Yankees avoid the sweep, Phillies come up short despite trio of solo shots

The Phillies couldn’t finish the sweep on Sunday in the Bronx, falling 4–3 to the Yankees in the series finale.

Otto Kemp launched two solo homers for his first career multi-homer game and Nick Castellanos added another solo shot, but that was all the offense Philly could muster.

Otto Kemp: 2 HR today in the Bronx

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Observation: Some may say that when you have a starting lineup featuring Max Kepler, Johan Rojas and Weston Wilson, you’re basically hitting six against nine but I digress.

Regardless, Zack Wheeler just didn’t have his best stuff. He gave up four runs in the second inning, including a game-tying, two-run double by newly acquired Ryan McMahon and a pair of RBI knocks by Austin Wells and Trent Grisham.

Wheeler also hit three batters, including two back-to-back in that disastrous second inning and tied his career high in the process.

The Phillies got a defensive gem in the third when Johan Rojas threw a strike from center and J.T. Realmuto channeled his inner Cirque du Soleil, skying for the throw and landing a picture-perfect swipe tag to get Cody Bellinger at the plate. It saved a run, but it wasn’t enough to flip the outcome.

JT Realmuto with an incredible tag…

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New York’s bullpen, which is somehow the worst in baseball since late June, actually locked it down for once. Jonathan Loáisiga, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, and Devin Williams combined for a one-hit shutout over the final 3.2 innings. Williams picked up his 16th save by carving up the Phillies in a clean ninth.

The Phils had a few chances, but Carlos Rodón managed to limit the damage across 5.1 innings, giving up just four hits, three of which left the park.

Up Next for the Phillies:

The Phillies head to Chicago to open a three-game set with the White Sox. Cristopher Sánchez (9-2, 2.40 ERA) gets the ball against Davis Martin (2-8, 3.89 ERA).

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