The New York Yankees secured their fourth consecutive victory, narrowly defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 in a thriller on Tuesday night.
Following this tough loss, Phillies manager Rob Thomson delivered a stark message to his pitching staff, highlighting the need for improvement.
This marks the Phillies’ second straight defeat to the Yankees, having previously lost 14-4 in the opening game of their three-game series.
Thomson addressed the media post-game, expressing concerns over the team’s recent struggles.
“Pitchers are walking more people, bats have gone silent, but that will change,” he remarked, focusing on the need for better consistency as the Phillies have been surrendering three-run leads frequently.
The star of the night for the Yankees was Jazz Chisholm Jr., who continued his impressive form with another two-home run game, driving in five runs.
Chisholm’s heroics began with an RBI grounder in the first inning, followed by a solo homer off Aaron Nola in the sixth, and a three-run blast off Matt Strahm in the seventh that gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Chisholm’s performance places him in the Yankees’ record books, joining Dave Kingman and Eric Hinske as the only players to hit three home runs in their first three games with the team.
Remarkably, Chisholm also matches Trevor Story’s 2016 feat of hitting four homers in his first three games with an MLB team.
The Phillies managed to tie the game when Josh Rojas scored on a wild pitch by Clay Holmes.
However, the Yankees regained the lead in the 11th inning through Alex Verdugo’s sacrifice fly. The Phillies responded with an RBI single from Austin Hays, tying the game once more.
In the 12th inning, Gleyber Torres hit a sacrifice fly off Orion Kerkering, putting the Yankees ahead again.
Michael Tonkin then took the mound for his second inning of relief, striking out two Phillies in a perfect inning to close out the game.
This loss marks the Phillies’ third three-game losing streak of the 2024 season, during which they have dropped 10 out of their last 14 games.
Despite this slump, they remain atop the National League East with a 65-42 record.
Conversely, the Yankees, with this win, solidify their position in second place in the American League East, boasting a 64-45 record.
The Yankees are on a roll, having won four straight games and securing their second series win after sweeping both the San Francisco Giants and the Minnesota Twins earlier in the month.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they have already dug themselves an early hole in today’s afternoon matchup where they currently trail 4-0 … We’ll see how they respond.
Are the Phillies in trouble or is this rough stretch just a blip on the radar???