Phillies vs. Diamondbacks: Alec Bohm, Phillies fight back in extra innings to avoid sweep against Diamondbacks
Bohm, Phillies fight back in extra innings to avoid sweep against Diamondbacks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
There's nothing like a comeback victory — and this one certainly came at an optimal time.
After falling into an early five-run deficit, the Phillies fought back Wednesday to avoid being swept by the Diamondbacks. Alec Bohm's bases-loaded single in the 10th inning gave the Phillies a 6-5 victory and nudged the team back to three games under .500 at 23-26.
The win was exactly what the Phillies needed before they embark on one of their more difficult road trips of the 2023 season.
Ranger Suarez had just his third start of the season since returning from an elbow injury. The early struggles continued for him, as he allowed hits to the first two batters he faced in Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll.
Metel scored on a groundout to Bohm and luckily, Suarez got out of the inning without any further damage done ... but that didn't last very long.
After a promising second inning, things began to go downhill once more for Suarez, who gave up another four runs. His day was done after five innings.
You have to root for a player like Garrett Stubbs. The first time through the Phillies' order, he was the only one to get on base with a bunt and a whole lot of hustle. With limited playing time behind J.T. Realmuto, he seems to always find his way on base. This was only his fifth start in May and has successfully hit in all of them.
Zac Gallen has been one of the hottest pitchers in Major League Baseball for a reason, and his talents were on full display against the Phillies.
He allowed singles to both Bryce Harper and Kody Clemens in the sixth before his day was over. The D-backs brought in Kevin Ginkel, which finally woke up the Phillies' offense. Bohm and Brandon Marsh added to the singles train, with the pair driving in three runs.
A two-run home run to tie up the game in the bottom of the ninth? That is certainly one way to get out of a slump, Trea Turner. With his fifth home run of the season, Turner sent this one into extra innings. The boos of the 41,544 in attendance at Citizens Bank Park soon erupted into cheers for the shortstop, who finally caught a break.
"That was big," manager Rob Thomson said following the win. "Maybe that's his signature moment that gets him going here. He hit the ball hard three times today, right field, center field and then he hits the home run, so his at bats have been better."
With Dalton Guthrie on second to start the bottom of the 10th, an intentional walk to Kyle Schwarber and a Clemens walk loaded the bases. From there, it only took Bohm one pitch to wrap this one up.
With the daycare celebrating after every win this season, they had to pull out the big guns for an actual walk-off celebration.
Things won't be slowing down anytime soon, either. The Phillies are headed into a dangerous stretch, playing their next 10 games on the road against National League East teams.
They'll kick off the road trip Thursday with a four-game series against the Braves and will then face the Mets and Nationals. Even though it's still fairly early in the season, this could very well be a defining moment for the Phillies' near future.
Aaron Nola (3-4, 4.31 ERA) will be on the mound for Game 1 against the Braves. He's coming off of one of his more dominant starts of the season; Nola went seven strong innings and struck out 10 his last time out against the Cubs.
The Phillies will need that version of Nola against the top team in the division.
