PHILADELPHIA _ Scott Kingery watched the first two pitches touch the bottom of the strike zone Friday night, digging himself a hole, and pushing the Phillies closer to yet another extra inning.
But the third pitch from Atlanta reliever Mark Melancon sailed to the top of the zone in the 11th inning, and the only thing to watch was Kingery's three-run homer soar to left field, giving the Phillies a 7-4 walk-off win.
Rhys Hoskins leaped over the dugout rail. The players waited near home plate, and Kingery tap-danced the final few steps of his trot around the bases. For the Phillies, it was a perfect start to a crucial weekend against a first-place team.
The Phillies have won four straight games, and have 33 games left this season. They seem to be gearing up for the final stretch of a 60-game sprint.
The Phillies entered Friday tied for third place and four games back of the division-leading Braves. The weekend three-game series is the last time they'll play Atlanta this season, providing a final chance for the Phillies to make up ground by their own doing.
"I think it is an important series," manager Joe Girardi said before the game. "You know, I think we're 3-4 against them. We've played OK. We've given a game away to them, or we could have maybe been 4-3. But they're important, definitely, because we won't see them anymore."
The Phillies looked set to win the game in the 10th inning when Kingery reached third base with no outs. But Andrew McCutchen flew out, and Hoskins hit a grounder to third that ended with Kingery being thrown out at home. The Braves loaded the bases for J.T. Realmuto by intentionally walking Bryce Harper, but Realmuto grounded out.
The game was pushed to extras after Adam Morgan blew a two-run lead in the seventh by allowing back-to-back homers to Ender Inciarte and Austin Riley to tie the game at four. The Phillies bullpen had struck again. But the unit recovered to keep the game tied until the offense could finally turn back on.
Tommy Hunter finished the seventh, and Hector Neris retired the three batters he faced in the eighth. Girardi then leaned on two of his new additions as Brandon Workman handled the ninth, and Heath Hembree stranded the designated runner at second in the 10th. The bullpen blew the lead, but they avoided an implosion and gave the offense a chance. They still have the highest ERA in baseball,
McCutchen hit a two-run homer in the third, and Jean Segura hit a two-run homer in the fourth. But the Phillies had just two more hits, both singles, until the 10th inning.
Starter Zack Wheeler allowed just one earned run but was unable to finish the sixth inning after Hoskins misplayed an errant throw with two outs from Didi Gregorius. The throw skipped on the infield grass before reaching Hoskins, bounced past him, and allowed a run to score. Wheeler walked the next batter to send his pitch count past 100, and Girardi lifted him for Morgan.
Wheeler struck out three, walked one, and allowed six hits. He has a 2.58 ERA through his first six starts and has allowed just two homers in his first 38 1/3 innings. Wheeler induced two double plays and recorded 11 of his 17 outs via groundouts. Wheeler averaged nine strikeouts per nine innings last season as he came to the Phillies as a strikeout pitcher with a power fastball. But through six starts, he's relied much more on groundouts and weak contact than strikeouts.
His strikeout rate _ 5.4 per nine innings _ is down but his 53.2% groundball rate is 10 points higher than last season. Wheeler's velocity matches last season, but the way he's getting outs has changed. Wheeler, for the second straight start, watched his night get spoiled by the bullpen. He pitched strong yet again had to settle for a no decision. But this time, the Phillies did not have to settle for a loss.
