PHILADEPHIA – A bat shatters, a ball rolls past the mound and into center field, and a pitcher’s fist slams into his glove.
Dean Kremer couldn’t predict what would happen next, but frustration was the appropriate response.
The Phillies sent nine batters to the plate in the second inning, scored three times and led the entire way in a 5-0 victory over the Orioles before an announced sellout crowd of 43,660 at Citizens Bank Park.
The road trip concludes tomorrow with the Orioles 51-63 overall and 1-4 since the trade deadline. A sweep would be the first with Tony Mansolino as interim manager for an entire series.
Phillies starter Taijuan Walker held them scoreless over six innings. Tonight marked their 12th shutout loss.
Tyler O’Neill went 0-for-2 and was replaced by Ryan Noda in the bottom of the sixth inning after complaining of right wrist soreness. O’Neill was playing his second game since missing Saturday and Sunday with an illness.
Nick Castellanos’ bat splintered on the grounder that reached center field with one out. The first stroke of bad luck. Kremer committed a balk when his left foot slipped in his delivery, causing him to spin and hold onto the ball. The second stroke.
Castellanos scored on Brandon Marsh’s double, and Max Kepler homered on a down-and-in fastball to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead.
The pitch caught the bottom corner of the strike zone, but Marsh put his barrel on it.
Kremer was forced to throw 36 pitches in the inning because Bryson Stott reached on a fly ball that fell into right-center field and Trea Turner reached on a high chopper to third.
Kepler led off the fourth with a double and scored with one out on Stott’s triple. O’Neill tried to make a leaping catch at the right field wall and the ball caromed away from him.
A double play aided Kremer in the fifth and he retired the side in order in the sixth to finish at 103 pitches. He allowed four runs and eight hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
Mansolino would have appreciated any length from Kremer with the bullpen in a constant state of flux. Another move is coming soon with Rico Garcia claimed on waivers earlier today.
“I think if you look at the starting rotation, you feel pretty good about where it’s at after the trade deadline and the injuries and everything,” Mansolino said this afternoon. “I think as you look at the lineup, especially as we see Mounty (Ryan Mountcastle) here in the next few days, and at some point we’ll see some pretty big-time prospects get promoted, you’ll look at that and be like, ‘It’s not a bad nine in the lineup.’ It’s going to be competitive.
“I think the bullpen’s the one area right now where we’ve got to try to figure it out. We’ve got to try to figure out how to navigate it and find the right matchups and the right mixes for them.”
The Orioles stranded Jordan Westburg in the first inning after his one-out single, and Jeremiah Jackson was picked off first base after his infield hit in the second. Adley Rutschman singled with two outs in the fourth and Coby Mayo singled with two outs in the fifth, and they were stranded.
Dylan Carlson struck out to end the fifth and flied out in the eighth, and he’s hitless in his last 24 at-bats. His average is down to .197.
Westburg was hit by a pitch with one out in the sixth, but Walker retired the next two batters. Westburg led off the ninth with a single and didn't get past second base - the only time they had a runner in scoring position.
Marsh completed the Phillies' scoring with a two-out solo home run off Yaramil Hiraldo in the eighth.
* High-A Aberdeen pitcher Sebastian Gongora was removed from tonight’s game after being struck by a line drive on the side of his head. The Orioles drafted Gongora in the 11th round in 2024 out of Louisville.
Tyler Wells started tonight at Triple-A Norfolk and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 49 pitches, 31 for strikes.
Mountcastle played first base and hit his third home run. Dylan Beavers hit his 17th and Samuel Basallo his 22nd. Basallo’s two-run shot traveled 441 feet to center field.
Basallo also has a two-run double.