10,000 maniacs: Phillies 11, Reds 4

The Phillies came into the evening sitting on 9,999 victories in their team’s history. Playing a team like the Reds makes things a lot easier to get that 10,000th victory, something they did this evening with relative ease, but there may have been a small cost to that victory.

The first two innings were pretty uneventful save for a stolen base by Rhys Hoskins and a runner thrown out by Garrett Stubbs, but the fireworks started in the third when Darick Hall and Nick Castellanos tagged Reds starter T.J. Zeuch with back to back home runs to give the Phillies the early lead. In the bottom of the frame, though, Cincinnati would come roaring back on the strength of a two-run home run from Jake Fraley and a solo shot by Jonathan India. The solo home runs was costly as on the play, Brandon Marsh landed awkwardly and was in a lot of pain before leaving the game under his own power.

The amount of pain that Marsh was in is troublesome, but there can be some solace taken in the fact that he was able to walk off on his own. We’ll await further word on his status.

Meanwhile, in the game, the Phillies came right back on their own in the fourth inning when, with two runners on, Hoskins stepped up and delivered his 25th home run of the year, giving the Phillies the lead back, 5-3.

Matt Vierling, in the fifth, got an RBI when he hit a screaming line drive to center field with the bases loaded that Albert Almora made a great play on, taking away extra bases, but giving the Phillies another run. In the eighth, Hoskins stepped up again and took another shot, this time against Reiver Sanmartin, and connecting with a howitzer-like shot to center field, making the score 8-3.

As all of this offensive goodness was happening, much of it expected against a Reds pitching staff that is quite poor, Kyle Gibson faced an anemic Reds lineup and delivered another solid outing for the Phillies. He ended up going six innings, striking out a career high 11 batters, allowing only three runs on six hits, not walking a blessed soul. It was a great outing for Gibson, one that, once again, didn’t have to overextend the bullpen as they continue to prepare for a weekend battle against the Mets.

The offense continued cranking out home runs, something they didn’t do much of this past weekend, when Stubbs himself ripped a three-run shot in the 9th inning, giving the Phillies their ninth, tenth and eleventh runs of the night. Cincinnati would get a meaningless run in the ninth against Nick Nelson on three bleeders, but it meant little. The game, and the 10,00th victory in team history, belonged to the Phillies.

Obviously, there is some concern about Marsh, so we’ll see how he is doing, but the team is doing what they have to do: beat the bad teams. Too often in the past, this was not something they would do, so best to enjoy it when they do do it.