Max Kepler hit a go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 3-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.
Kepler hit a 2-0 fastball by reliever Chad Green 370 feet into the right field bleachers for his eighth home run of the season. It was the ninth home run allowed by Green (2-2) in 29 1/3 innings this season and the 30th allowed by the Blue Jays bullpen.
Orion Kerkering (5-2) picked up the win with a hitless of relief and Matt Strahm pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to garner his third save. Brandon Marsh had two hits for Philadelphia, which won its third straight game and triumphed for the fourth time in five games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Ernie Clement added a double, a single and scored a run for the Blue Jays who lost their second straight game.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Clement doubled off the right field wall and scored one out later on a Myles Straw single that went off the tip of third baseman Alec Bohm’s glove and into left field.
Philadelphia took advantage of wildness from Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth, scoring two runs without a hit. Nick Castellanos and Kepler both walked and Francis then hit J.T. Realmuto to load the bases. Bryson Stott walked to force in a run and Francis then hit Otto Kemp to force in another run before giving way to Brandon Little. The rally ended when Realmuto was tagged out at home by catcher Tyler Heineman, as the Phils’ catcher tried to score from third on a pitch that bounced in the dirt and away from the home plate area.
The Blue Jays tied it, 2-2, in the fifth when Bo Bichette reached base on a fielder’s choice and scored on a double to center by Guerrero Jr.
–Field Level Media
