DOWN BUT NOT OUT: Phillies Erase 6-0 Deficit in Pittsburgh

Down 6-0? Never count 'em out! We break down the Phillies' insane 11-8 extra-inning comeback over the Pirates. Plus, post-game audio from Don Mattingly and Bryce Harper on the massive win! #RingTheBell #PhiladelphiaPhillies #MLBonX

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Gregory Soto, the former filling thugs on his captain did up back up on the hill. Two and one. The left-hander deals. The pick to one on hitting the air, right center field is deep. Going back to the track. Reynolds at the ball. He jumped it off the top of the ball. It's coming up the third. The throw is black. The game is done. The throw the third. Doubling off the base. He has to play the game of the night. With a double high up off the wall. And the fellies with a second straight Friday night. One ball, one strike. Swung on hit well, right field, going back, turning and looking up. And the ball is off the top of the 21 from the wall. Boom! It's around third. He's headed home. It's an RBI double for Brandon March. Another near miss of a homer, but this one gives the Phillies the lead. It's nine to eight. One and one. Santana is ready. It's one on the line. It's in Brandon! Mars Job delivers! Both brothers must go! Mars Job! His first death pulled 25! His first death in eight! And he's driven home! Joe is the fellow's deleted! Oh no, he found it on. He did not be down. It's a twin and a bit. He clock marks down on the back twenty with a bat. And Burking gets the tave in the Phillies. Get a big time cut from behind Win on the road in Pittsburgh. They rally from six to nothing down, and they end up winning it in 10-11. Nine the final one a game.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Breathe back, breathe, breathe up, check it out, speed up, go fast, slow down, breathe, breathe, breathe up, check it out, speed up, go fast, slow down, hold down, hold down, hold down, hold down, pull, pull, a pull, pull, pull, pull, a pull, pull, boy, million, million, homie, J, J, Z, count up, J, J, D, D, Pull up, walk in. Everybody, yeah, like watch out.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

