Clemens takes Estevez, Rojas in wild 9th inning, Phils win to start home series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Johan Rojas I followed it immediately from the start.
He timed his jump perfectly.
Brandon LoweThe noisy, dangerous fly ball found its way into the center fielder’s glove, but only for a split second before it popped out and over the short wall for a game-tying home run in the ninth inning.
Rojas, who seemed to think he had made the play, looked at his glove in shock. The crowd of 39,511 quickly went from cheering to groaning. The second baseman Bryson Stott puts his hands on his head and closer Carlos Estevez crouching, incredulous.
Half a round later, none of that mattered anymore. Kody Clemens took Estevez and Rojas and marched on Phillies with a left-handed single to left-handed, bases loaded, in a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Phillies loaded the bags on a single by Bryce Harpera two-out infield single by Bryson Stott and a complete-game walk by the reserve infielder buddy Kennedy in his third appearance at bat with the team.
The Phillies improved to 86-58 with 18 games remaining. They entered the night a game behind the The Dodgers for the best record in the National League and continued to apply pressure. They also extended their lead to 3½ games over the idle Brewers for second place, which gives them a wild-card bye. The teams meet next Monday through Wednesday, and the Phillies would love to meet again Milwaukee with a lead greater than the duration of this three-game series.
It was a banner night for Phillies pitchers. Christopher Sanchez, Orion Kerkering And Jeff Hoffman kept the Rays off the board for eight scoreless innings Tampa Bay player reaching scoring position until the start of the eighth.
Sanchez, who played in the Rays’ system before the Phillies acquired him in November 2019, has a career-high 3.33 ERA in 165 innings.
Despite his heavy workload, he showed no signs of fatigue, posting a 2.14 ERA over his last five starts. The Rays weren’t a match for his change of speed Monday night.
The Phillies needed that kind of performance from Sanchez because of the offensive futility of Sunday’s 10-1 loss at Miami carried in this week’s home opener. The Phils were hitless until Kyle Schwarber Schwarber hit a solo home run to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. It was Schwarber’s 34th of the season and his sixth in seven games this month.
Phillies roster reduced without Alec Bohm, JT Realmuto, Austin Hays And Edmundo SosaRealmuto could be back this weekend and Sosa on Monday, but Bohm and Hays could remain on the disabled list even if they are eligible to return. Bohm still hasn’t been able to hit without pain and the Phillies need him to do so on consecutive days before they can bring him back. Realmuto is still dealing with fluid in his left knee after fouling a pitch Friday. Hays has a kidney infection that could sideline him for most of September. Sosa is dealing with back spasms.
Without them, the Phillies threw six left-handed hitters Monday: Schwarber, Harper, Stott, Brandon MarshClement and Garrett Stubbs. This makes them more vulnerable against left-handers with Weston Wilson the only threat off the bench, which only adds to the importance of Clemens’ huge at-bat against the Rays.
