CHICAGO — An hour after the left side of the Phillies’ infield got picked to start the All-Star Game for the National League, neither Trea Turner nor Alec Bohm was stationed on the left side of the Phillies’ infield.
But they were perfectly easy to find.
Turner contributed to two runs by sprinting harder and faster than any point since his return from a strained left hamstring. Bohm smashed a two-run homer against tough Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga and singled to help key a decisive eighth-inning rally.
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And the Phillies followed their All-Stars to a 5-3 victory over the Cubs, their third consecutive victory to maintain the best record in baseball (57-29) and a nine-game lead in the NL East.
Turner, who got a turn as the designated hitter, will be the NL’s starting shortstop on July 16 in Texas. Alongside him at third base, as usual, will be Bohm. But against Imanaga, and with Bryce Harper out with a right hamstring strain, Bohm moved over to first.
No big deal. All that mattered for the Phillies was that they were in the lineup.
Because in a 3-3 game in the eighth inning, Turner led off with a single up the middle, went to second when Bohm punched a single through the right side, moved to third on a passed ball, and dashed home with the go-ahead run on a medium-depth sacrifice fly by Edmundo Sosa.
The Phillies tacked on a run when Bohm scored on a single by scuffling utilityman Whit Merrifield, who drove home his first run since June 12.
But the Turner-Bohm combination gave the Phillies a lead earlier in the game, too, and with a familiar blend of Turner’s legs and Bohm’s bat.
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Turner, by his admission, has been cautious on the bases since returning from a six-week absence with a high-grade hamstring strain. But he was timed at 31.1 feet per second, according to Statcast, on a chopper to third base to open the sixth inning.
After Turner beat out a single, Bohm banged an 89-mph fastball from Imanaga in the direction of the left-field bleachers, and well, there wasn’t a doubt. Imanaga put his hands on his hips and looked to the sky, and Bohm put down his head and circled the bases after giving the Phillies a 3-2 lead.
Turner and Bohm were voted in as All-Star Game starters in fan balloting that concluded Wednesday. They will join Harper, who is expected to be back from his mild hamstring strain, to give the Phillies three starting All-Star infielders for the first time since 1982, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Manny Trillo started in Montreal.
“It’s great for the organization,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s great for all these guys being on the national stage.”
For Turner, it’s old hat. The star shortstop will be making his third All-Star appearance. But it’s new territory for Bohm, a first-time All-Star who nearly lost his job early in the 2022 season before becoming a fixture in the Phillies’ cleanup spot.
“I’ve seen where he started,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I saw his first spring training after he got drafted. To see him at that point and to see him now, he’s a completely different guy, a completely different player, a completely different person.”
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The All-Star pitchers won’t be selected for another few days or revealed until Sunday evening. But it’s a decent bet that Phillies ace Zack Wheeler and Imanaga will be among them, making for a marquee matchup in the middle of the series.
It largely lived up to the billing, too. Wheeler allowed two runs on RBI doubles by Pete Crow-Armstrong in the second and fourth innings. Imanaga gave up three on Rafael Marchán’s solo homer and Bohm’s two-runner.
Marchán has hit three homers in 39 plate appearances since getting called up to help replace injured catcher J.T. Realmuto, an unexpected power surge from a player who hit a total of eight homers in nearly 1,700 plate appearances in the minors.
But the Cubs tied it in the seventh inning on consecutive two-out hits against lefty Matt Strahm. Michael Busch doubled to right field and scored on a soft single to center by Cody Bellinger.
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