May 18, 2024
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alec Bohm hit a go-ahead single in a five-run fifth inning and added an RBI double in the sixth, helping the Philadelphia Phillies beat Atlanta 7-2 Wednesday to take two of three from the Braves.
Kyle Gibson (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, and the Phillies (51-47) tied St. Louis for the National League's final wild card berth, pending the Cardinals' game at Toronto later Wednesday.
“This is a competitive year and we’ve battled back and forth all the way along,” Bohm said. “It’s going to be an exciting finish here.”
“This was definitely big for us,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs on Wednesday. “The Cubs series didn't go as planned. But it was good to win this series and beat a really good team in this division."
Bohm, the Phillies' No. 7 hitter, extended his career-best hitting streak to 12 games and has consecutive multi-hit games for the first time since reaching the majors in 2020. He is 20-for-41 (.488) with a 1.218 OPS and nine RBIs during the spurt, raising his average to .293.
Errors by Charlie Morton (5-5) and second baseman Robinson Canó contributed to the Phillies' fifth-inning rally. Atlanta entered with 40 errors, third-fewest in the majors behind Seattle (32) and St. Louis (33).
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We really couldn't get anything going offensively.”
Bryson Stott walked leading off the fifth and took third when Morton bounced a pickoff attempt past first. Didi Gregorius' RBI grounder deflected off Canó's glove and into right field, Odúbel Herrera hit a run-scoring single and Kyle Schwarber followed with a sacrifice fly. Realmuto capped the rally with a two-run single as he extended his hitting streak to nine games where he's posted a .438 batting average.
“He’s swinging the bat well with authority making solid contact and he’s had some really big hits lately,” Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s a really good offensive player when he’s swinging at strikes, using the field and letting it go.”
Morton, 0-2 in his last three starts, allowed five runs — four earned — and six hits in five innings.
“I just kept wanting to keep them in situations where a ground ball was a double play and limit the extra-base hits," Gibson said. "That kept the pressure off myself.”
Matt Olson hit his 20th homer. a two-run drive in the sixth off the batter's eye in center. He has five homers against the Phillies this season, including two in two days. Seven of Olson's nine career hits at Citizens Bank Park are homers.
Atlanta has lost eight of its last nine series finales. Austin Riley went 0 for 4, ending a career-best 18-game hitting streak.
“We were probably an out away from winning the series,” Snitker said, referring to Monday night’s 6-4 loss on an eighth-inning homer. “We've had to fight through adversities and we’ll have to do that again.”
Realmuto and Darick Hall also had two hits for the Phillies, who are 42-16 when scoring four runs or more.