You get the go-ahead, RBI. We are gonna use your walk-up song, and that's exactly why you hear Brandon Marsh's walk-up song to introduce us to a wacky recap of tonight's victory for the Philadelphia Phillies, an improbable win for the Phillies as they roar back down six to nothing in the third. They roar back down seven to three in the bottom of the fifth. They roar back down eight to three in the bottom of the sixth, or in the top of the seventh as we get through the first two-thirds of the game. It's in the final third, you're down five runs. The game is unwatchable at this point. But thanks to five RBIs tonight from Kyle Schwerber, two home runs hitting his 19th and 20th homers on the season. The man is on pace for over 70 homers at this point. Will he get to 70? Probably not, but I I mean it would be quite the season. But hey, can he get to forty and we can trade, you know, maybe those rest of the 30 homers for about 30 more ribies? We'll take that. The Phillies come roaring back down eight to five in the ninth, and after facing former teammate Gregory Soto, the man who uh sp I mean, looking at it from the outside perspective with the trade deadline happenings two years ago in 2024, where it was uh put out there, kind of suggested that he wanted a much bigger role in the Phillies bullpen, wasn't happy that he wasn't been being used late in games. So he gets used late in a game here tonight, and he helps out his former club by blowing his second save of the year and walking the ballpark. I mean, just uh an emphatic down eight to five. Eight to five. And in an inning that started with Edmundo Sosa busting it down the first baseline to be able to beat out Connor Griffin's uh throw, which Griffin would be scored in error, and then Justin Crawford comes up. Now, Edmundo had already been moved to second, so this doesn't advance him further. A pitch that, you know, was a slider in that Crawford probably would like to have had back because it would have been ball four. Uh but then Adolis Garcia, so he grounds out back to Soto. But Adolis Garcia pinch hitting for Garrett Stubbs does a terrific job. Now he had already seen how wild Gregory Soto was. Soto couldn't find the strike zone to save his life. None of his pitches to Justin Crawford, according to MLB.com here, none of them were in the strike zone. And Adolis Garcia, recognizing that, at least I'm going to think he recognized that, walks on a three and just works the count and takes a walk. Gets to first. Trey Turner, a good piece of hitting, goes the other way on an 0-1 sinker, loads the bases up, and then he didn't even want to pitch to Kyle Schwerber. He wanted to challenge a 3-0 sinker that was way low here, according to StatCast, and uh sure enough, it's an 8-6 game. And then Bryce Harper comes up and against again his former teammate, 2-1 pitch, a slider low. Harper's all over it. He crushes it, as you heard their courtesy of Nick Picone. We are of course very grateful that Nick Pacone provides all his fans with the uh end-of-game audio after wins that he provides us with, with the Phillies, with the with the Eagles, with the Sixers, with the Flyers, hell, even with Penn State at times. And he provides us with a call right there from the great Scott Franski on Bryce Harper. We thought maybe he had the go-ahead grand slam. He ties it up at eight instead, which was just I mean, inch an inch away from it being a go-ahead grand slam. It was a 2021 season, if you remember that far back, where the Phillies had all those missed opportunities uh due to the fact that their right field wall has that yellow, you know, yellow strip, and the Phillies that year were of course it felt like cursed by the way CBP was built with the with the shorter that fence there in right field. So it was kind of uh this was kind of a salute to that season as Harper comes oh so close to to sending it out, but it's tied up at eight. We go to the bottom of the ninth, it's one, two, three up with Cruz, with Brandon Lowe, with Brian Reynolds, and Jose Alvarado's out there. And Alvarado, he continues to lower that ERA. I think he came in with it at 520, it lowers to 506. He gets O'Neill Cruz to strike out, then Brandon Lowe gives up a single, then Brian Reynolds, who got the single, would steal second, but then Ryan O'Hearn strikes out, so uh Alvarado able to uh get 304 outs there, and obviously doing it via the strikeout, and then leading off the top of the tenth was Brandon Marsh on a 1-1 pitch, a slider uh that Marsh goes down and gets and does a really nice you know, Brandon Marsh does a really nice job being a low ball hitter here on Dennis Santana, and Marsh traditionally is a pretty good low ball hitter, but he lets that slider come in and he sends it what I'm sure we all thought was out again, paying homage to uh that season where you think, man, that that ball sure as heck is gone. It's not, and the Phillies lead by one, but they would get that tenth run as Bryson Stott would have an excuse me single in the left center. Thought Marsh could have tried it. Obviously, O'Neill Cruz runs well. Then Bryson Stott steals second, and then an unlikely production is how we'll put it from Raphael Marshawn as he comes through with a two-run single to plate Marsh and Stott. Unfortunately, after Justin Crawford would single uh into center and then Marshawn, and then Crawford would steal second, the Phillies couldn't do anything else in that inning to really tack on. They'd bring in Orion Kirking, and remember Kerckering, of course, gives up the two-run blast against the Red Sox earlier in the week. He walks Marcel Ozuna to lead off the inning. Ozuna, uh, the seventh pitch of the at-bat, sure, it was high, it was up