Daily News | Phillies avoid repeating Mets disaster, salvaging 9-7 win over Dodgers after 8th-inning collapse
LOS ANGELES — The Phillies were so close to approaching something resembling momentum. After an abysmal homestand, in which they lost four of five games, including a two-game sweep by the Texas Rangers, they took two of three in Seattle. Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday, they held a 7-3 lead over one of the best teams in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and were beating them in front of their home crowd.
When Girardi finally did pull Alvarado out, calling upon reliever Andrew Bellatti after the game was tied 7-7 with only one out, it was clear that he should have done so far sooner. With help from an impressive defensive play at home plate by Rhys Hoskins, Bellatti got the outs his team so desperately needed, all while facing the Dodgers’ toughest hitters with the bases loaded.
Part of the reason why Thursday night was so stunning was because fans had a seen a similar scene play out in the Phillies’ horrific 8-7 loss to the Mets on May 5, when they blew a 7-1 lead in the ninth inning. In that game, similarly to the game on Thursday night, Girardi waited far too long to pull out a struggling reliever — James Norwood — before calling upon Knebel.
“We can’t continue to let that happen. I think everyone in here knows that. As a team, this was a great win for us. Especially against a really good Dodgers team over there.” Harper’s solo home run to right center field, which left his bat at 110 mph, and traveled 405 feet, set the tone for the Phillies on Thursday night. Against a tough starter in Tyler Anderson, the Phillies racked up 12 hits and nine runs, making Anderson the first Dodgers starter to allow at least three runs since Tony Gonsolin on April 26. Eight of the Phillies’ nine hitters recorded at least one hit.