Phillies hold on for 8-7 win, overcome Pirates 5-run 9th inning

The Phillies beat the Pirates 8-7, but it was much closer than it should have been thanks to Jeurys Familia, who gave up 5 runs in a dramatic 9th inning.

Phillies (52-47) Beat Pirates (40-58)

• Winning Pitcher: Zack Wheeler (9-5, 2.77)
• Losing Pitcher: Zach Thompson (3-8, 5.09)
• Save: Seranthony Dominguez (6, 1.72)

The Phillies were cruising after Didi Gregorius singled to right field to score Nick Castellanos from second base in the 7th inning, pushing the lead to 8-0. At the same moment Zach Wheeler was cruising having yet to allow a run over 6 dominant innings.

Zack Wheeler gave up his only two runs in the bottom of the 7th, when he gave up a two run home run to Pirates designated hitter Cal Mitchell. Wheeler managed to navigate his way through the inning and exited after giving up only three hits and the Phils in possession of a 6-run lead.

But even a 6-run lead is not safe when your team allows Jeurys Familia to take the mound. Familia entered the game with a pedestrian 4.68 ERA, a number not nearly representative of how disastrous his pitching has been this season. This appearance was no different as Familia could only complete a third of an inning before coughing up 5 earned runs and walk a batter on four hits. Thanks to his fantastic night, Familia’s ERA has swelled to 6.00 and Dave Dombrowski should think about sending him to the minors for a rehab assignment to get himself ‘right’.

Luckily, Seranthony Dominguez was able to warm up in time to stop what would have been the 2nd most painful loss of the season, just barely behind the Mets 7-run comeback in the 9th inning on May 5th. Dominguez allowed an unearned run on a RBI groundout by Oneil Cruz, but was able to get Ke’Bryan Hayes to fly out to right field during the next at bat ending the ball game.

If you manage to forget the wild and painful 9th inning, the Phillies actually played well and the offense was clicking almost from the first pitch. Darick Hall had a 2 RBI triple in the 1st inning in which the Phillies jumped out to a three run lead.

Alec Bohm had two hits and added another RBI to extend his recent hot stretch that pushed his batting average to a team best 2.94, the 5th highest mark among all third basemen Kyle Schwarber tallied his NL leading 32nd home run in the 6th inning when he knocked out Pirates starter Zach Thompson with a 3-run blast 414 feet to right center field.

Darick Hall knocks in 2 runs with a triple to right center field that bounces around after the Pittsburgh outfielders are unable to make the play.

2-0 Phils

Nick Castellanos adds to the Phils lead with an RBI single in the 1st inning scoring Darick Hall from third.

3-0 Phils

Alec Bohm continues his hot streak with an RBI single that scored Matt Vierling from 2nd base.

4-0 Phils

Kyle Schwarber with his NL leading 32nd home run is a 3-run shot and the last pitch from Pirates starting pitcher Zach Thompson.

7-0 Phils

Didi Gregorius adds to the Phils lead in the 7th inning with an RBI single scoring Nick Castellanos from second base.

8-0 Phils

Cal Mitchell puts the Pirates on the board with a two run shot off Zack Wheeler in the 7th inning.

8-2 Phils

Tyler Heineman drives in two more Pirates runs with an RBI single off Jeurys Familia.

8-4 Phils

Jeurys Familia allows two more runs as Kevin Newman drives a RBI triple to left field.

8-6 Phils

Up Next for the Phillies

The Phillies will look to make it two wins in a row against the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bailey Falter (0-3, 5.18) will toe the rubber facing off against Jose Quintana (3-5, 3.70) with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm.

NBC Sports Philadelphia will carry the broadcast of the game.

Mandatory Photo Credit: Philadelphia Phillies