Ring It: Phillies offense cruises, Taijuan Walker allows two hits in 7-3 win

The Phillies took game 3 of the rubber match against the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning 7-3 thanks to a strong effort from Taijuan Walker and an offensive outburst from the middle of the order.

Winning Pitcher: Taijuan Walker (6-3)
Losing Pitcher: Caleb Ferguson (3-3)

The Phillies have now won three straight series and are back to just a game under the .500 mark at 31-32 on the season. They improved to 19-11 at home and have won seven out of their last 10 games but still find themselves eight games behind the NL East-leading Braves and 4.5 games behind the Marlins in second.

Taijuan Walker was phenomenal in five innings of work, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five over five scoreless innings.

Walker now has a 1.93 ERA in his last five starts. The Phillies have won 5 of his last 7 games.

There was some confusion as to why Rob Thomson decided to pull Walker after the fifth inning after he retired seven straight and only threw 83 pitches.

The pitch count was low, but Walker has continuously struggled through the third time in the lineup and Thomson decided to rely on his bullpen to get the Phillies’ a series win.

That really didn’t work out as planned. Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez, and Jose Alvarado all surrendered a run in relief to make it a ball game but thankfully, Nick Castellanos delivered in the bottom of the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Nick Castellanos 2-Run Home Run

Nick Castellanos. Ring It.

No I-95 jokes needed.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/rb3TNhOSVe
— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) June 11, 2023

Heat Check: In the month of June, Castellanos is batting .436 with 17 hits, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 5 runs scored.

Kody Clemens hit an RBI single later in the inning to push the lead to 7-2. Clemens kept his hitting streak alive at six games and has been on an absolute tear over his last 30 games, batting .289 with four home runs and 12 RBI.

Phillies at the Plate

Trea Turner: 3-5, 3 R
Nick Castellanos: 2-5, 2 RBI, R
Bryce Harper: 2-2, RBI, 2 BB, B
Bryson Stott: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R
Brandon Marsh: 2-3

Up Next for the Phillies

The Phillies will now hit the road for the next seven games. First stop will be in Arizona for four against the first place Diamondbacks.

The D-Backs are 8-2 in their last 10 and 20-14 at home, a place where the Phillies have historically struggled to get wins. To make matters worse, tomorrow night will be a bullpen game with Matt Strahm on the mound for the Phillies.