The Phillies closed out their series with the Diamondbacks today in a matinee game, winning by a final score of 7-4. Philadelphia has now won three in a row and are now 66-64, 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves who won today as well. However, crunch time is upon us, and with just 32 games left in the regular season, the team needs to keep winning consistently.

The Phillies’ offense would get off to a hot start once again today, wasting no time to provide insurance runs for Ranger Suarez. Andrew McCutchen would start the scoring with a single to score Jean Segura, to make it a 1-0 ballgame. Freddy Galvis would then sacrifice JT Realmuto home on a sac fly to move the lead to two.

Ranger Suarez was great again today. Making his sixth start of the season, Suarez threw 5.1 innings, allowing just five hits, one earned run, and striking out five batters. Suarez also ramped up the usage of his slider today, something he hasn’t done in his five previous starts.

Suarez threw his slider 13 times today, compared to just 6 times in last 2 games. The Phillies would get back on the board in the 5th inning. Jorge Bonifacio would ground out to first which would score Jean Segura, followed by another RBI single from Freddy Galvis that would score two, moving the score to 5-1.

JT Realmuto would leave the game midway through with left ankle soreness. He fouled a pitch off that same spot earlier in the game, and it seemed like the pain was lingering back. He would walk off the field after his at-bat in what looked like minor pain, and headed right to the clubhouse. There has been no further update on JT since the occurrence of the injury.

JD Hammer would throw the final two outs of the sixth inning, letting up zero hits and zero runs. Connor Brogdon would come in to pitch the 7th, and would find himself in a little trouble. He would let up two hits and walk one as well, but would escape the inning with only one run allowed, making it a 5-2 ballgame.

Archie Bradley would pitch the 8th inning, and would make this game interesting like all Phillies pitchers love to do. Bradley would only record two outs in the 8th, after allowing three hits, two earned runs, and one walk. Hector Neris would come in to pickup Bradley for the last out in the 8th, and win the battle vs Ketel Marte.

The Phillies took a one run lead into the 9th, but they weren’t done. They kept the insurance runs coming, which started with an error by the third baseman on a Freddy Galvis at-bat. Rafael Marchan would rope a ball into centerfield that would tip off of Marte’s glove, sending Marchan all the way to third.

Travis Jankowski wanted to join in on the triple fun as well. He would step up to the plate immediately following Marchan, and would send a strike down the first baseline to add another run to the scoreboard.

Ian Kennedy would come into the game in the 9th, and close it out with no problem. Today makes it three in a row for the Phillies, who will now travel to Washington DC to take on the divison rival Washington Nationals. The team got the job done today, collecting a series win with a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

3 in a row. Never needed a Phillies run more in my life. Go sweep the Nats.

Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Phillies