On an afternoon when the Phillies’ staff ace wasn’t at his best, the non-Velasquez portion of the bullpen was once again strong, and the offense finally displayed some power. As a result, they prevailed over the Mets by a score of 8-2, improving their record to 5-1.
Despite their impressive record, the Phillies’ offense hasn’t been especially productive in the early going. But that wasn’t the case on Wednesday when they jumped on Mets starter David Peterson for four runs in the first inning. Rhys Hoskins (3-5 for the day) got them on the board with a solo homer, and then three more runs came thanks to Alec Bohm.
Alec Bohm blasts a THREE-RUN JACK and the Phils are HOT outta the gates pic.twitter.com/c8bRLqKQFu
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 7, 2021
Unfortunately, Nola was having some trouble with his command. While he limited the damage to just one run, he racked up 92 pitches in just four innings, and it would be up to the bullpen to cover the final five. As they have been on most days so far this year, they were up to the task, allowing only one run. Connor Brogdon pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the win, improving to 3-0 on the year.
It helped that the offense provided some additional breathing room. The Phillies got their first two batters aboard in the fifth, prompting the entrance of reliever Jacob Barnes. Remember last year when a Phillies’ reliever would enter a game and instantly make things much worse? Now the Mets know how that feels as J.T. Realmuto greeted Barnes rather rudely.
Best
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 7, 2021
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Baseball#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/qtZFuBpycs
The Phillies will have an off day on Thursday before travelling to Atlanta to face the Braves. If the pitching staff can shut down Atlanta’s hitters like they did last weekend, and Wednesday’s outburst is a sign that the Phillies’ offense is waking up, it could stand to be a long weekend for the Braves.