopes of history. Nevertheless, the Phillies backup catcher finished the day on base all five times he came to the plate and went 4-4 with an RBI and scored a team high three runs.

Solid and effective

Kolby Allard’s day didn’t start well, as he allowed back to back singles to begin the game. But he worked around it with a strikeout and two groundouts.

That became the theme of his start, as Allard was able to work around trouble to minimize damage and give the Phillies good innings.

He allowed a leadoff double in the fourth to MJ Melendez, but once again erased it with a groundout and two strikeouts.

Allard’s final line was 5 IP, 2 runs, 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. Both runs he allowed were on solo home runs to Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia.

Bullpen holds strong again

Jose Ruiz was the first out of the bullpen again and allowed one run on a home run to Melendez to begin the sixth and cut the Phillies lead to 6-3. But again like last night, Ruiz limited the damage and allowed no further runs.

Matt Strahm entered after Ruiz and pitched a perfect inning. Jose Alvarado took over for the eighth and allowed a leadoff double to Salvador Perez, but the embattled lefty was able to strand Perez there thanks to a pair of strikeouts. Carlos Estevez entered in the ninth to seal the win with a 1-2-3 inning.

Tomorrow’s matchup

The Phillies return home to Citizens Bank Park for three with the Houston Astros in a rematch of the 2022 World Series. They’ll start off with Zack Wheeler (12-6, 2.73) on the mound in game one. As of this writing, the Astros have yet to name a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40.