Phillies make best of bad weather, crush Giants, 14-3

PHILADELPHIA — It was a strange night. Saturday’s Phillies-Giants game started over an hour late due to rain. Players had trouble fielding the ball and pitchers had trouble gripping it. The grounds crew came out to work on the infield dirt in between innings.

But that didn’t stop the Phillies from getting their 23rd win of the season. In a 14-3 victory, they clobbered the Giants’ pitching staff, putting up five runs in the first inning and four in the second. J.T. Realmuto, who was hitting in the two-hole after Trea Turner’s injury, hit a triple in the second inning, and scored on a wild pitch.

Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 17-games with a line drive single in the second. Manager Rob Thomson had Whit Merrifield pinch hit for Bohm in the third inning. After taking a weird swing in the second inning, after which Bohm slipped and fell, he was seen going down the dugout stairs with trainer Joe Rauch.

The Phillies later announced that he was removed from the game as a precaution, with right hip tightness. More updates will be provided postgame. Bohm is their hottest hitter, and after the loss of Turner due to a left hamstring strain, losing him would be a significant blow. But it’s unclear right now what his health status is.

The conditions weren’t ideal, but the Phillies made the best of them. Ranger Suárez, who was also paid a visit by Rauch in the fourth inning, gave his team six innings. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with one walk — in his first at-bat of the night — and six strikeouts. Two of Suárez’s three earned runs came on a two-run home run he allowed in the top of the fifth to Wilmer Flores. Other than that, it was a relatively uneventful night for him.

The Phillies played some good defense behind him, despite the rain. Bryce Harper made a nice play in the top of the second, catching a popup that he couldn’t see well. Brandon Marsh made a jumping catch at the wall to end the first inning, that would’ve been a sure extra-base hit.

As a whole, the Phillies lineup only recorded four strikeouts, with 10 walks. Bryson Stott went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two walks. Johan Rojas tacked on two more runs with a hard hit ground ball that went in between the legs of third baseman Matt Chapman in the sixth. Kyle Schwarber tacked on two more, with a two-RBI single to right field in the next at-bat. Merrifield hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his second home run of the year.

Reliever Jose Ruiz, who was called up on Friday, and Seranthony Dominguez pitched the last three innings. Ruiz allowed two hits and two walks through two innings with one strikeout. Dominguez allowed one hit with one strikeout in the ninth.

The Phillies are now 23-11 on the season.