Phillies sweep Angels to start Rob Thomson era

Remember when the Phillies lost five in a row and everything felt hopeless? That feels like a month ago after their series against the Angels. The Phillies now have reeled off four straight wins and three straight since Rob Thomson became manager.

In that four-game win streak, the Phillies moved their run differential from 0 to +18. How they got to this point is even better. Here’s how it happened.

Game 1: Phillies’ Bats Get Hot

The big boppin’ beefy boys came out to play on Friday. Immediately after the firing of Joe Girardi, the Phillies reeled off 5 home runs. Both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber had multi-homer games, hitting two a piece.

Bryson Stott provided the first roomie homer of his career. He hit a 3-run shot in the 2nd inning of the game.

The Phillies raised Chase Silseth’s ERA from 3.07 to 4.96. They raised Jaime Barria’s ERA from 1.54 to 3.29. It truly was hittin’ season.

It was pitching season as well as Zach Eflin blanked the Angels through eight innings. Eflin allowed just five hits and kept Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani 0-7 on the day. James Norwood pitched a rare clean 9th inning, striking out two.

Game 2: It Continues

The first inning basically closed the book on this game for the Phillies. JT Realmuto had a huge game with three doubles. His first 2-bagger brought in the first runs in the game, driving in Schwarber and Harper.

All told, the Phillies scored 5 in the first inning. Johan Camargo and Mickey Moniak both added RBI singles in the 1st.

Zack Wheeler threw six quality innings on 99 pitches, allowing two runs. He did his job. But as we know about the Phillies, doing your job isn’t always enough. Luckily, the Phillies idn’t stop scoring.

In the 8th, Realmuto led off with a double against former Phillie Archie Bradley. Johan Camargo would deliver later in the inning, driving in two on a single.

The trio of Brad Hand, Seranthony Dominguez, and Connor Brogdon were great out of the pen. They allowed just one baserunner in their three collective innings.

Mike Trout again had a 0-4. This time it came with a hat trick of strikeouts.

Game 3: Late Inning Heroics by Harper and Stott

The Angels drew first blood in game three of this series. They popped off their own 5-run inning in the 4th inning against Kyle Gibson. Four singles, a double, and a walk caused the damage. The defense reered its ugly head with a Hoskins error and Bohm having some indecisiveness.

In the 5th inning, the Phillies finally got to starter Patrick Sandoval. Hoskins got hit by a pitch and Harper doubled, setting up runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Nick Castellanos provided a sac fly and JT Realmuto scored Harper on a groundout.

In the top of the 8th, a Bryson Stott error set up another run for the Angels, pushing the score to 6-2.

And then, Bryce Harper happened.

Oh, you want more of that? Here’s the Angels’ call on the grand slam.

Of course, the Phillies are never just sunshine and happiness. So, Corey Knebel walks the first hitter he faces which leads to a runner on 2B. A Matt Duffy single gave the Angels a lead. Knebel failed again.

That would be the storyline if not for one roommate of Bryce Harper. With 2 outs, a full count, and runners on 1st and 2nd, Bryson Stott pulled off his first walk-off hit in his career.

Another roomie homer, another win.

Before this is wrapped up, it should be noted that Nick Nelson pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless ball in relief of Kyle Gibson. He stopped the bleeding and gave the Phillies the chance for heroics. Kudos to you N² .

AP Photo/Derik Hamilton