I honestly don’t even know what happened last night. The Phillies were playing the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park with an opportunity to win the series. It’s September 17th and they are in the middle of a division and Wild Card run. All momentum has been killed over the past few weeks. A decade long playoff drought has been looming on the horizon. The Phillies, without a number five starter in their rotation, were pitching a bullpen game. 

Cam Bedrosian got things started for the Phillies pitching 1.1 innings, allowing zero hits and no runs while striking out two. Matt Moore was next up and let up a hit, and two runs while walking two Cubs batters. JD Hammer followed by pitching just 0.1 innings, allowing four hits, five earned runs, and a walk while striking out one. When the third inning came to an end, The Phillies were down 7-0 to the Chicago Cubs. Everyone, including myself, thought the game was over. But as I typically do, I sat there watching in disgust wondering why I continuously put myself through hell watching the Phillies break my heart night in and night out. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the impossible happened. The Phillies scored seven runs to tie the ball game. Andrew McCutchen hit a 2-run double to score Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto. Matt Joyce notched an RBI after a bases loaded walk. Odubel Herrera singled on a line drive to left field to score Brad Miller. Jean Segura picked up an RBI on a ground out. JT Realmuto singled to center to score Matt Joyce. 

The Phillies kept things rolling in the sixth inning, with a Bryce Harper double to score Herrera and a 2-run single from Didi Gregorius gave The Phillies a 10-7 lead. The Fightins continued to pile on the Cubs with an 2-run Odubel Herrera double in the bottom of the seventh inning followed by a three run home run from Bryce Harper to extend their lead to 15-8. Jean Segura would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and just like that, the Phillies came back from a 7-0 deficit to win the series and beat the Cubs 17-8 in the finale. 

Phillies Top Performers:

• Bryce Harper: 3-for-4 with 4 RBI
• Odubel Herrera: 2-for-5 with 3 RBI
• Jean Segura: 3-for-6 with 3 RBI
• JT Realmuto: 1-for-4 with 2 RBI
• Didi Gregorius: 1-for-5 with 2 RBI
• Andrew McCutchen: 2-for-5 with 2 RBI

The Phillies definitely needed a spark to get things moving in September. Last night they got that and more with every player in the lineup contributing at the plate, lead by none other than THE National League MVP in Bryce Harper. The Phillies are now 3 games back of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. They are 2.5 games out of the second NL Wild Card spot behind the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.

The Phillies will now head to New York for a three game series against the New York Mets. Zack Wheeler will be on the mound tonight against his former team. The Braves will head west to face the Giants for three games, the Diamondbacks for four games, and the Padres for 3.5 games. At the end of September, the two teams will meet in Atlanta in what could be a deciding factor on which team will make it to the postseason.

Just Ring It.

Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies