Harrison Bader and Nick Castellanos homered, Alec Bohm had two hits and three RBIs after being activated earlier in the day, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 in Phoenix on Friday.
Bader finished a triple short of a cycle as the Phillies moved to 31-15 since the July 31 trade deadline, the best record in baseball. Castellanos had two hits and three RBIs after entering as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.
Ketel Marte ended up a triple shy of a cycle for the Diamondbacks (77-77), who led 2-0 after the first inning but lost a game after going in front for the 45th time, tied for the most in the majors.
The Phillies (92-62) closed to within two games of the Milwaukee Brewers (94-60) for the best record in the NL, although the Brewers hold the tiebreaker. The top two finishers in each league receive a first-round playoff bye.
The D-backs saw their faint playoff hopes take a hit as they dropped three games behind the Mets (80-74) for the third NL wild card with eight games remaining. The Cincinnati Reds (78-76) are two games back of New York.
Bader’s solo homer off Arizona starter Ryne Nelson tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth, and Weston Wilson’s RBI single gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead in sixth. Jalen Beeks (5-2), the second of five Arizona pitchers, took the loss.
Castellanos hit a two-run homer in the eighth to make it 5-2, and Bohm delivered a two-run single in the ninth before Castellanos added an RBI hit.
Bader is hitting .340 with five homers and 16 RBIs since joining the Phillies from the Minnesota Twins on July 31. He has 17 homers this season.
The D-backs loaded the bases in the eighth off Walker Buehler (9-7) on Marte’s single and two walks, but Tanner Banks entered and retired pinch hitter Jordan Lawlar on a popout to preserve a 5-2 lead.
Buehler gave up two hits, struck out three and walked two in 3 2/3 shutout innings of relief, following starter Taijuan Walker in a pre-arranged piggy-back. Walker gave up five hits and two runs in four innings. He fanned two and issued one free pass.
The D-backs jumped on Walker for two runs in the first. Marte homered with one out before Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno singled. Carroll scored on Blaze Alexander’s fielder’s-choice grounder.
Bohm doubled home Brandon Marsh in the second. Bohm played his first game since Sept. 7 after spending time on the injured list due to left shoulder inflammation.
–Field Level Media
