Phillies 2, Tigers 0: October baseball in August

A shocking pitching and defensive duel ends up going against Detroit

The Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies played the third and tiebreaking game of their series in Pennsylvania while the Midwest was covered in angry Canadian wildfire smoke. Yesterday’s game was a bit of a thriller, with the Tigers holding on for a 7-5 win to tie the series 1-1. Ultimately the Phillies took the series, two games to one. Shoutout to the Philly faithful, as every game felt like playoff baseball between two of the best teams in the majors.

For the Phillies, Cristopher Sánchez started the game. Sporting some impressive numbers and a 2.55 ERA, the lefty has been very good for the Phillies for the last three years. He got the game going by striking out Matt Vierling swinging on three pitches. Gleyber Torres flied out, and it took until the 8th pitch of the game for Sánchez to throw his first ball. If he was going to pound the zone effectively all game, the Tigers had their work cut out for them (Spoilers: he did). Just for fun, he struck out Jahmai Jones swinging too. 10 pitches, 9 of them strikes.

Charlie Morton was a last-second addition to the Tigers at the trade deadline. The 41 year old pitcher has struggled this season overall, but has been better of late, pitching to a 3.88 ERA his last 11 outings. It’s not ideal, but he was snagged for almost free just to add some veteran pitching and eat innings as the team gears up for the postseason.

Morton started the game by getting the first two batters to ground out. Bryce Harper broke up the 1st inning no-hitter by smoking a ball to the right field corner for a standup double. However, Morton wasn’t phased, getting J.T. Realmuto to ground out to first.

Spencer Torkleson didn’t want another inning like the first, so he led off with a first pitch single to left. Riley Greene struck out swinging on a ball down and away and Sánchez was getting a ton of swings and misses from Tigers hitters early on. Two ground balls led to two more outs and the end of the frame.

Philadelphia’s hitters started off strong in the 2nd. A single and a double put two on with nobody out. A grounder to second scored a run and moved Brandon Marsh to third. Edmundo Sosa popped out to Dillon Dingler in foul ground for the second, and Morton was on the verge of getting out of the jam with minimal damage. Bryson Stott hit a deep fly ball to left center that had run-scoring double written all over it, but Riley Greene made a highlight play to run it down, snagging the ball right as Vierling ran into him as well. Greene held on and the Phillies only got one run out of the initial jam.

The Tigers hitters responded by going 1-2-3 as Sánchez was dealing his nasty sinker-changeup combination with great command, as usual.

Morton got his first strikeout to start the third, getting Trea Turner on a wicked curveball. Kyle Schwarber’s shoelace got hit with a pitch, so he took first. Harper, who doubled his last time up, hit a bouncer that Tork snagged; he fired it to second and the throw was relayed back to Morton, who had sprinted over to first. Double play, harm averted.

Torres and Jones hit consecutive singles to kick off the top of the fourth inning. Tork battled but struck out. Greene put a ball in play…but it was right to the pitcher, who deftly snagged it and helped turn a double play. Two on, nobody out, nobody scores.

Meanwhile, Morton came back out and struck out the side, all three swinging. The Fetterization had begun, hopefully.

Sánchez matched Morton but by getting three straight groundouts, including one he fielded well as a pitcher.

Morton struck out Kepler swinging for his fourth consecutive swinging K. Then Sosa swinging for #5. Stott broke the streak, harmlessly flying out. Morton was DEALING and this surprising pitching duel was great.

The Tigers went meekly in the top of the sixth as Sánchez continued to dominate.

After Morton got the first out, Schwarber hit a double down the right field line. AJ Hinch opted to walk Harper to bring up Realmuto. A ground ball hit to Ibáñez was primed for a double play, but hesitation on Andy’s part on whether to tag the runner or not ended up being the difference, as only the runner at second was out due to Realmuto’s speed. Nick Castellanos hit one foul down the right field line that Wenceel Pérez was able to make a leaping grab on, ending the inning.

Charlie’s final line: 6 IP, 4H, 1ER, 1IBB, 6Ks. Heck of a debut for the old man.

The Tigers’ bats finally got going again in the top of the seventh. Jones and Tork hit consecutive singles. Greene bounced out but moved the runners up with one out. Ibáñez hit one right at the third baseman, who fired home to tag out Jones, who was trying to come home on contact. The ump tightened the zone a bit and it meant Sánchez walked Dingler, loading the bases. Pérez hit a grounder that led to a force at second, ending the threat. This was the second time the Tigers had put two on with nobody out and failed to bring anyone home in a 1-0 game.

Tyler Holton was the first man in from the Tigers bullpen. He pitched a clean inning, partly thanks to another web gem level play from a diving Greene.

In the top of the 8th, Sánchez was still out there due to his dominant, low pitch count that was in the mid 70s. Two grounders (one a fabulous defensive play by Stott) and a strikeout meant no Tigers reached base.

Holton stayed on the mound for his second inning. He retired the first two batters before facing Schwarber. The guy crushes lefties and showed it, destroying a ball for a solo home run to left center. Harper lined out to end things, but the Phillies were now up 2-0 as the Phillies summoned their new closer, Jhoan Duran.

Kerry Carpenter pinch-hit to lead off the 9th. He grounded out. Tork hit a grounder to third that was airmailed, allowing him to reach safely…except that the Phillies challenged and won, as Harper made a snag of the ball and got his toe down on the bag juuuuust before Tork got there. Wild play, and two outs. Riley Greene was up, his bat in a terrible slump. He swung through a few pitches, fouled a pitch, and struck out swinging on a 103 mph fastball and that was that.

The Phillies won 2-0 on the backs of impressive pitching and highlight reel defense. This entire series felt like playoff baseball and there’s definitely a chance these teams meet in the Fall Classic down the line. The Tigers head home to face the Minnesota Twins in a three game series at Comerica Park in a – hopefully – easier matchup.