and in, but Ozuna staring out at Kirchering as if Kerckering really meant to hit Ozuna in that situation to bring the tying run to the plate, as John Crux said on air. Like, yeah, dude, we're we're trying to hit you in this scenario. We'd love to get to the guy that's hitting 315 right now with runners at first and second, man. Come on. I mean, maybe this is why, you know, your decision making uh off the field has been put into question. Just saying. But Nick Gonzalez probably thought he did have a hit. You know, I mentioned it when we previewed this series yesterday, batting 315. He's gonna pinch hit for Billy Cook, and he hits a grounder. It's 85.5 registered off the bat, an 01 sinker that's in, and he lines it down the left field line, or at least we think it's gonna escape the infield dirt. But Alec Boehm going to his right does a great job sliding, getting to it, firing from foul territory. I did not know he had this good of an arm. But he clearly off balance, the guys got a little. I mean, it was uh, if you remember Mike Cal Franco did this one time, he fielded a foul ball. It was a foul ball, but he went and got it because I don't think Mike Cal Franco knew what was going on, anyways. Throws it from foul territory in midair and gets it all the way down to Reese Hoskins. But Alec Bohm showing tremendous range and off balance to get it to Bryce Harper, and a great job by Harper there to cover on that play, or you know, really stretch out, make the play, hold on to it, and then Connor Griffin would ground out to Alec Bohm this time going to his left. So two tremendous defensive plays by Bohm and then Andy Rodriguez strikes out, as you heard Scott Franski call. It was a little uh odd, little weird call to end what was an otherwise unbelievable game. I mean, really was. You know, typically in a baseball season, as you well know, it's 162 games. Every game kind of tends to blend into one another. This is one that is gonna stick out. This is one that you're gonna say, man, remember that May 15th game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on quote unquote rivalry weekend where Aaron Nola just stunk up the joint. Uh, where, you know, don't worry, we haven't forgotten about him and how we really got to this point, but the Phillies were able to fight clawback, scratch, and gouge, and get to a game under 500, and you hope this is going to be one of those wins where, you know, you look back on it and you say, Man, that really showed the character of the team. You know, for all the faults of this season, for all the, oh my goodness, how in the world is the offense this bad? Oh my god, the starting pitching stinks, the bullpen can't get anyone out. This is a terrible bullpen, this, that, and the third. They fire Rob Thompson, and listen, I don't want to get too, you know, nostalgic about it because they're not back to 500, and you know, there's still more work to obviously be done. It's the middle of May. It's still a long season. But at certain points you do have to sit back and kind of just look at everything and say, man, tomorrow they really have a chance to get back to the 500 mark. And in case you were wondering, when the last time was that the Phillies were 500 on the season, because yeah, it's been that damn long. It was all the way back on April 13th, so a little over a month, when they had that 13-7 win against the Cubs, and then since then they went on that 10-game losing slide, they go all the way down to 9-19, and then Rob Thompson's fired, and since then, they're 13-4. And I said it at the time when they put Don Mattingley into the interim role, like that, it can change. When they fired Joe Girardi and they promoted Rob Thompson, it took a week. This obviously took a lot more than just a week, but to get back to the 500 point, if they can do so tomorrow, you you s you celebrate that. I think as fans, you do celebrate in the fact that, man, you know, look at we gotta be proud in what our team just did. And to look at the lineup tonight and everyone that appeared in the in the game in terms of the position players, everyone played a role. You know, Trey Turner came through with a big hit, now he was one for six, and Trey Turner's been struggling at the plate. But Kyle Schwarber, three for five, not to get lost on the improbable win, but my God, I mean, that home run he hit to make it an eight to three game. Or eight to five game, I beg your pardon. Uh, and the home run he hit to make it an eight to three game as well, both the home runs. But lefty on lefty, where he just muscled that ball in, I think was the sixth inning or seventh inning over O'Neill Cruz's head and out into the bullpens, that was just unbelievable by Schwarber to hit his 20th on the year. And then Bryce Harper, obviously four for five tonight, coming through to tie the game. Um, Alec Boehm with the defensive plays. Now he did have a hit as well, but his two defensive plays in the 10th were tremendous. Brandon Marsh coming through uh to obviously have the go-ahead, Bryson Stott, the excuse me, single, and then you know that results in a run. Edmundo Sosa legging out that ball, Rafael Marchand to be able uh to come through with the two-run single, Justin Crawford, couple big hits for him. He's he swipes that bag. Um, but you know, an awesome job by him, Garrett Stubbs, defensively. He was tremendous. Uh he scored a run as well, and Adolius Garcia, the the good plate discipline. Uh, you know, everyone contributed. Everyone contributed. That was an all-around team win from the offense. From the pitching. Now, alright, let's start off with Aaronola. The best the best of the night was Chase Sugar. Let's be honest. Chase Sugar gave you two terrific