Brushing away the Devil Rays

 I did not mean to make the title rhyme 

    The Braves owe the Phillies one. Before the Rays played Philly, they were 57-30 and three games behind the 57-27 Braves, who had recently gotten hot. A quick three game series over the Phillies would hopefully give them a 60 and 27 record to even things up more, or maybe even push them ahead. 

  

  But things didn't go exactly to plan. The Phillies were the ones who won three quick ones in Tampa Bay and when all was said and done, the Rays had tacked on three more losses to their record. 

    

    The first game was really a strikeout party. Aaron Nola threw 12 K's, while Tampa's Zach Eflin threw nine. In total 26 strikeouts were thrown, which resulted in a relatively low scoring 3-1 game. Nola gave up a single run in seven innings. Both Bryson Stott and Bryce Harper hit two balls and batted in a run. The win was a great addition to July 4 festivities, but must have been disappointing to Rays fans.

    

Aaron Nola's 12 strikeouts led to a Phillies win

Photo Credit: FOX 29 Philadelphia

    

    In the second game, Kyle Schwarber stayed quiet, but J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm covered for him. Both Realmuto and Bohm hit three balls, Stott four, and all three battted in a run. Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner each hit a home run and Taijuan Walker tossed eight K's. Walker did throw five walks (it's in his name) and did give up all four Rays runs, but the Phillies got the W, an 8-4 victory, and that's really all that matters.

    

    And their final game in Tampa Bay was the same as the first. Schwarber was back on track, with two hits and an RBI. The repeated 3-1 win was the icing on the cake. 

    The Phillies are used to big wins. Two games before the start of the series in Tampa, they had wiped out the Nationals 19-4, scoring all 19 runs by the fifth inning. Alec Bohm had in six RBI, Kyle Schwarber, four.  However, they couldn't manage to earn the sweep as they dropped the first and last game against Washington. There is something about a sweep, especially against a powerful team, that makes one feel invincible. And with the Phillies fighting the Marlins for second place in the NL East, a three game sweep was just what they needed. 

The above photo was taken from a Fox 29 article. Photo taken by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images. Image used for commentary.