Phillies avoid sweep against Pittsburgh, win 15-4

The Phillies took the series finale of their three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 15-4. Kyle Gibson made his Phillies debut and had some much-needed help from the lineup .

Gibson went 6.2 innings in his debut for the Phillies, allowing five hits, two earned runs, two walks, and five Ks. It was an impressive outing for the new acquisition, dominating most of the game and doing everything a starter is asked to do in a ballgame. His fastball command was good and his off speed was even better. He fooled a lot of hitters today, and is proving so far to be a great addition to the rotation.

Kyle finished his start well over 100 pitches, which is not something you see ion this rotation very often. Things seem to be looking up in terms of starting pitching. Gibson also tallied his 1000th strikeout for his career. Ian Kennedy closed out the game and made his debut for the Fightins in the bottom of the 9th inning, allowing the only home run on the day by either team.

A Phils debut well done. pic.twitter.com/MTH34u5WNh

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 1, 2021

The offense went off without a hitch today shockingly enough. It has been a brutal weekend for offense on the side of the Phillies, but today they were knocking the cover off of the ball. The lineup strung together 20 hits on the day, nine of which were doubles. The last time the Phillies hit nine doubles in one game was all the way back in 1986.

Bryce Harper has finally broken .300 BA in his time with the Phillies with three doubles and an RBI on the day. He is now slashing .302 with 39 RBIs on the year. Alec Bohm had himself a day as well with two hits and a couple RBIs, extending his hot streak. Since June 1st, Bohm has been slashing .324/.392/.436. Hard to believe and yet, here we are.

JT Realmuto first time this season with 4 hits, 4 RBIs in a game 💥💥

Bryce Harper has been on base 4 times and is now batting .302

Jean Segura with 3 RBIs

pic.twitter.com/kNYIla9K0A

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 1, 2021

Didi Gregorious had a day as well with three hits and three RBIs. JT Realmuto also tallied five hits and four RBIs on the day. The Phillies were 10 for 26 with runners in scoring position on the day. Definitely a step in the right direction for the struggling offense.

Overall, the offense seemed to be taking out some frustration on the Pirates, having only scored two runs in the first two games against them. The Phillies go back to battling in the NL East for a four game series against a newly depleted Washington Nationals team. They could use a sweep to gain some traction on the division-leading New York Mets.

Mandatory Credit: NBC Sports