Edmundo Sosa clutches up in the 8th, Phillies comeback to beat the Dodgers 4-3

For seven innings Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, the Phillies looked like the same team that got no-hit into the sixth on Friday. Roki Sasaki was dealing. After Bohm took him deep in the fourth for a solo shot, Sasaki retired the next 13 batters he faced.

The Phillies had one run through seven innings against the Dodgers for the second straight night. The offense was dead. The bats were quiet. Another night in Los Angeles where the Phillies couldn’t generate anything against quality pitching.

Then the Dodgers handed the game to the bullpen and the whole thing flipped.

Edmundo Sosa launched a go-ahead two-run homer off Tanner Scott in the eighth inning to give the Phillies a 4-3 win and split the first two games of the series.

Edmundo Sosa Clutch Up

Y'ALL UP?! pic.twitter.com/ZLr1iKitqq

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 31, 2026

The same Sosa who struck out on three swinging strikes with the bases loaded in the sixth against Alex Vesia. The same Sosa who looked completely overmatched two innings before the biggest swing of the game. He came up again, stayed on a pitch from Scott, and drove it out to left. Watched it for a beat. Knew it was gone. Started jogging.

That’s the kind of moment that makes you remember why you watch 162 of these things.

The Edmundo Sosa Rollercoaster

Mattingly pinch-hit Sosa for Marsh in the sixth with the bases loaded against Vesia. The matchup numbers favored Sosa. He was 2-for-5 lifetime against Vesia. Marsh was 1-for-6. Marsh has actually been solid against lefties under Mattingly with a .333/.375/.524 slash in 21 at-bats but Mattingly went with the career matchup data instead.

It didn’t work. Sosa saw four pitches from Vesia, all out of the zone, and swung at three of them. Swinging strike, ball, swinging strike, swinging strike. Sat down. Bohm grounded out to end the inning. Bases loaded, nobody scores. That was the kind of at-bat that defines a loss. The Phillies had the Dodgers on the ropes with the bases juiced and came away with absolutely nothing.

Two innings later, Sosa came up against Scott with Harper on base after a two-out, two-strike RBI single that cut the deficit to 3-2. Same guy. Different at-bat. Different result. The ball left the yard and the Phillies had a 4-3 lead that they would not give back.

The difference between striking out with the bases loaded and hitting a go-ahead homer two innings later is the difference between a forgettable loss and a signature win in Los Angeles. Sosa gave the Phillies both extremes in the span of 45 minutes.

Bohm Keeps Hitting

Bohm’s solo homer off Sasaki in the fourth was the only run the Phillies managed through the first seven innings. He got a 98.9 mph four-seamer, middle-up and even out of the strike zone from the 6-foot-5 Sasaki, stayed on top of it, and drove it out to right-center. His sixth homer of the season and another data point in what has been a much better month of May since Mattingly’s two-day reset.

BADA-BING BADA-BOHM pic.twitter.com/3pYthCM1VQ

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 31, 2026

The interesting thing about Bohm’s numbers is that the underlying metrics have been better than the surface stats suggest all season. He hasn’t been expanding the zone. He hasn’t been swinging and missing much. Against fastballs at 97 mph or above, he’s hitting .333 on 50 pitches seen. That’s a career high.

The problem has been against fastballs overall where he entered Saturday hitting .185. But the elite velocity stuff? He’s handling it as well as he ever has. The hard contact is there. The timing against top-end stuff is there. The results are starting to follow.

Luzardo Battled and Garcia Saved a Run

Luzardo gave the Phillies 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball and it wasn’t his cleanest outing but he competed. The biggest moment came in the third when Mookie Betts doubled and Kyle Tucker dropped the bat head on an 0-2 changeup and sent a sinking liner toward right field that had a hit written all over it.

Garcia sprinted from his spot in right, broke into a full run at over 27 feet per second, and made a diving catch that saved at least one run and possibly two. If that ball gets past Garcia, Tucker is standing on third with the way he runs and the Dodgers are up multiple runs before the Phillies can blink.

Goodness García 😱 pic.twitter.com/jSu5vVP3gc

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 31, 2026

For everything Garcia hasn’t given the Phillies offensively with his .203 average, his defense in right field continues to show up in big spots. That catch kept the game at 2-1 and gave Luzardo a chance to escape the inning.

The Pages Missed-Home-Plate Fiasco Was Peak Baseball Confusion

The strangest sequence of the night came in the seventh. Kerkering, making his first appearance at Dodger Stadium since the throwing error that ended the Phillies’ season in the NLDS last October, got Ohtani and Freeman before giving up a double to Andy Pages and a single to Betts. Pages came home from second. Garcia’s throw beat him. Realmuto missed the tag. Pages was called safe.

Then replay showed Pages missed the plate entirely. The Phillies challenged the tag play but because they didn’t first appeal that Pages missed home, the challenge couldn’t address it. The call stood. The run counted. The rules are the rules but the Phillies essentially lost a run because of a procedural technicality on a play where the runner never touched home plate.

It didn’t end up deciding the game because Sosa’s homer in the eighth made it irrelevant. But that sequence was the kind of bizarre, rule-book nonsense that makes you want to throw your remote at the television. The runner didn’t touch home plate. Everyone watching at home could see it. The Phillies couldn’t challenge it because they didn’t appeal it first. Baseball.

Harper’s Two-Out RBI Single Set Up Everything

Before Sosa’s homer, Harper delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI single that cut the deficit to 3-2 and put a runner on base for Sosa’s at-bat. That’s what franchise players do. Two outs. Two strikes. Season on the line against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the eighth inning. Harper lined a single and kept the inning alive for Sosa to be the hero.

Bring us back Bryce! pic.twitter.com/ZjS7BKHl8r

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 31, 2026

Harper has been one of the best hitters in baseball all month. Six homers in May. Clutch hits in big spots. The 113.5 mph homer off Vasquez in San Diego. The three-hit game against Cleveland. The 457-foot bomb in Pittsburgh. When the Phillies need a swing in a big moment, Harper keeps delivering. Saturday night was the latest example.

The Phillies Took a Game in Dodger Stadium

After Friday’s loss where the Phillies got no-hit into the sixth and Wheeler gave up four homers, taking Saturday’s game in the fashion they did says something about this team under Mattingly. They didn’t solve Sasaki. They didn’t build early. They didn’t dominate. They hung around, kept the game close enough for the bullpen to become a factor, and then struck when the opportunity came.

That’s how you beat the Dodgers. You’re not going to out-talent them over nine innings. You survive their starter, keep the game within reach, and wait for the bullpen to give you a crack. The Phillies got that crack in the eighth and Sosa put the bat on the ball.

Series tied 1-1. Sunday decides it. The Phillies came to Los Angeles and proved they can compete with the best team in baseball. Now go take the series.

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