PHILADELPHIA — Andrew Knapp jogged home Wednesday night as the pitch bounced to the backstop. The game was over, a needed 6-5 win over the Cubs was sealed, and it didn’t even require a swing.
The Phillies blew two saves before they won the game on a passed ball as catcher Robinson Chirinos was unable to handle the pitch from Trevor Megill. The Phillies, clinging to a slim chance at the postseason, would take it.
Knapp started the inning with a single, was bunted to second by Mickey Moniak and moved to third on a groundout by Odúbel Herrera. Jean Segura was batting when Megill’s pitch sailed off the catcher’s mitt.
The win moved the Phillies one game over .500 and kept their playoff hopes alive. José Alvarado blew the save in the eighth and Ian Kennedy blew another save in the ninth. The Phillies have now blown 32 saves, which is two shy of the major league record set in 2004 by Colorado.
Alvarado started the eighth by hitting the leadoff man before Chirinos homered with one out. The erratic left-hander hit one more batter before he was lifted. Kennedy, facing a save situation for the first time since his blown save last Thursday, allowed a leadoff homer to Matt Duffy on the first pitch he threw in the ninth to tie the game.
Realmuto’s homer
Joe Girardi said Wednesday afternoon that J.T. Realmuto is bothered the most by his shoulder when he swings-and-misses. So Realmuto’s swing in the eighth inning must have been pain-free.
Realmuto didn’t miss when he connected on a first-pitch fastball to lead off the inning with a go-ahead homer after the bullpen blew its 31st save of the season in the top of the eighth.
Realmuto’s shoulder bothered him enough last week that he had an anti-inflammatory injection after Sunday’s game and was out of the lineup for Tuesday’s loss. The Phillies think the injection can keep him active the rest of the way and it wasn’t hard to see the impact of having Realmuto in the lineup. He had three hits, including an RBI single in the fifth.
Power Ranger
Ranger Suárez’s night could have easily unraveled when Didi Gregorius botched a grounder that should have ended the third inning.
Instead of turning a double play, Gregorius kept the inning alive and soon the bases were loaded. But the Phillies moved Suárez this season from long reliever to setup man to closer to starting pitcher because of his unflappable mound presence. So why would this test him?
Suárez didn’t blink. He retired two of the three batters he faced after Gregorius’ error and ended the inning without a run. Suárez pitched six innings, allowed two runs, and gave the bullpen a lead to blow. Suárez has a 1.85 ERA in nine starts since sliding last month into the rotation, appearing to solidify his place in next season’s starting rotation.
Freddy’s night
The Phillies won’t expect Freddy Galvis to carry their lineup as they play him nearly every day at third base down the stretch, but they’ll take nights like Wednesday. Galvis had three hits, including a two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Phillies a three-run lead. It was Galvis’a fourth homer in his last 10 games.
