When Trea Turner was placed on the injured list on May 4 with a right hamstring strain, the Phillies did not sink into a multi-game slump. They continued to slug, even without one of their best hitters.
Things did not get easier from there. J.T. Realmuto had right knee surgery last week. Kody Clemens is on the injured list with back spasms.
Nick Castellanos entered Monday’s game with a .609 OPS. Alec Bohm is just starting to look like his normal self again, while Bryson Stott has hit .190 over his last 15 starts.
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But despite that, the Phillies held their own, and in Turner’s first game back, the offense looked potent again. Eight of the nine batters in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Kyle Schwarber banged not one, but two towering home runs, in a 9-2 win over the Padres.
Turner and Bryce Harper went 2-for-5, Bohm went 3-for-5, and nine-hole hitter, Rafael Marchán, went 4-for-4. The Phillies scored nine runs on 18 hits — their most hits in a game this season. It was a welcome sight for a lineup that hit .230/.302/.371 from June 1-16, with a .673 OPS.
When Turner walked up to the plate, he received a loud ovation from the fans. It was no surprise that he was the focus of Monday’s game, but Marchán certainly made a statement.
The Phillies called on him to help replace Realmuto because of his defense behind the plate, and his ability to manage a pitching staff, but the backup catcher has stayed afloat offensively. He hit his first home run of the season in his last start, on June 14, and Monday marked the first four-hit game of his big league career.
He also showed off his pinpoint arm. With one out in the third, and Ha-Seong Kim on first base, starter Cristopher Sánchez struck out Kyle Higashioka, and Marchán quickly fired the ball to second. His throw reached Stott in time to catch Kim stealing. It was the first runner he’s thrown out in the big leagues since 2021.
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It was a good game from nearly every facet. Sánchez bounced back from a rough outing in Boston, allowing two runs — of which one was earned — on six hits and one walk against the Padres. He recorded five strikeouts and was efficient with his pitches, throwing 94 over seven innings of work.
He also induced a lot of groundouts, something he struggled with in Boston. Sánchez drew nine groundouts, compared to just two against the Red Sox on June 12.
After leaning on his relievers a lot over the last few games, manager Rob Thomson only needed to use two. José Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth inning with one strikeout, and José Ruiz allowed just one hit in the ninth.
The game began and ended with Turner, who made the first play of the game and the last. He fielded a groundout from Luis Arraez in the first, and made a diving stop to rob Manny Machado of a hit in the ninth. It induced a double play that ended the game.
