Solid start from Sanchez and Realmuto’s bat get Phillies past Reds, 7-5

The Phillies could have done more damage offensively against the Cincinnati Reds than they did on Wednesday night, but they worked their at-bats and manufactured enough runs to secure a 7-5 win. The Phillies’ already-thin bullpen made this game more exciting than it needed to be — allowing two earned runs against a lineup that has a .655 OPS for the month of August — but ultimately got the job done on a game-ending double play with runners on first and third..

Starter Cris Sánchez, who was recalled from triple-A on Wednesday morning, ran into trouble early. In the second inning, he threw a sinker down the middle of the plate that the Reds’ much-traveled Stuart Fairchild hit 410 feet into into the center-field stands. It was the third MLB hit of the season for Fairchild, who entered the game with a .069 batting average and was playing for his seventh team this season (four in the minors, three in the majors).

In the fourth, Sánchez misplaced another sinker and gave up another home run, this time to Reds third baseman Kyle Farmer. In the fifth inning, Sánchez threw another misplaced sinker, and Jonathan India hit an RBI double. Before the game, interim manager Rob Thomson said he’d hoped that Sánchez would give him five or six innings, which the young left-handed pitcher did, but it was a bumpy road to get there. In six innings, Sánchez allowed six hits and three runs, with no walks and seven strikeouts.

“He pitched great,” Thomson said of Sánchez. “A lot of strikes. Fastball looked crisp, slider was good. I thought he did a great job. He gave us exactly what we needed and now our bullpen is pretty much back to where it should be.”

The Phillies are now 69-55. With this win, they have a two-game lead over the Padres in the NL wild card race.

Nick Nelson entered the game in the seventh, and things went downhill from there. Nelson gave up one run on two hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly, and was lifted with two outs in the inning. Andrew Bellatti mopped up Nelson’s mess, inducing a pop out to end the inning, but then Connor Brogdon ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing two hits and another run.

Nelson’s performance was somewhat expected, given how he’s been performing of late (he has a 11.57 ERA over his past seven appearances), but Brogdon’s was concerning. Brogdon is someone who Thomson will need to lean on while Seranthony Domínguez is on the 15-day injured list, and his last two appearances have been shaky (a combined four runs over two innings).

The fact that Thomson had to use David Robertson, his best option at closer right now, for the ninth inning was less than ideal (and tells you everything you need to know about the state of the Phillies bullpen). Robertson almost ran into a bit of trouble too, after a runner got on base via an error by Yairo Muñoz in left field, and he walked a batter to put runners on first and second (and threw a wild pitch to put move that runner on third). But Robertson then induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

Thomson, when asked whether his bullpen’s recent struggles were cause for concern, said he wasn’t worried.

“I think it’s kind of normal. I mean they were so good, it’s hard to keep that up,” Thomson said. “But they’ve been taxed, too. They’re going to be fine once they get some regular rest, and get on our plan where they’ve got some rhythm and they’re not sitting too long and are not overworked. But they’ve been overworked the last couple of days.”

» READ MORE: Phillies’ 2023 schedule released: New time for most weeknight games, will play every team

J.T. Realmuto has been on a tear lately. He went 3-for-5 on Wednesday night and entered Wednesday’s game batting .407/.467/.630 over his last seven games (.333/.377/.684 over his last 15).

After a 1-for-15 stretch, Matt Vierling is starting to show signs of life. He hit a home run on Tuesday night, and went 2-for-3 on Wednesday night.

“Kevin Long and Vierling are doing a lot of work in the cage, and trying to get the head [of the bat] out and trying to pull the ball a little bit, and he’s responded very quickly and very well,” Thomson said. “He’s had a couple of good nights. This is a really athletic guy who can do a lot of things. He can run, he can defend, he can throw, he can hit for power. The ball comes off his bat as good as anybody. So if we can get him to use all sides of the field, he’s got a chance to be a pretty good hitter.”