Phillies walk it off twice, complete sweep of the Giants to move to 3-0 under Mattingly
The Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Giants on Thursday with two walk-off wins. First time they’ve done that since July 24, 1998 against the Florida Marlins. Three games into the Don Mattingly era and there are actual signs of life from a team that looked completely dead two weeks ago.
Game 1 was a 3-2 comeback win where Justin Crawford walked it off. Game 2 was a 6-5 victory where Alec Bohm lifted a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to end it. Two different games, two different heroes, same energy. This team is playing with a pulse again.
Phillies Sweep Giants
Sanchez Settled In After a Rough Start
Sanchez gave up back-to-back doubles to Heliot Ramos and Matt Chapman to open Game 1. An RBI groundout and a Casey Schmitt run-scoring single put the Phillies in a 2-0 hole right away. Classic 2026 Phillies start.
Then Sanchez did what Sanchez does. He allowed one hit the rest of the outing with six swinging strikeouts, five of them on the changeup. He threw the changeup 34 percent of the time with a 38 percent whiff rate.
The second-best pitcher in baseball right now according to MLB.com’s power rankings just showed everyone why. He got rocked early and then shut the door so completely that the offense had time to come back and win the game.
Mattingly pulled him at 85 pitches with two outs in the sixth. Sanchez walked off shaking his head because he wanted to finish the inning. That competitive fire is exactly what you want from your ace in the middle of a season like this.
Schwarber Put Up a Lou Gehrig Stat Line
Kyle Schwarber had one of the best doubleheader performances in recent baseball history. Five or more hits, three or more walks, two or more doubles, two or more homers, and zero strikeouts. The first player to do that in a doubleheader since Lou Gehrig in 1935. Lou Gehrig. Ninety-one years ago.
His 350th career home run was a normal blast.
His second one was a 446-foot nuclear warhead off a hanging slider from Adrian Houser that hit the red sign on the face of the second deck. Without that sign it probably reaches the concourse in front of Chickie’s and Pete’s. Left the bat at 112.4 mph. His earlier homer came off at 113.
Schwarber has been frustrating this season but when the man gets hot, he’s one of the most violent hitters in baseball.
He also came through with a game-tying double in the ninth inning of Game 2 with two strikes and two outs, driving in Brandon Marsh who had delivered a pinch-hit single. Big swings in big moments from the guy the Phillies need it from the most.
Turner Is Starting to Find Something
Turner jumped on the first pitch of Game 2 and sent an Adrian Houser sinker out the other way. He won the batting title last year at .304 but only went to the opposite field 28.1 percent of the time. This season that number is up to 34.7 percent.
When Turner is using the whole field, he’s a completely different hitter. His bat speed is actually a tick above last season’s, so this isn’t a decline issue. The hard-hit rate is down but after a multi-hit day, the swing looks like it’s coming around.
Garcia Is Quietly Having a Better Year Than the Numbers Show
Adolis Garcia came into the doubleheader with a .699 OPS which doesn’t look great on paper. But he’s posting a career-high 50 percent hard-hit rate and hitting .312 on balls in play, his best BABIP since 2022. Three of his four at-bats in Game 1 were hard-hit balls.
He changed his batting stance this offseason to more closely resemble what he used in 2023 and the quality of contact has clearly improved. He also had a two-run go-ahead hit in Game 2 and nearly ended it with a walk-off before Ramos tracked it down in deep left-center. The defense has been a major part of his value too.
Bohm Saved a Run and Then Won the Game
Bohm is hitting .151 with a .426 OPS. Those numbers are horrific and there’s no way around it. But Thursday night he made two of the most important plays of the doubleheader. In the top of the 10th with the infield in, Luis Arraez ripped one toward the 5-6 hole. Bohm dove, caught it, and saved the run. Then in the bottom half, he lifted the walk-off sacrifice fly.
The bat hasn’t been there all season. But the glove and the situational execution showed up when it mattered most on Thursday. If the offense is going to turn around, Bohm finding some confidence at the plate would go a long way. A walk-off moment might be exactly what the kid needs.
Shugart Was the Unsung Hero
Chase Shugart won both games of the doubleheader. He got the win in the opener and then threw a scoreless top of the 10th in the nightcap. First Phillie to win both games of a doubleheader since Terry Adams on September 21, 2002 in Cincinnati.
The offseason trade acquisition from Pittsburgh has allowed one run in nine innings through nine appearances this season. That’s exactly the kind of under-the-radar bullpen production that keeps a team alive during a stretch like this.
Realmuto and Duran Updates
JT Realmuto ran the bases Thursday after taking batting practice on the field Wednesday. A return during the Miami series looks very possible. Mattingly said they want him back as the best version of himself, not just for a week, which is the right approach. Marchan and Stubbs have combined for a .107 average and .325 OPS. The sooner Realmuto is back in the lineup, the better for everyone.
Jhoan Duran threw a bullpen Thursday for the first time since going on the IL with a left oblique injury. The Phillies haven’t had a save opportunity in the 16 days since he went down. Given how the last three games under Mattingly have gone, that might change soon.
Three Games Under Mattingly. Three Wins.
The Phillies are 3-0 under Don Mattingly. The offense has shown life. The pitching has been competitive. The team is playing with energy they didn’t have two weeks ago. Nobody is calling this a turnaround yet because three games is three games.
Two walk-off wins in one day from a team that couldn’t buy a win for two straight weeks is at least something worth paying attention to.
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I’m trying so hard not to be a Friday buzz kill but are we really celebrating and being cheerful? We beat the Giants who are last in their division. This like being happy that you’re the tallest midget in the circus.