Bryce Harper Taijuan Walker Phillies Giants

Bryce Harper, Taijuan Walker lead the way as the Phillies beat the Giants 5-4 on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies continued to handle business against inferior baseball teams last night, beating the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on Sunday Night Baseball.

The May schedule for the Phillies is somewhat of a ‘cake walk’. They play one team with a winning record (Texas Rangers 19-16) and have a major opportunity to create separation in the National League East standings.

So far, so good. The Phillies are 4-0 in the month of May. They have won five straight games and 9 out of their last 10. At 24-11 on the season, they hold the best record in Major League Baseball and are currently in first place in the NL East, 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves.

Last night, Taijuan Walker was on the mound for the Phillies after Rob Thomson announced that he would rejoin the rotation, sending Spencer Turnbull to the bullpen.

To Note: Spencer Turnbull has made six starts for the Phillies this season. He’s posted an impressive 1.67 ERA and a 2-0 record. He is two outs shy of qualifying to appear on the starting pitchers stat leaderboards but Turnbull’s 1.67 ERA would rank fourth in the National behind only Shota Imanaga (0.78), teammate Ranger Suarez (1.32) and Reynaldo López (1.50).

Needless to say, Walker needed a solid outing after his 2024 debut in San Diego last week, where he tossed 6.1 innings, allowing eight hits, six earned runs, and two walks while striking out four, was less than stellar in comparison to what Turnbull has provided the rotation in his absence.

Taijuan Walker delivered.

He cruised through six innings before finally running into some trouble in the seventh, allowing two home runs that put the Giants back in the ballgame.

Luckily, the Phillies jumped out to a 5-1 lead mainly thanks to Bryce Harper, who always delivers under the bright lights of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. Harper led the way for the Phillies offense, crushing a go-ahead 3-run home run in the bottom of the third inning.

Bryce Harper 3-Run Home Run

The Philadelphia Phillies are 24-11. They hold the best record in Major League Baseball. They have won five straight games and nine out of their last 10. Zack Wheeler will take the mound today at 4:05 pm looking for the four-game sweep of the Giants.