Alec Bohm, Phillies bid to flex muscles vs. reeling White Sox
The Philadelphia Phillies are clicking at home after an inconsistent start.
Philadelphia followed a three-game sweep against the visiting Colorado Rockies with a 7-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
The Phillies will look to continue their good fortune at home on Saturday evening when they face the White Sox in the second contest of their three-game series.
Alec Bohm hit a pair of three-run homer and tied his career high with six RBIs on Friday. Whit Merrifield went deep for the first time in a Phillies uniform, and Trea Turner stayed hot with two singles and a double to extend his hitting streak to eight games.
“He’s stronger than he was two years ago, and he’s stronger than he was last year,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Bohm. “If he’s gaining strength and getting the ball up in the air, in theory he’s going to hit more home runs. He had a great night. He really did.”
Spencer Turnbull carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. He allowed just one hit and struck out six in the win.
“It’s huge for the guys to get going early offensively,” Turnbull said in a postgame interview on NBC Sports Philadelphia. “It gives the pitching staff a chance to breathe.”
The Phillies had just seven hits, but three went over the wall.
Bryce Harper put together some good at-bats and finished with a single, two walks and two runs. In addition, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering each struck out a batter in a scoreless inning of relief.
The Phillies on Saturday will hand the ball to right-hander Zack Wheeler (0-3, 3.00 ERA), who hasn’t received much run support this season.
“It’s frustrating,” Thomson said. “We haven’t really swung the bats in his starts. That’ll change.”
Wheeler is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three career starts against Chicago.
The White Sox continued to careen in a bad direction in the series opener. Their 3-16 record represents their worst start in franchise history.
Chicago, which has been shut out seven times already this season, managed only two singles, one each by Gavin Sheets and Nicky Lopez. The White Sox have scored a total of 38 runs in 19 games and are batting a major-league worst .190.
“We just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said.
While the three home runs obviously made an impact, two walks by Garrett Crochet also proved to be costly.
“Walks again. We talk about walks all the time anytime there’s a crooked number,” Grifol said.
Right-hander Michael Soroka (0-2, 6.98 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday’s game for the White Sox. In Soroka’s last start, against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, he allowed five runs, five hits and six walks in 4 2/3 innings.
“Walks killed us,” Grifol said. “Behind in the count also killed us.”
