Phillies survive late Rockies rally to sweep series with 7-6 win

PHILADELPHIA — This was one of the Phillies’ best offensive nights of the season, and it almost went to waste because of a bullpen implosion. They had a comfortable 7-1 lead entering the eighth inning, when Gregory Soto took the ball from Yunior Marte. Soto allowed three straight singles to load the bases, a sac fly and two walks (one of which scored another run).

Jeff Hoffman replaced him with the bases loaded and no outs, but allowed a groundout that scored Elias Diaz, a walk, and a single to bring the Rockies within one run of the Phillies. Jose Alvarado came out for the ninth. He allowed one hit with one strikeout. With two outs, Pinch runner Nolan Smith stole second base, and J.T. Realmuto threw to second in attempt to get out number three, but Smith was called safe. The Phillies challenged, but the call stood. Alvarado induced a pop out in the next at-bat to end the inning, securing the 7-6 win and a series sweep of the Rockies.

It wasn’t pretty. But there were some positive takeaways. The Phillies combined for seven runs — and it came throughout the lineup. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner set the tone with back-to-back solo shots in the first inning, while J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh each had one RBI.

It was what you’d expect from this lineup in June or July, with one exception: Bryce Harper went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts against the Rockies. He will heat up eventually, but if Turner and Schwarber continue to do what they’ve been doing, it should make Harper’s slow start less consequential.

As a team, the Phillies went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position with 12 hits. Johan Rojas had a good day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a walk. Both of his hits clocked in at 95 mph or higher. In the sixth inning, he sent a hard-hit double to center field that was just a few feet short of going out (it traveled 389 feet). In the eighth, he lined a single to right field that came off of his bat at 102.3 mph.

Turner also had a good night. He went 3 for 5 and was a triple short of the cycle. He has been on a hot streak of late. Turner has recorded at least one hit in each of his last seven games, and is hitting .429/.448/.786 over that span with two home runs with only three strikeouts.

It was a good overall showing from a lineup that has struggled to produce consistently to start the season, but the fact that the Phillies got production throughout, and not just from one or two players, was perhaps more important. That’s what they envisioned when they built this lineup: To have weapons in spots 1-9, so when a player is struggling, someone else steps up. On Wednesday night, it was Harper, and he found plenty of support in his stead.

Cris Sánchez with a good start

Sánchez got off to a bumpy start in his fourth outing of the season, but settled in quickly. He allowed his first two runners on, when Ezequiel Tovar singled, and Brenton Doyle reached base on a fielding error by Bohm. Tovar scored, but that was the extent of the damage. It was an unearned run for Sánchez. He finished his night at six innings pitched, allowing five hits and the one run (Tovar) with one walk and 10 strikeouts. His 10 strikeouts matched a career high.