Rain may have delayed the game, but not the victory: Phillies 4, Marlins 1

Sandy Alcantara was looming the next game.

That means the Phillies really needed to take this game tonight from the Marlins as their chances, though not zero, are diminished when Alcantara is on the mound. They had it all set up, their own ace in Zack Wheeler toeing the rubber on the evening and the lineup set up with eight right handers to face the lefty Braxton Garrett.

Despite a brief rain delay that pushed the start of the game back a while, they got their evening started quickly when in the first inning, Kyle Schwarber singling to lead off the bottom of the inning. He was erased when Rhys Hoskins didn’t homer grounded into a double play, but all was not lost. Alec Bohm singled himself, then scored when J.T. Realmuto, fresh off his being named to the World Baseball Classic team for the United States, doubled on a gift miscommunication by the Marlins to score Bohm and get the party started.

Wheeler threw a bunch of pitches to the Marlins, but never really felt threatened the whole time he was in. In the fourth, he gave up a solo home run to J.J. Bleday that was a laser beam and tied the game at one.

The offense got the runs right back, starting with Realmuto who kept his hot hitting going, blasting a solo home run into the left field corner and giving the lead right back.

Two batters later, Jean Segura stepped to the plate, the owner of solid at bats since his return from the injured list, and put his own stamp on the baseball.

They’d get another run in the fifth inning when Schwarber hit a rocket to center field through the falling rain drops that ended with his standing on second base and the team threatening again. Hoskins would go down on strikes, but Bohm came up with two outs, Schwarber still waiting on second, and delivered an RBI single for the team, making it 4-1.

The game would go to another rain delay in the middle of the seventh inning, but the rest of the game was a shutdown clinic performed by the Phillies bullpen. Jose Alvarado, David Robertson and Seranthony Dominguez all set the Marlins’ hitters down in rapid succession, ending the game and putting the Phillies thirteen games over the .500 mark, their high water mark of the season.

Alcantara awaits, but this team is hitting well right now. It should be a good test for both sides tomorrow night.