Brandon Marsh's walk-off single in the 11th vs. Cubs ends Phillies' five-game losing streak
Published in Baseball
PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler blew a fastball past Kyle Tucker for the first out in the sixth inning, and the Citizens Bank Park crowd erupted.
Wheeler, on the other hand, hardly reacted. He stepped back to the rubber, already preparing to attack the next Chicago Cubs hitter, Seiya Suzuki. There would be time later to celebrate his 1,000th strikeout as a Phillie, and the fact that he was the fastest Phillie to reach the marker. But first, he had a job to finish.
Suzuki reached on a single, but Wheeler retired the next two Chicago hitters to end the sixth inning and reach yet another milestone with his 100th quality start in a Phillies uniform.
The Phillies needed every bit of it to keep the game within reach for what was ultimately a 4-3 walk-off win over the Cubs on Monday. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the 11th, J.T. Realmuto singled to score the ghost runner from second and tie things back up at 3.
Consecutive bunt singles from Bryson Stott and Otto Kemp loaded the bases with no outs. It was Brandon Marsh who was the hero, sending a walk-off single to center field to snap the Phillies’ skid at five.
But their pitchers had kept them in the game until the offense could get going.
Wheeler had not pitched since May 29, missing a turn in the rotation as he and his wife Dominique welcomed their fourth child. But despite the extended time away, Wheeler showed no rust. Outside of an elevated fastball to Tucker in the first inning that the outfielder deposited in the right-field seats, he shut down the Cubs offense. His milestone strikeout of Tucker was his seventh of the night, while he held Chicago to three hits.
There were milestone baseballs to be collected on the offensive side, too, as Kemp recorded his first three major league hits during his home debut as a Phillie. Kemp laced a single to center field to lead off the fifth, and advanced to third when an errant pick off throw got by first baseman Michael Busch. He scored easily on a single from Weston Wilson.
Overall, the Phillies’ offensive troubles continued for most of the game, especially in clutch situations. While they finished with 16 hits, they were 5 for 16 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. In the fourth inning, they loaded the bases with no outs, but only managed to get one run across after hitting consecutive grounders.
The Phillies also gifted the Cubs three outs on the bases. Both Edmundo Sosa and Nick Castellanos were thrown out attempting to stretch singles to doubles, while Trea Turner was picked off at first. They hit into three double plays.
Matt Strahm pitched the eighth and allowed a game-tying homer to Ian Happ. Outside of that, the bullpen gave the offense ample opportunity to get going. Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering and Jordan Romano each tossed scoreless frames.
Carlos Hernández allowed a double to Pete Crow-Armstrong that scored Chicago’s ghost runner in the top of the 11th to break the 2-2 tie, but Realmuto tied the game up on the second pitch in the bottom of the inning.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell was ejected in the ninth by home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater for arguing that Kemp ran outside the baseline on an infield single.
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