Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies hit the visiting Seattle Mariners with an offensive onslaught in the series opener on Monday.
The Phillies will attempt to keep the bats hot on Tuesday when they continue the three-game set versus the slumping Mariners.
Philadelphia powered to a 12-7 victory on Monday as Turner keyed a 21-hit attack with four hits, including a homer, and five RBIs. Bryce Harper swatted two long home runs, while J.T. Realmuto chipped in a homer, a double and a single as part of a dynamic overall performance by the hosts.
“We played well,” Turner said. “Fans showed up. Forty thousand on a random Monday night is pretty cool. … We played well, but we’ve got to keep it rolling. Try to win the series (Tuesday).”
Since getting shut out by the Washington Nationals on Saturday — their fourth loss in five games — the Phillies have scored 23 runs on 33 hits over the last two games.
“Right now we’re having really good at-bats,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It all depends on the next day’s pitcher.”
For Seattle, that pitcher is Bryce Miller (2-5, 5.73 ERA), who will be making his return to a major league mound for the first time since June 6. The right-hander has been plagued by elbow issues this season, as his productive 2024 campaign (12-8, 2.94 ERA) feels like a lifetime ago.
“I can’t change what’s already been done,” Miller said, “and my only goal moving forward is not to get my ERA down to three-something or any of that. It’s just go out, compete, finish strong and get us into the postseason and see how far we can go. And whatever the numbers are at the end, for me, it is what it is.”
Miller has faced the Phillies once in his career. In a matchup at Seattle last August, he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Philadelphia will give the ball on Tuesday to Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.45 ERA), who will be facing the Mariners for the first time in his career.
The left-hander allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings during his most recent start — an 8-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. It was just Sanchez’s second defeat since June 8.
“On a personal note, I think it was a bad start,” he said. “We lost the game. I always try to go out and have as many scoreless innings as I can to keep the team in the fight. Today just wasn’t the case.”
Sanchez will look to keep a close eye on Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, who leads the American League with 47 home runs and 102 RBIs. The MVP contender came into the series with three straight multi-hit games — having hit a home run in two of those contests — but went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on Monday.
Cole Young hit a three-run homer in the seventh and drove in four runs to highlight the Mariners’ offensive effort. Still, Seattle took its fifth loss in the past six games.
“The guys fought. We kept fighting at the end,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, whose team scored seven runs over the final three frames. “Gotta come out (Tuesday) ready to go.”
–Field Level Media
