The Phillies once again tried to break through Imanaga in the top of the 6th, with Trea Turner reaching on an infield hit that looked like the spitting image of Sosa’s from the 1st. In that inning, the Phillies failed to score. In the 6th, Alec Bohm showed why he had just been named an All-Star, hitting a dinger to center and giving the Phillies their first lead of the night, 3-2. Sosa also sent something into the stands: his bat, which got embedded into the netting high behind home plate, much to the delight of the fans. Sadly, this feat, despite the high degree of difficulty, counts for zero runs. Perhaps something to be addressed in a future update to the rules.
Both starters bowed out after the 6th, each boasting an excellent night, though with the edge to Wheeler (5 hits, 2 runs, 7 K and 2 BB to Imanaga’s 6 hits, 3 runs, 8 K and 1 BB). Porter Hodge took over for Imanaga, and Matt Strahm took over for Wheeler. Hodge navigated his inning without blemish, but Strahm allowed a double to Michael Bush and a base hit to Cody Bellinger to tie it at 3. Both Imanaga and Wheeler pitched well; both were left with no-decisions. So it goes.
The Phillies had an easier time cracking Tyson Miller, with Turner and Bohm both recording singles before Miller could record an out. A passed ball advanced both, and a sacrifice fly from Sosa seized the lead back for the Philadelphias. Merrifield shook off some cobwebs with a single to score Bohm, bringing the lead to 5-3.
The Phillies carried their lead into the 9th, with José Alvarado tasked with closing it out. Cubs skipper Craig Counsell turned to a pair of righty pinch-hitters to create better matchups against the Philadelphia southpaw; Patrick Wisdom grounded out, David Bote singled. Nico Hoerner was a victim of a nice diving grab from Johan Rojas, and Busch went down swinging to end it.
The Phillies are 57-29. They’ll go for the sweep on Independence Day at 2:20.
All-Stars find a way to get it done. They come through on the road, they come through when their team is shorthanded. They find ways to tilt the game towards the W column for their club. And now, the official word has come down on what we already knew: Alec Bohm is an All-Star. No surprise that he made a difference tonight.
The Phillies got their first hit of the night when Edmundo Sosa sent a ground ball skittering up the third base line. The throw from Christopher Morel was fast; Sosa was faster. Whit Merrifield, however, didn’t have the same batted ball luck, and saw Morel swiftly turn two. A Shota Imanaga strikeout of Cristian Pache ended the inning.
With their second crack at Zack Wheeler, the Cubs had Ian Happ drive a liner into right, placing himself on second with no outs. Wheeler induced two quick outs in response. But Pete Crow-Armstrong blooped a ball into shallow right that fell right into no man’s land, putting the first run on the board.
The Phillies, however, were not inclined to give ground. The top of the 3rd saw Rafael Marchán slam a cutter far over the wall in left-center; it traveled so high above the wall that the vaunted ivy wouldn’t even have rustled.
Wheeler and Imanaga continued to circle around each other like prizefighters, accruing strikeouts and generally keeping the opposing batsmen at arm’s length. Then dejá vu, as Yogi Berra would have put it, all over again: Happ made it to first (this time with a walk), and Crow-Armstrong doubled to score him (this time with a liner to left that nestled itself cozily in the ivy at the base of the wall). 2-0, Cubs.
Phillies 3rd baseman Alec Bohm was named as a starter for the National League All-Star team.
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