The hits kept coming: Phillies 12, Marlins 9

After five innings, it looked like the Phillies were going to breeze to victory. The offense was clicking, Jake Arrieta was pitching well, and the Phillies had a seemingly comfortable 10-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Marlins weren’t content to go quietly into the night. The result was a much harder than it should have been 12-9 win over the Marlins that featured a combined 30 hits.

The Phillies’ first run came thanks to an actual positive contribution by a reserve Phillies outfielder. Getting a rare start, Nick Williams made his presence known.

There was a scary moment early on when Jean Segura - in his first game back from the injured list - was beaned in the head by Marlins’ starter Trevor Richards.

He left the game as a precaution, but was thankfully able to walk off by himself. After the game, Gabe Kapler reported that Segura did not have a concussion, and will presumably be able to return to action soon.

Even without Segura, the Phillies’ offense kept scoring. By the end of the fifth, they were leading by nine, and it looked like we’d be able to focus our attention on (gulp) the Sixers.

As it turned out, this game was far more competitive than the basketball one. In the sixth, the first four Marlins to come to the plate singled, resulting in a run scored and the end of Arrieta’s night. Jose Alvarez allowed all three of the inherited runners to score, and the Phillies’ lead seemed a little less secure.

The plan was presumably to have Enyel De Los Santos finish out the final three innings, but a two-run homer by Jorge Alfaro made it a three-run game, and forced Gabe Kapler to turn to the back-end of his bullpen. Unfortunately, one of those back-end relievers, Seranthony Dominguez allowed two more runs in the eighth to shrink the lead to one.

Rhys Hoskins loosened a few sphincters in the Philadelphia area when he hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, to re-establish a three-run lead.

Finally, despite allowing the tying run to come to the plate, Hector Neris was able to close out the game.

It would have been better if the Phillies had indeed coasted to victory, but after a week of shaky performances, it was nice to see the offense put up a double digit run total. Hopefully the offensive effort carries over to tomorrow as the Phillies seek to capture a series win.