Despite one blowout defeat, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to succeed under interim manager Rob Thomson.
The Phillies fell 13-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday but responded with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins on Monday on a walk-off RBI single by Rhys Hoskins with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Philadelphia improved to 9-1 under Thomson, who recently replaced the fired Joe Girardi.
The Phillies will look for another victory when they host the Marlins again on Tuesday.
“That’s what good teams do, find a way to win close games,” Hoskins said in a postgame interview on NBC Sports Philadelphia following his first career walk-off hit.
The Phillies have struggled in recent seasons against the Marlins, losing the season series in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and then dropping 3 of 4 in the teams’ first series this year. Following a 12-run loss, it was a major accomplishment to top the Marlins in the series opener.
“It was a good come-from-behind win,” said Thomson, whose team trailed 2-1 in the eighth inning. “We showed a lot of character.”
The Phillies haven’t fared well against teams in the National League East this year, posting a 6-14 mark prior to the Monday game. That was a message conveyed by Thomson pregame.
“We need to start beating teams in our division,” Thomson said. “That’s what good teams do. It was a good start.”
The Phillies will hand the ball to Zach Eflin (2-4, 3.76 ERA) on Tuesday. In the right-hander’s latest start, against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, he gave up four hits and one run but lasted just four innings.
Eflin has struggled in 14 career starts against the Marlins, going 5-7 with a 4.96 ERA.
Phillies second baseman Nick Maton, on the injured list due to a sprained right shoulder, might be able to return on Tuesday.
The Marlins, who have lost two in a row, will send Trevor Rogers (3-5, 5.58 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday.
Miami wasted a strong performance by starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara in the series opener. Steven Okert gave up the tying RBI single by Didi Gregorius in the eighth inning, though the run was charged to Alcantara. Anthony Bass allowed the walk-off RBI single by Hoskins.
Alcantara gave up two runs on six hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.
“You never really wanna take Sandy out,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “At that point, we felt like it was the best thing.”
Miguel Rojas paced the Marlins with a pair of RBI doubles, and Jon Berti added two hits and two runs.
“Both those guys did a nice job of getting on,” Mattingly said.
Rogers was effective in his most recent outing, against the Washington Nationals on Thursday. He allowed six hits and two runs in five innings with one walk and five strikeouts.
In six career starts against the Phillies, Rogers is 1-3 with a 6.91 ERA.
Miami first baseman Garrett Cooper returned from the COVID-19 injured list on Monday and had an infield single.
“It would’ve been my third time catching COVID,” Cooper said. “If I would’ve caught it again, there’d be something wrong with my body.
“It’s great (to be back), especially when you’re feeling good at the plate. You don’t want to miss too much time.”
Marlins right fielder Avisail Garcia was sidelined for the second day in a row because of left hand inflammation. While the injury appears to be mild, it was unclear if Garcia would be available on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
