The Phillies salvaged the final game of their three-game series with the Blue Jays thanks to Derek Hill’s walk-off single in the 12th inning. Hill’s heroics helped lessen the sting of a blown three run eighth inning lead that led to extras and having the winning run thrown out at home to end the 11th inning. This incredibly stupid ballgame wrapped up in a nice, crisp, three and a half hours.
The day started off well, with Jesús Luzardo not allowing a baserunner until the fourth inning and Kyle Schwarber finally ending his 17-game home run drought with a three-run shot in the third.
Luzardo surrendered a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Alejandro Kirk after a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double and wild pitch. The Blue Jays then climbed within one in the fifth, plating another run off of Luzardo with a Brett Bateman two out single with runners on the corners.
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But Schwarber came through again, blasting his second homer of the game in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 4-2. Alec Bohm tacked on a fifth run in the sixth with a two out RBI single that scored Bryson Stott from second.
Luzardo went back out for the seventh at 87 pitches and a three-run lead and easily struck out the side on 13 pitches to end his day with 12 punch outs across seven innings with two runs allowed.
The fun began in the eighth, when Orion Kerkering was the first man tasked with holding the lead for Luzardo. He retired the first two hitters with relative ease before allowing back to back singles to Kirk and Kazuma Okamoto. Ernie Clement then took a 95 MPH sinker to deep left field for an RBI double, cutting the lead to 5-3. With lefty Brooks Raley warming in the bullpen, Don Mattingly elected to leave Kerkering in the game to face the lefty hitting Andres Gimenez. Gimenez promptly repaid that decision with a back breaking single to right, scoring two runs and tying the game at 5-5 with two outs in the eighth inning. Kerkering was able to get Myles Straw to groundout to end the inning, but the damage was done as the boos rained down at Citizens Bank Park.
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Jhoan Duran worked around a walk and a single to pitch a scoreless ninth, thanks to a double play turned by Luis Arraez and Trea Turner. But the Phillies failed to score in the ninth, sending the game to extras yet again. Tim Mayza entered for the tenth and stranded the ghost runner, giving the Phillies a golden opportunity to win in the bottom of the tenth. Stott bunted ghost runner J.T. Realmuto over to third before Toronto elected to intentionally walk Brandon Marsh to face Bohm. He promptly popped out in foul territory before Hill lined out to right to send the game to the 11th.
That’s where yet again the Phillies bullpen was able to strand the ghost runner, this time it was Raley entering the game three innings after he originally warmed up. Bohm somewhat redeemed himself on a great sliding play to catch a popped up bunt before Raley was able to retire the next two hitters, once again stranding the ghost runner. The Phillies half of the 11th started with Schwarber being intentionally walked and Turner popping up a bunt attempt. But Blue Jays pitcher Braydon Fisher dropped the ball, yet still recovered to throw Hill out at third to leave runners on first and second and one out. Bryce Harper then worked a walk to load the bases and the Phillies elected to use Garrett Stubbs as a pinch runner for Schwarber at third. Arraez lofted a ball to shallow right field, and Stubbs broke for home but was gunned down by Nathan Lukes, sending the game to the 12th.
This time the Phillies bullpen could not strand the ghost runner, as Caleb Killian allowed a single to Bateman that gave Toronto runners on the corners with no outs. Jesús Sanchez grounded into a double play that was upheld after a review despite a Turner bobble, but the go ahead run scored on the play. Killian then got Kirk to pop up to end the inning with the Phillies now down a run.
The bottom of the 12th started with a single from Realmuto, putting runners at the corners with no outs. After a lengthy on-field transmitter related delay, Stott worked a 3-0 count before Jays pitcher Lazaro Estrada battled back to make it full. But Stott won the battle, singling to right to score ghost runner Arraez and re-tie the game at 6-6.
Marsh was able to move Realmuto to third with a deep fly ball, setting the Phillies up once again to win the ballgame if they could just get a ball out of the infield. With Bohm due up, Toronto manager John Schnedier elected to intentionally walk the struggling Bohm to load the bases with one out. Hill made him pay by singling up the middle on the second pitch he saw, delivering a walk-off win.
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