innings. And Alvarado came in and got you through the ninth, and give O'Rian Kirk Ring his flowers because he ends up coming through with the save his first of the year. But we gotta talk about Aaronola. What a horrible night from Nola. You know, there was the play in the third inning where you have the leadoff hitter in Connor Griffin. He's single, he has an infield hit, Alec Boehm goes down, gets the ball, comes up, and unfortunately can't get it across in time. What are you gonna do? But then he w you know, but he kept it from being because you saw the youngster speed tonight in Connor Griffin to bust it down the line to beat out that ball. You thought, okay, maybe, you know, this is where Aranola bears down. And I gotta wonder, I think it's a lot more mental than it is physical with Aranola. Because there are pitchers, and we have had them here in the past, where your arm is spent at a certain point in your career, but you have to be able to manipulate hitters. It's why I just got done talking about in the previous previous episode. That's why Ranger Swarez is going to have a long career. It's why Jamie Moyer was able to pitch into his 50s, because of the fact that if you are able to manipulate hitters and you can just get outs, you can, you know, and obviously there's a whole, you know, being good in the clubhouse and all that kind of stuff that came with those guys, but you can have an opportunity to pitch game three in a World Series, like Jamie was able to do. Aaron Nola can still very much save his career by doing that, but just not being able to bear down and be mentally strong is his biggest problem. And I'm telling you, when he was younger, he had a lot of great gifts. He had a lot of great gifts in that knuckle curve, you know, when he had that fastball rolling. But boy, oh boy, I think he is just not all there in terms of having the mental toughness when he does not have his stuff. And you could see it tonight. And then he walked Indy Rodriguez, and you're like, well, two-on, nobody out, sure enough, and they get an out off the bunt, and then he gives up a single to O'Neill Cruz, where it's kind of like, alright, Noli, you know, really bear down here. You just got to strike on a changeup, up and in with a sinker, and O'Neal Cruz makes it a 2-0 game. Then it's like, okay, bear down some more, you can still get out of the inning. Two run homer to Brandon Lowe. Two run homer to Marcelo Zuna. It's 6-0. I mean, I just I don't know what more you can do with this. And he's got four more years left on his contract. You can't eat it, you can't do anything with it. You just kinda have to just say, man, you and Andrew Payner, one of you guys, has to figure out a way to just give us a chance. Because you saw tonight, it should not take eleven runs. If you are of the age that you are, it should not take eleven runs. If you're Andrew Payner, there's a little bit more of a leeway. He's a young guy. You are not. You are old. You know, I bring up Jamie Moyer. It's a little coincidental. Now, granted, I don't know if Andrew Payner, he's clearly not showing the signs right now he could be like him. But Jamie Moyer served as a role model to Cole Hammels, the professor to the young student, was kind of the mantra there for the uh 07 and 08 seasons. That's what Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler could serve for Andrew Painter. And I mean, certainly, you know, if you are a guy like Aaron Nola, who does not have his stuff at this point in his career, and you are just able to manipulate hitters, that is still something that is valuable. That is still something to have value because you are a mentally strong pitcher, and that's something that you need to instill in the young guys. The problem is, he's just not mentally strong. Again, he is not mentally strong enough and not mentally capable enough to be able to overcome these. He's just not. It's been his problem throughout the majority of his career, and it's gotten worser and worse. And I'm telling you, that's what it is. Because he can still possess the ability to be able to manipulate guys. I mean, once you wrap it around your head that, you know what? I'm in the big leagues. Like, I mean, I, you know, obviously you look at it the way you're looking at it, but I got this big of a contract for a reason. I have the stuff. It might not be as good, but I have the stuff. I have the confidence that I can do what needs to be done to help the team. And he's just not doing it. But he's got to figure it out. I mean, because you're the only thing we don't have anyone else. It's not like we can shelf him and it's like, well, we're gonna bring up whomever. We've got depth down in the minor leagues. That's not the case. No one's sitting down there. There's no one to come rescue you. You have to figure this out. He has to figure this out. And God forbid, you do not want him to turn into the guy that it's like, well, we're gonna use Chase Sugar to be an opener tonight. Like if you're at that point, I mean dude go up to the front office and tell them it's better I'm gonna slide the contract across the table. I'll accept uh demotion to the minor leagues. I will accept being DFA'd. Because you know, if that's what you're gonna if if that's where we're at. And you should give the the the game check tonight goes to those players that appeared, even the guys that came in afterwards that shouldn't have been in that early in the game. Albeit Bolin and Tim Meza weren't exactly great, but still. I mean, everyone else I can at least say something decent about him, not tonight. Now, to talk about the comeback in the game, here was Don Addley afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

