Phillies blow one as Sanoja and the Marlins steal finale in extras, 7–5

Drew Smith
April 21, 2025
Phillies
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What was shaping up to be a relaxing Sunday at the Bank turned into a full-blown disaster by the eighth inning. The Phillies let a 3-0 first-inning lead go up in flames and eventually fell to the Marlins 7–5 in 10 innings, dropping the series finale and letting what should’ve been a sweep slip right through their fingers.

Tthe dagger came from Javier Sanoja, a guy with exactly zero career home runs coming into the day. The Marlins rookie — filling in for injured outfielder Griffin Conine — hit his first big-league bomb off Orion Kerkering in the eighth, a three-run shot that completely flipped the game. Sanoja finished with five RBIs

What Went Wrong

The Phillies jumped out hot — again — with three runs in the first inning. Bryce Harper laced a two-run double, Nick Castellanos and Cal Stevenson added RBIs, and everything looked peachy. The Phils now have 20 first-inning runs this season, most in the majors. They’re great at punching first.

But it’s never about how you start, is it?

Unfortunately for the Phillies, their bullpen has been the one under siege lately. After Kerkering’s hanger was deposited into the seats in the eighth, the wheels fell off. Philadelphia did manage to tie it in the bottom of the eighth, but once it hit extras, Miami got greedy.

Kyle Stowers lifted a sac fly off Connor Norby’s leadoff double in the 10th to give the Marlins the lead again, and Sanoja tacked on one more just to twist the knife. Jesús Tinoco shut the door in the bottom half to finish the job.

Phillies Missed Opportunities:

Down one in the ninth, the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out — prime walk-off conditions. But Calvin Faucher got Kyle Schwarber to pop out, then Castellanos flied out harmlessly to right. That was the ballgame.

The Phillies still won the series, but this one stings. You’re at home, up early, against a watered-down Marlins bullpen, and you still find a way to lose? Can’t keep letting these get away.

Now it’s six games on the road, starting with a trip to Queens. Aaron Nola (0–4, 6.65 ERA) will try to stop the bleeding Monday night against the Mets and Tylor Megill (2–2, 1.40 ERA).

Someone get Nola a W. And please — keep Sanoja away from us for a while.