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Phillies Bats Continue to Roll in Stress-Free Win Over Nationals
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
Wednesday night’s Phillies win was a lot different than Tuesday night.
38,000 people felt their blood pressure go up during the 9th inning in game one of this Nationals series, which wasn’t the case in the Phillies’ 7-2 win in game two.
Kyle Schwarber started it off with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st. Cristopher Sanchez, although he was a little rusty, got through five innings. Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto added on solo shots.
The biggest highlight of this one was the Phillies bullpen. Jose Ruiz, Carlos Hernandez, and Tanner Banks combined for four innings of hitless baseball to close out their 4th-straight victory.
Rob Thomson praised those three guys after the win, especially Hernandez:
Thomson: “It’s great, you know? There are other guys we’ve really been going to a lot. It was good to keep those guys off the books. Ruiz’s stuff was really good. Fastball velocity was excellent, threw strikes. All of them got ahead of the count and put people away. Got some swings and misses. Banks was good and Hernandez has really come along. He’s got a really good aptitude and our pitching coaches are doing a great job with him as far as understanding how to attack hitters. He’s applying, so it’s good.”
Unfortunately for one of these guys, they’ll probably lose their spot on the 26-man roster once Ranger Suarez returns to the roster this weekend. Ranger is set to make his season debut on Sunday vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tanner Banks has one option remaining, while Hernandez and Ruiz have zero.
The Phillies go for the sweep against the Nationals Thursday night. Taijuan Walker takes the mound, looking to continue trending upwards in his solid start to the 2025 season.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com