The Philadelphia Phillies kicked off the second half of the 2021 season yesterday with a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins. Matt Moore vs Sandy Alcantara kicked off at 4:05pm down in a hot, humid, Citizens Bank Park. Entering yesterday, Alcantara was 1-1 in two starts against the Phillies this season and had only allowed two earned runs in 14 innings of work. The Phillies were batting a collective .091 with a .348 OPS against him this year.

Yesterday, things changed. Travis Jankowski knocked in three runs with the bases loaded after Bryce Harper doubled, and Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius were both walked.

Jankowski was 3-for-3 in the game and raised his season batting average to .350. Alcantara lasted just three innings and threw 80 pitches. The Phillies got a solid start from Matt Moore, who struck out nine Marlins batters. He was even able to work himself out of a jam in the first inning with runners on the corners.

The Phillies won the game 5-2. Moore now holds a 3.06 ERA since rejoining the Phillies rotation. The Phillies, were briefly a game above .500 for the first time since June 13th and had Zach Eflin on the mound in the night game.

Obviously, the Phillies lost the next game. The Marlins beat the Phillies 7 -0 in game two, dropping the Phillies back to the .500 mark they just climbed above a few hours earlier. What I personally don’t understand is why Bryce Harper got to rest game two. Matt Vierling was starting in right field. Jankowski, who just came off a 3-for-3 game and was the driving force of our offense, didn’t start game two either.

It was super hot so I get it, but what an opportunity to jump on. Zach Eflin didn’t help them on the mound. He allowed five runs over 3 2/3 innings and threw a very rough 79 pitches in that span. On the season the Phillies are now just 7-11 when Eflin starts.

The Phillies splitting a double header did get them a half game on the NL East Leading New York Mets. The Phils are now 45-45 and three games back of the Mets. Vincent Velasquez will be on the mound today. Zack Wheeler tomorrow. Every game from here on out will be big. It’s up to the Phillies to capitalize and win enough games to consider themselves contenders before the deadline.

Before I go, here’s Rhys Hoskins with a Gold Glove play for the haters (of which there are many).

Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies