Phillies blast Sandy Alcantara and Marlins on huge offensive night
Phillies manager Rob Thomson broke out a shiny new red pair of Air Jordan baseball shoes for Monday night’s game against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. They were, he said, a present from Rhys Hoskins.
It turns out that the injured first baseman isn’t the only player who has gifted Thomson with footwear. He also had a pair previously given to him by catcher J.T. Realmuto last year. “I wore them for the first two games of the season, and then (Sunday),” he said, referring to three tough losses. “So I put them aside and I’m going to try these out.”
That wasn’t the only switch the manager made, either. Bryson Stott was moved to the leadoff spot, dropping Trea Turner to second and Kyle Schwarber to third for the first time this season.
Then the Phillies, who came into the night next-to-last in the National League in scoring with an average of 3.3 runs per game, put their best foot forward against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.
They batted around in the third, scoring a season-high five runs. They sent nine batters to the plate in their fifth, chasing Alcantara in the process, and cruised to a 15-3 win. They had 20 hits. In the 20-year history of Citizens Bank Park, it’s only the fifth time they’ve had at least 15 runs and 20 or more hits.
Or to put it another way, they scored half as many runs Monday night as they did in their first nine games combined.
Alcantara lasted 4-plus innings. His earned run average jumped from 1.84 to 5.79.
Fittingly, it was Stott and Turner who helped get the baseball rolling. Alcantara had retired eight of the first nine batters he faced — Jake Cave homered to lead off the third — when Stott singled with two outs to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games and then stole second.
“Stott had really good at-bats,” Thomson said. “Saw a lot of pitches. Worked counts. Had a good night. I’ve always thought he kind of fits the mold of a leadoff guy. Getting him up there (from the lower part of the order) and getting him on base in front of Turner and J.T. and Schwarber and (Nick) Castellanos and (Alec) Bohm really lengthens the lineup. And gives us two guys at the top who can get on base and steal bases, creating havoc.”
Said Stott, who had two hits and is now hitting .415, “I’ve been trying to swing at my pitches. Trying not to chase as much.”
Just the way it’s diagrammed, Turner drove him home with a base hit and stole second.
Turner said he had no problem with the change. “I haven’t really been hitting leadoff the last three years or so (with the Nationals and Dodgers),” he said. “I’ve hit second and third mostly. I don’t think the approach changes. The way the game has changed, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re hitting. They’re going to attack you how they think they can get you out.”
After he reached second, leaving first base open, the right-handed Alcantara pitched carefully to the left-handed Schwarber, who led the league in home runs in 2022, and ended up walking him. That gave him the right-left advantage on Castellanos, who doubled anyway. Bohn followed with a single, Brandon Marsh doubled and the game was never close after that.
So were all the runs the result of the lineup change? Baseball is a funny game, so it’s interesting to note that even though Turner batted second, he ended up leading off both the fifth and sixth. On both occasions, he singled, scored and the Phillies went on to score four times.
Really, though, almost everybody in the lineup had a big night.
Bohm had three hits. including a three-run homer in the sixth, and six RBI. That’s encouraging for a team looking for power after losing Bryce Harper for at least two months following Tommy John elbow surgery and Rhys Hoskins for the regular season with a torn ACL. It was Bohm’s third bomb in the Phillies’ first 10 games. Last year he didn’t hit his third until May 21 and ended up with 13 for the year.
That’s a small sample, but the manager expects more production from the third baseman. “He’s going to have more power because he’s bigger and stronger than he’s been at any time of his life,” Thomson said. “He’s learning how to pull the ball. We don’t want him to be a pull hitter, we want him to keep the same approach. He’s a good hitter. But I think you’ll see the power numbers go up.”
Castellanos had his first three-hit game of the season, four RBI and scored three runs before being ejected by home plate umpire John Libka for questioning a called third strike in the seventh. Schwarber had a walk, a single and a double and also scored three times.
Marsh had a homer and two doubles. He’s now hitting .385 and it seems like a long time ago that Phillies fans were fretting openly about whether there was anybody on the roster capable of playing center field regularly.
Thomson wouldn’t say whether Stott will be leading off again Tuesday night. Then again, as the old saying goes, if the shoe fits, wear it.
