Jeff Hoffman: ‘I wish baseball was more of a contact sport’

The Philadelphia Phillies, guided by a stellar outings from Aaron Nola, Jose Alvarado, and Jeff Hoffman, overcame yet another slow offensive night to defeat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in extra innings last night at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies Offense…?

The Colorado Rockies entered last night with a 4-12 record. They sent Cal Quantrill to the mound, who has posted a 7.20 ERA this season after posting a 5.24 ERA last year. So of course, if you are a Phillies fan, you know exactly what happened last night.

Quantrill tossed six innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, and two walks while striking out three. It was the biggest “no brainer” in Major League Baseball this season and the Phillies made him look like Zack Wheeler out there.

• Kyle Schwarber: 0-3, BB, K 
• Brandon Marsh: 0-4, K 
• Nick Castellanos: 0-4, K 
• Whit Merrified: 0-4
• Johan Rojas: 0-3 

To be Clear: The official start of the 2024 MLB season, as usual, will be on June 1st. 

Bryce Harper singled on a ground ball to right field in the bottom of the third inning to score Trea Turner. Nola coughed up his only run of the game in the top of the fifth inning on a Michael Toglia solo shot that tied the game 1-1. 

Luckily, Aaron Nola was there to steady the waters until Cristian Pache delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th earn the win. Nola tossed 7.1 innings while allowing just four hits and one earned run. He struck out nine and walked one. 

Aaron Nola: 7 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 9 K 

Aaron Nola, 91mph Sinker and 80mph Knuckle Curve, Overlay pic.twitter.com/YbBra9tlPI

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 16, 2024

Jose Alvarado took over in the eighth and tossed a scoreless frame before handing the baseball over to Jeff Hoffman, who used his entire body to keep the game knotted at 1-1 in the ninth. 

Enter Jeff Hoffman. 

Jeff Hoffman, built like a linebacker that Howie Roseman should be on the phone with this morning, was pitching in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and runners on the corners. 

The Rockers were down to just three players on their bench. Brendan Rodgers and Jake Cave were both suffering from the Philly Flu and Kris Bryant was out with a bad back – forcing them to use starting pitcher Kyle Freehand as a pinch runner at third base. 

After the baseball got behind Realmuto, he made a ridiculous recovery and tossed ball over to Hoffman, who slid towards home plate the same time as Freehand – beating him to the plate and recording the game-saving out. 

After the game, Hoffman told reporters that he wished “baseball was more of a contact sport”

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Cristian Pache – who pitch-ran for Kyle Schwarber in the eighth after he opened the inning with a walk, stepped up to the plate with after Whit Merrifield sacrificed the auto-runner over to third base. 

Pache roped the game-winning RBI single to right field and the Phillies walked it off in extras to take game one of three against the Colorado Rockies. 

Cristian Pache Walk-Off RBI Single in Extras

Pache Party 🔔#RingTheBell | #Phillies pic.twitter.com/8y0mkqnRWT

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) April 16, 2024

WATCH: Cristian Pache hits first career walk-off in 10th inning, gets himself and interpreter drenched during post-game >>

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