Philadelphia Phillies edge past Florida Marlins 2-1 to bag day-night double-header – MLB Update
Ryan Howard drove in a run in the tenth inning to guide the Philadelphia Phillies past the Florida Marlins 2-1 in the second game of the double-header on Thursday, September 15 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Phillies are now just two games away from clinching the National League East title and three away from completing 100 wins this season.
Jose Lopez unleashed his arms in the ninth inning for a 372-feet home-run to draw level with the Phillies and push the game into the tenth inning. Lopez pulled Cliff Lee’s pitch in the ninth inning towards left-field to deny him his 17th win of
the season even after a tremendous spell of nine innings from the mound.
Lee threw 117 pitches in a textbook display of pitching, striking-out 12 batters and generating 88 strikes in the process. He allowed just five hits in this stretch to keep the Phillies in contention for a double-header sweep after they had won the first
game 3-1 earlier in the day.
Alex Sanabia equally matched Lee’s performance from the mound, restricting the Phillies to just one run in his spell of six innings to keep the game in balance. He pitched five scoreless innings before John Mayberry Jr. freed his arms in the sixth inning
to give Philadelphia a one-run advantage in the low-scoring encounter. The home-run reduced Sanabia’s flawless performance but the relief pitchers did well to halt the flow of runs thereon.
It was anybody’s game in the tenth inning but the Phillies took the lead when Michael Schwimer pitched a perfect inning under pressure. He replaced Lee after the starter was charged for a home-run in the ninth but did well to halt the momentum of the visitors
with his versatile pitching. Schwimer produced nine strikes from his 15 pitches to see his ERA plunge to 3.24 for the season and make a strong case for his inclusion in the postseason plans. His dexterous performance earned him his first win at the Majors.
Burke Badenhop was unlucky to lose his second game of the season after Michael Martinez scored the winning run for Philadelphia on Howards’s RBI.
Tags: