Walk It Off, Marsh: Phillies snap skid behind Otto Kemp and some clutch small ball
Finally. After a brutal 1-9 stretch that had the entire city ready to jump in the Schuylkill, the Phillies clawed their way to a much-needed 4-3 win over the Cubs in 11 innings Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.
It took two bunt singles, some rookie magic, and a clutch base hit from Brandon Marsh to get it done, but nobody’s complaining—not after the weekend they just had.
With the Phillies trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th, JT Realmuto tied things up by punching a single through the infield to score the ghost runner.
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Bryson Stott, fresh off the bench and deep in a 2-for-24 slump, dropped a perfect bunt single to keep the inning alive.
Otto Kemp, who did nothing but rake in his first game at The Bank, followed with a bunt of his own—his third hit of the night—to load the bases.
That set the stage for Brandon Marsh, who ripped a single to right to end it.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t pretty. But it was desperately needed.
Otto Kemp, Welcome to the Show
The rookie third baseman—an undrafted Division II product out of Point Loma Nazarene—has been a revelation since getting promoted on Saturday.
Three hits on Monday, including a bunt single in extras?
Yeah, that’ll do.
He also scored the go-ahead run earlier in the game after singling, taking third on a pickoff error, and coming home on Weston Wilson’s RBI knock.
It’s early, but Kemp’s giving the Phillies exactly the kind of spark they’ve been lacking.
Otto Kemp: The Spark
Cubs – Phillies Game Notes:
Ian Happ tied the game with a solo shot off Matt Strahm in the 8th. Pete Crow-Armstrong gave the Cubs a brief 3-2 lead in the 11th with an RBI double.
Carlos Hernández picked up the win despite allowing that 11th-inning run.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell was ejected (again), this time for arguing that Kemp ran out of the baseline. That’s back-to-back ejections for Counsell, who’s clearly in midseason form.
One That Got Away (But Didn’t):
The Phillies had the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth and only managed to push across one run. That felt like the kind of inning that would come back to haunt them. But thanks to Kemp’s hustle and Marsh’s bat, they finally flipped the script.
Up Next:
The Phillies will try to build on this with Mick Abel taking the ball Tuesday night. The rookie right-hander has been outstanding through his first few outings and will face Colin Rea and the Cubs again in Game 2 of the series.
Let’s see if the Fightins can stack two in a row. Lord knows the city could use it.
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