PHILS ONLY 3 1/2 GAMES BEHIND 1ST-PLACE BRAVES IN NL EAST!
By Peter Marks
Trea Turner and Kody Clemens hit solo homers, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh hit two-run shots and Zack Wheeler struck out 11 to lead the Phillies to a 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, their sixth out of their last eight as they pull to within 3 1/2 games of first-place Atlanta in NL East.
Philly had another packed house of 44,618 fans, the fifth crowd of at least 43,000 at Citizens Bank Park this season. That surpasses only three regular-season crowds of at least 43,000 during the 2022 season.
Wheeler (2-1) survived a rough fourth inning — plunking Yonathan Daza on the hand and allowing three runs — to finish with his 17th career double-digit strikeout game and ninth with the Phillies.
“Just close your eyes there in the fourth,” said Wheeler, who induced 23 swings-and-misses over six innings to set the season’s high by a Phillies pitcher.
Another positive sign has been a pickup in the Phillies’ power production. One day after Nick Castellanos and Christian Pache hit their first homers of the season, Turner and Clemens broke out of their droughts.
Turner, who had 21 homers in 160 games with the Dodgers last season, connected in the first inning for his first in Philadelphia since the star shortstop signed a $300 million, 11-year contract.
Clemens hit a rocket to right in the second, a confidence boost for a first baseman hitting just .063 entering the game. Both homers came off Rockies starter José Ureña (0-4).
Wheeler, making his 200th career start, breezed through most of it despite the fourth inning, when he loaded the bases, then hit Daza. Harold Castro added a sacrifice fly and Ezequiel Tovar lined an RBI single for a 3-2 lead.
J.T. Realmuto tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI forceout and Alec Bohm made it 4-3 in the same inning on an RBI groundout.
Greg Soto, Jose Alvarado and Luis Ortiz each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.
In the seventh, Bohm added an RBI double and Stott hit his second homer of the season to break the game open for a 7-3 lead. Marsh made it 9-3 in the eighth on his fourth homer of the season.
“Start of the year, the bats were a little cold,” Marsh said. “It’s good to see everyone get some knocks, getting on base, getting around.”
