PHILLIES COMEBACK AND WALKOFF WITH 3-2 WIN

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

Bryson Stott tripled with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game, then scored the winning run when Justin Crawford beat out an infield hit as the Philadelphia Phillies took the first game of a split doubleheader with the San Francisco Giants in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils are 2-0 under interim manager Don Mattingly and have won three of their last four games.

“I hit it and knew right away, that’s a hit,” said Crawford.

Going into the first game between two of the three lowest scoring teams in Major League Baseball, you would’ve expected runs to be at a premium, especially when each team had its top starting pitcher on the mound, and for eight innings that was the case. The Giants had a 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning.

The Giants had a chance to extend the advantage in the top of the frame, but Chase Shugart came on in relief to strike out Matt Chapman with two on and two out to keep the deficit at one and set the stage for late-game heroics.

Adolis García led off with an infield single. After Brandon Marsh struck out, Stott came to the plate, having gone 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts on the day. In the fourth inning, Giants starter Logan Webb got Stott on three pitches with runners on second and third and no outs. The Phillies wouldn’t score in the inning.

In the ninth, facing Giants’ closer Ryan Walker, Stott saw eight sinkers in a row, only one of which was in the strike zone, but the Phillies second baseman stayed alive by fouling off three of them. The ninth pitch of the at-bat (also a sinker) was elevated over the center of the plate, and Stott lined it to the corner in right field.

BRYSON STOTT HAD A KEY NINTH INNING TRIPLE

“You have to believe you can do it,” Stott said, “especially after the at-bat earlier in the game. When you have a guy like Sánchez doing what he’s doing, you want to come through, not only for the team but especially him. [I] didn’t get it done, just tried to flush it as fast as possible. I was glad I was able to tie the game up in the end.”

With two outs, Crawford hit the first pitch he saw just out of reach of Chapman at third base, shortstop Willy Adames backhanded it in the hole put had no shot at the speedy rookie centerfielder.

All the other scoring occurred in the first inning. Heliot Ramos and Chapman each doubled off Cristopher Sánchez to start the game. Ramos scored on a groundout while Chapman was knocked in on a single by Casey Schmitt.

In the bottom of the half, Kyle Schwarber crushed the 350-home run of his career with a blast that landed in the second deck. From there, the Phillies had chances but couldn’t convert. Bryce Harper grounded into a pair of double plays. In the fourth, after Stott struck out, García was thrown out at the plate while trying to score on a groundball. Sánchez, after allowing three of the first four hitters to reach, permitted just four of the final 23 batters he faced to get on base.

He finished with 6-and-two-thirds innings pitched while giving up two runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out seven batters. Shugart got the win.