Lol. After dropping the first game of the series to the Baltimore Orioles, the Phillies battled back in extras last night to beat an abysmal Baltimore Orioles baseball team by a final score of 3-2. The Phillies now sit 3 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East standings, who also won last night, and 4.5 back of the NL Wild Card with just 11 games to play.

The “Battle of the Bullpens” took place in South Philly last night, and it actually turned out to be a….pitching duel? A total of 13 pitchers took the mound last night between both teams, with 8 pitchers throwing for the Orioles. They threw out a mix of bullpen guys, people who I have never heard of in my life, and guys who got DFA’d like three days ago. And yet, the Phillies got shut out through 5 innings. Are we surprised?

The bullpen games have been a rollercoaster ride over the last month and a half. While it seems like they can’t get worse, since the beginning of August, the Phillies are 7-2 in games where the 5th rotation spot is being used. If that isn’t a stat, then I don’t know what is.

The Orioles got on the board first in the top of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single. The score would sit at 1-0 until the bottom of the 6th when Andrew McCutchen roped a double to deep centerfield that would score JT Realmuto.

The game would hold at a 1-1 tie until the top of the 10th inning when Ian Kennedy, the fifth pitcher of the night, would have to throw his second inning, something he doesn’t usually do as the closer. Kennedy would give up a go-ahead double to put the Orioles up 2-1. It seemed like the game was over….it wasn’t.

Ronald Torreyes would start at 2nd base for the Phillies thanks to the extra innings rule in the 10th. Odubel Herrera would rope a ball up the middle, that would get scooped up by the shortstop and thrown to first. Although Odubel was thrown out, Torreyes would be moved over to 3rd. Jean Segura had one of the worst at-bats of the season, striking out in terrible fashion. The Orioles would walk Bryce Harper to put men on first and third, bringing JT Realmuto to the plate for the Phillies. Take it away TMac.

Boom. JT Realmuto, after struggling severely over the last month, finally came up clutch and won this team a crucial game, sealing a final score of 3-2. The Phillies moved to 77-74 on the season and evened out the series vs the horrendous Baltimore Orioles. The Phillies will look to win the series today, sending Zack Wheeler (14-9, 2.83 ERA) to the mound in the series finale.

A must-win game tonight. Ace on the mound…get the job done.

Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies