The Philadelphia Phillies are proving each day more and more that they can contend with the top teams in the National League, and they have taken the Los Angeles Dodgers to the limit for two straight nights at home. They actually took them past the limit on Tuesday, and went home victorious with a 7-4 win in 16 innings. Trevor Plouffe connected with a walk-off, three-run home run in the 16th inning, sending Citizens Bank Park in to a frenzy after five hours, 55 minutes of baseball.
Plouffe's game-winning long ball came off of Kike Hernandez, who was the option after L.A. used eight different pitchers to get that far. He got one out, before three straight batters reached, culminated by Plouffe's first homer of the season.
On the other end, the Phillies were forced to go with starter Vince Velasquez, who pitched the top of the 16th inning and earned his seventh victory. It was his first relief appearance since 2015, as he had just started against the San Diego Padres this past Sunday. He had to strand two runners in his one inning of work to keep the game tied at 4-apiece.
The two teams ended up using a combined 18 pitchers, as the game did not come to an end until 1:14am local time due to a short, 14-minute rain delay at the beginning.
Nick Williams and Jorge Alfaro both went deep for the Phillies, who moved a game ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East. Yasmani Grandal hit two home runs on the night for the Dodgers, while Joc Pederson added four hits, including two doubles and an RBI in the loss. Los Angeles remains atop of the NL West, but just a half game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. These two teams will finish up their series with a matinee showdown on Wednesday.
Plouffe's game-winning long ball came off of Kike Hernandez, who was the option after L.A. used eight different pitchers to get that far. He got one out, before three straight batters reached, culminated by Plouffe's first homer of the season.
On the other end, the Phillies were forced to go with starter Vince Velasquez, who pitched the top of the 16th inning and earned his seventh victory. It was his first relief appearance since 2015, as he had just started against the San Diego Padres this past Sunday. He had to strand two runners in his one inning of work to keep the game tied at 4-apiece.
The two teams ended up using a combined 18 pitchers, as the game did not come to an end until 1:14am local time due to a short, 14-minute rain delay at the beginning.
Nick Williams and Jorge Alfaro both went deep for the Phillies, who moved a game ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East. Yasmani Grandal hit two home runs on the night for the Dodgers, while Joc Pederson added four hits, including two doubles and an RBI in the loss. Los Angeles remains atop of the NL West, but just a half game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. These two teams will finish up their series with a matinee showdown on Wednesday.
