'It was like a playoff game:' Alec Bohm’s two-run double lifts Phillies to thrilling win over Orioles in 11

A wild play at the plate in the 10th inning allowed the Orioles' Cedric Mullins to tie the game. Before the 11th inning began, a 71-minute rain delay ensued.

by Scott Lauber

Published June 14, 2024, 11:38 p.m. ET

BALTIMORE — If what happened here Friday night between the Phillies and the Orioles winds up as a World Series preview, well, who says no?

Yankees fans, no doubt. Dodgers loyalists, to be sure. But anyone along the 99 miles of highway between Citizens Bank Park and Camden Yards would sign up for a repeat of this. It was about as good as it gets for the middle of June. In October, it could be awesome.

Where to begin? Let’s start at the end: The Phillies won, 5-3, in 11 innings, after Alec Bohm banged a tiebreaking two-run double, Seranthony Domínguez recorded the final three outs, and a “Let’s Go Phillies!” chant rang out at Oriole Park.

Bryce Harper stood at home plate after scoring from first base on the decisive hit and pumped his arm in Bohm’s direction. The Phillies halted a two-game skid and improved to 47-22, still the best record in the National League; the Orioles slipped to 45-24, third-best in the American League.

And although it was 87 degrees at first pitch, you could close your eyes and easily imagine how this might feel in October.

“You could say that,” Bohm said. “It’s June, but it was definitely loud. The crowd was into it. It was a lot of fun. So, yeah, it definitely compares to a playoff crowd, for sure.”

Said manager Rob Thomson: “All the talk about this series, it’s all on MLB Network and all over the place, it’s a big series. The atmosphere was tremendous. It was a great game, back and forth. Yeah, it was like a playoff game.”

Sure, but that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the first of three games between two of baseball’s titans. Here’s our best attempt:

For an instant, the Phillies thought they won in the 10th. Catcher Rafael Marchán gloved the carom of Orion Kerkering’s wild pitch off the brick backstop, dove back to home plate, and tagged Cedric Mullins, who was called out. The replay review was clear: Mullins was safe, and the game was retied.
Kyle Schwarber stroked a single in the top of the 10th to put the Phillies ahead, 3-2. It would’ve been a two-run lead, if Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander hadn’t thrown out Johan Rojas trying to score from second.

Four outs from a Phillies victory, Santander tied it with a solo homer against Matt Strahm, who gave up his first earned run since opening day and foiled Ranger Suárez’s bid to improve to 11-1. Suárez was masterful for 6⅔ innings and lowered his ERA to 1.77.
The Phillies took 1-0 and 2-1 leads on homers from a usual suspect (Schwarber, leading off the game) and an unexpected source (Marchán, in the fifth inning). It was Marchán’s first major-league homer since Aug. 31, 2021.

Got all that? Good.

Oh, and it started pouring after the 10th inning, forcing 43,987 paying customers to seek cover during a 71-minute rain delay. And speaking of that sellout crowd, Phillies fans made the short trip in droves, at times tilting the bipartisan gathering in favor of the visitors and even booing Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel, whose brief Phillies career was punctuated last year by two postseason meltdowns in Arizona.

“The fans are traveling,” Bohm said. “It’s fun. Everywhere we go, we have a lot of support. It’s just cool. It makes the game more fun.”

And the weekend might only get better. The teams play again Saturday before aces Zack Wheeler and Corbin Burnes match up in the Father’s Day finale.

So much of this is new to Marchán, recalled this week after J.T. Realmuto had surgery to remove torn cartilage from his right knee. Making his second start, the 25-year-old catcher demonstrated poise behind the plate, especially in the fourth inning. He fielded a bunt and made a strong throw to third base to stunt a potential Orioles rally.

In the 10th inning, Marchán called for a slider, but Kerkering uncorked a fastball. The cross-up led to the wild pitch, and Marchán still might’ve had Mullins at the plate if his foot hadn’t slipped on the turf.

“He did a tremendous job,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “He called the right pitches in the right counts. I’m just happy with the way that he played today. We all know that he’s here because of the player that he is.”

Marchán made his major-league debut in 2020 and homered in his second career start. He might be more established by now if not for the injuries that stalled his progress over the last few seasons.

Defense is Marchán’s calling card. The Phillies believe he can alternate starts with Garrett Stubbs and hold things down behind the plate for the four or five weeks they expect Realmuto to be sidelined.

Games like this should only give him more confidence.

“He played free; he played relaxed,” Thomson said. “That’s what he should do.”

Said Bohm: “Defensively, obviously nobody can replace J.T., but him and Stubby out there, you’re not missing much, defensively. This guy can catch and play the position pretty well. He’s getting an opportunity to play and show what he can do.”

Suárez put on his usual master class in pitching. With a runner on first and two out in the first inning, he set up Orioles star shortstop Gunnar Henderson with four-seamers, then froze him with a sinker for a called third strike. In the third, with the go-ahead run on second base and two out, Suárez sped up Henderson’s bat with fastballs before striking him out on a changeup.

And in the end, the Phillies pulled out another win against the best team they have faced since the season-opening series against the Braves.

Call it a slice of October right here in the middle of June.

“It’s amazing,” Marchán said. “This team has been doing a great job of playing excellent games, and to be part of that just makes me feel grateful and happy to be part of this group.”