Pitching and defense (and Kyle Schwarber): Phillies 2, Tigers 0

It was a display tonight

Another national broadcast for the Phillies on a Sunday night? Who does ESPN think they are, mid-00’s Yankees?

Another outstanding pitching matchup on tap for what has been an exciting series between two potential playoff teams, this one the emerging ace in Cristopher Sanchez against the aging, but still quite crafty Charlie Morton. Both pitchers lived up to their billing, though in the early going, the Phillies did look like they were going to be able to chip away at Morton. Bryce Harper had a double against him in the first inning, then in the second, Nick Castellanos singled and went to third on a double by Brandon Marsh with nobody out. Max Kepler was able to bring in one run with an RBI groundout to put the Phillies on the board, but that was all they were able to get in that inning, a big missed opportunity.

From there, the pitchers dug in.

For Sanchez, it was about getting the Tigers to swing and miss, early and often. He was able to coax 14 whiffs on his changeup, dazzling Detroit all night with the pitch. He had some trouble in the 4th inning when he allowed singles to the first two hitters, but was able wiggle out of it via a strikeout and double play.

For Morton, he was also getting swings and misses, though he was a bit more reliant on the Phillies hitting baseballs seemingly right at the Detroit defense. Riley Greene in particular had himself a night with the leather.

In the seventh, the Tigers had a chance to put a crack in Sanchez’s armor when they again for two singles to start the inning, then got them each to advance a base on a groundball for the first out. With the infield brought in to preserve the lead, Edmundo Sosa had a groundball hit to him and he made a magnificent play on the ball to halt the runner at home.

So, the score that had remained on the scoreboard for so long stood into the eighth inning. By that point, Morton was gone and Tyler Holton was on his second inning of work. He also was having a good night on the mound until he met Kyle Schwarber.

Then he didn’t have a good night.

A National League lead tying 38th home run for Schwarber gave Sanchez a little cushion should Rob Thomson allow him to try and get a complete game shutout, but that’s not the plan anymore.

Not when you have Jhoan Duran at your disposal.

In my best Scott Weiland impersonation, “GAS-O-LINE!”

It’s ok to get excited about this.