Phillies’ First West Coast Trip Starts Hot; Third Sweep in Four Series

The Phillies left Cincinnati with a series split and headed to the West Coast to face the Padres. The Phillies typically don’t fare well when they head West, but like the season, they’ve started this trip red hot.

Offense Stays Hot

The offense that had opposing fanbases say “It’s just the Rockies and White Sox” proved that wasn’t the case. The offense gave the pitching staff runs to work with, not that they needed many.

In a 9-3 victory, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Kyle Schwarber kicked off the series by slugging home runs. Bryson Stott was the only Phillie not to have a hit, while Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh each contributed three hits, totaling four RBIs. The offense scored nine runs on 13 hits, despite striking out eight times.

Alec Bohm carried the Phillies to a 5-1 series win with a home run and four RBIs against Dylan Cease. The offense scored all five runs off Cease, tallying six hits, three walks, and five strikeouts in six innings.

Bryson Stott hit two, two-run home runs for the Phillies and willed the team to the win. Alec Bohm extended his hit streak to 12 games and his extra-base hit streak to 8 while J.T. Realmuto went yard, his fourth of the season.

The offense was firing on all cylinders this series. It had both small ball and the long ball to help the rotation.

Phillies Pitching Dazzles Again

We don’t have much bullpen action to talk about… again. The starting rotation continues to spare the bullpen and, like the offense, proved it wasn’t just because they played the two worst teams in Major League Baseball.

Aaron Nola shut down a Padres offense to kick off the series, going eight innings and allowing three runs on seven hits to go with ten strikeouts.

Ranger Suárez was lights out, continuing his incredible start to the season. His scoreless inning streak ended at 32.2 innings, the third-longest stretch in Philadelphia Phillies history.

Taijuan Walker made his season debut with the sweep on the line. He went 6.2 innings and allowed six runs. All things considered, it was not a bad performance.

The bullpen in their limited appearances this series shut the Padres down. Yunior Marte, Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, and Jeff Hoffman didn’t allow a single run all weekend.

The pitching continues to be rather un-hittable.

Coming Up Next

The Phillies stay west for one more series before coming back to The Bank. They head to Los Angeles to face the Ohtani-less Angels who have a 10-17 record with a -30 run differential.

The expected starters for the Phillies are Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola.

Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)