You know, once we get down six, we're actually gone back, and then Schwarb gets us within three. I thought those middle innings hurt us up. You know, I was worried those middle innings where we give up one on the Homer, and then we give up one, you know, with two out there, chance to make a play. But the boys kept coming after that. You know, our bullpen did a nice job out of there. Should give us two innings, Alvi an inning. Yeah, Harp and Schworb both, right? I talked about it a little bit before the game. Schorb is one of those guys that you think if you make pitches, you get him out. And if you make mistakes, then he makes you pay. So it's like you feel like you can go after him a little bit if you make the right pitch. Uh, but you know, he makes you pay when you make mistakes or or leave the ball on the plate. He's a good game planner. Yeah, I think the fact that we've, you know, we we came back the other day and we just didn't didn't quite get there, uh, had chances. You know, the boys that we talk about just keep going, right? Sometimes we're gonna play a series like Boston where it's you know low-scoring games, you gotta find a way to win those. Our pitching's good enough to do that. Uh, and there's gonna be games that you gotta win. And we talk about the game I said 8-7. I didn't I didn't think it was gonna be like this. But, you know, you gotta find different ways to win. And sometimes you gotta go bang, and sometimes you gotta find a way to scratch a run in.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

I referenced that uh 2021 season a couple of times. There were wins like this all throughout that year. If you look it up, you will see my God, they came back down that many runs against the Nationals, you know, albeit that wasn't a great Nationals team, uh, that just sold off Trey Turner and c and Mac Scherzer and company and Kyle Schwerber. But, you know, there was if you remember the Brad Miller Grand Slam game, they came back down like eight to or something, like eight-nothing. I don't think was it eight-nothing or like it may have been six-nothing in that game. Uh, there were a couple of moments like that in that season and it and it happens. You know, you play 162 games, you're gonna have wacky comebacks. Now it's ironic because a week ago I was screaming into the microphone about the fact that they did not come through in the bottom of the tenth against Colorado with runners on first and second. Now, I mean, I hate to be that person, but if they did there, we're talking about, hey, they're back to five hundred. Now, they do have the unique opportunity this week of learning from that moment, and they did. And they shortened their approach. I'm sure, you know, m maybe Don Hattingley was in there getting on them a little bit like guys, quit trying to hit it, you know, 400 feet, just put a good swing on it. And you heard tonight John Crook mention this, and I'm blanking on when exactly it was. I if it was in the it was the last out in the in the ninth, with Harper at second, and the first pitch, boom, you know, is coming out of his shoe swinging, and Cruz says, I I'm gonna paraphrase here, but basically it was like, just a single, Alec, don't need a swing too big, and you can tell when he's saying that he's getting frustrated with what he's seeing, because he's like, dude, number one, that's ball four. Number two, that's way too big of a swing. Now, Bryce Harper also spoke about the comeback afterwards, and here he was post-game with Tom McCarthy and John Croc.

