Kody Clemens had a stellar night in his first start at Citizens Bank Park this season, smashing a home run and a triple while racking up four RBIs. Bryce Harper added a grand slam, his third home run in as many days, and Cristopher Sánchez pitched a solid game to lead the Phillies to a commanding 10-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Despite missing their top three right-handed hitters and facing the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the majors, the Phillies made it look easy. They’ve been on fire, securing their seventh straight win and 11th victory in 12 games.
The Phillies didn’t waste time taking control of the game. Harper got things rolling by singling in the bottom of the first and scoring on Nick Castellanos’ double. Clemens, using one of Harper’s bats, then hit a two-run homer in the second to give the Phillies an early lead.
“We have so much talent,” said starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez. “Our bench is stacked. We have the equivalent of two full lineups on this team.”
The Phillies have been dominant in the early innings lately, outscoring their opponents 45-10 in the first two frames over their last 20 games. On Tuesday, they kept the pressure on against Jose Berrios, who came in with an impressive 1.44 ERA. The Phillies put up a five-run fourth inning, fueled by a Clemens RBI triple and a Harper grand slam. That inning was all about taking advantage of Berrios’s mistakes—he hit Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber with pitches and walked Garrett Stubbs.
“We knew he had a great year,” Harper said, referring to Berrios. “His slider is his go-to pitch, so we just tried to find good pitches to hit and stay away from the tough stuff.”
Harper has been on a tear, batting .344/.481/.656 with six home runs, 21 RBI, 18 walks, and 16 strikeouts over his last 18 games. The Phillies have won 17 of those games.
Harper and Clemens accounted for eight of the Phillies’ 10 runs on Tuesday. Clemens was called up when Trea Turner landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain, and he made the most of his opportunity. He started at third base in place of Alec Bohm, who had the night off after his 18-game hitting streak ended on Monday.
“He’s a stud,” Harper said of Clemens. “He comes up here and plays like a seasoned pro. It’s fun to watch. He had a great spring, could have made any team, but he got the short end of the stick. Now he’s up here, playing with the same mindset, and making a huge impact.”
Sánchez, who had struggled in his previous two starts, bounced back by holding the Blue Jays to just one run over seven innings, striking out five and inducing 12 groundball outs. He threw 89 pitches and lowered his ERA to 3.22.
The Phillies used Spencer Turnbull for the final two innings, and he delivered without allowing a run. It was Turnbull’s first bullpen appearance since his rookie year in 2018, and he handled it well.
“Sanchy was phenomenal and efficient,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We expected him to go five innings, but he was so good we kept him out there longer.”
Turnbull’s role out of the bullpen will depend on how long he pitches during relief appearances, Thomson said. He won’t pitch on back-to-back days because he’s never done that before. If he goes one inning, he’ll need one day off; if he goes two innings, he’ll need two days off; and if he pitches three or more innings, he’ll need four full days off.
The Phillies and Blue Jays will wrap up their two-game series on Wednesday with Aaron Nola (4-1, 3.32 ERA) facing Chris Bassitt (2-5, 5.45 ERA). A win would give the Phillies their fifth series sweep in seven tries. After Wednesday’s game, the Phillies will have an off day before facing a stretch of 10 straight games against NL East opponents. They start with three games at Marlins Park.