SPEAKER_05 26:22

Yeah, I thought uh as a team, as a group, right? We get down early. Um, and then we just we fight and claw back. Um, you know, I think as a team, we just we're never down, never out of it, obviously. Um, you know, the way we're playing right now, that's that's who we are, that's who we've you know have become the last couple years, and uh what a day.

SPEAKER_04 26:38

Yeah, that was a fun watch, I tell you. But talk about that defensive play that Alex Ball made there in the last man.

SPEAKER_05 26:45

That was that was that was touching right there. That was awesome. Uh what a play by him. He's just done over there, man. He uh he's worked so hard the last couple years as Diggy, and you know, having to be able to kind of put it forward and do his job was uh it was great.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

You guys just need enough of Gregory's Toto. We're watching that play right now. It's all slides in the fouth territory, just lets it fly. Uh you guys just need enough of Gregory's Toto. It it seemed like you were on everything all night, and you have it on this script, despite the fact that he'd been hitting it just a bit out. Uh talk about that point a little bit against Toto.

SPEAKER_05 27:17

Yeah, but uh no, I mean, just trying to get a pitch in the zone. Obviously, he goes forward straight to put uh uh the storage right there, and uh just trying to get a pitcher on the zone, chase the tinker in right there, and then that's what stuff, you know, he's probably gonna go somewhere else speed away. Uh was able to stay through it and uh you know make some habitat of the game up.

SPEAKER_04 27:35

Hey, big hit of the game was yours, of course. Of course, I was two homers, but how happy are you for Rafael Marcando that one?

SPEAKER_05 27:43

Man, I think all of us were so happy for him, man. What an at-bat you had. I mean, every at bat there in the tenth, um, you want to be able to get some runs up there for your bullpen right there. And um, uh, you know, our young guys came through and you know, really, really good at bats right there um in the in the tenth inning.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

There has been a culture that has been built within the Phillies team, and it actually goes all the way back to guys who aren't even on the team because Kyle Schwarber talks about it a couple times. He'll quote Reese Hoskins, who said anytime you had the bat in your hand, something can happen, something good can happen. And it was kind of like a any chance, you know, you're down, whatever, make something happen. I mean, it ha you know, you think back when they were going through that streak of of games that week when Rob Thompson was promoted to be the interim, and the game that stuck stuck out s in everyone's mind was when they faced Josh Hayter in Milwaukee. I think it was like that following Monday or Tuesday after the Angels series, and they're down two to one in the top of the ninth, and Alec Bohm comes up, solo home run over the left field wall. Matt Vierling just called up, solo home run over the left field wall, and they end up winning the game three to two. If I remember correctly, Corey Canable had the bases loaded with two outs and they came through. But regardless, they came through and won the game. Much like tonight. You know, there's moments where you're where where it's a little hazy, where it's a little nerve-wracking, and they come through. And for the offense, you know, they didn't muster much in Boston. I mean, we know this. Six runs in three days. Pretty bad. Eleven runs in one game. Now let's see if that can carry into tomorrow. Because this can have that kind of effect. You know, if I remember correctly, after that game against Milwaukee, the following next day, they kind of put up a a a big spot on the Brewers. You know, the offense came through. They just took the momentum and wrote it. And when you have a team like the Pirates who are young, you know, this can have an effect of where it's like, oh my goodness. You know, number one, we were up three runs in the ninth. Gregory Soto. Ooh. You know, look out. But that's a young team that can, you know, potentially eh, kind of turtle a little bit. You know, there's that potential there. I mean, they're trying to figure this thing out. They're a young team. They're a good young team, but they're a young team. The Phillies can seriously take advantage of this and get the series win tomorrow and get back to 500 because then you know what's coming at you Sunday with Paul Skeens. So get it done tomorrow with Sanchez on the mound, get back to 500, and then we start over again. And I would love nothing more than to start over again at 23 and 23. But thanks everyone for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.

SPEAKER_07 30:45

Anyone know?