The Phillies have been rolling ever since their humiliating 8-7 loss to the Nationals on Friday, taking the last two in Washington, and now securing a series win over the Tigers. Taijuan Walker was excellent, while Kyle Schwarber provided just enough offense to give the Phils their fourth straight victory.
June is here, and with it has come Kyle Schwarber’s powerful bat. The hulking slugger is known for heating up annually during the season’s third month, and he has done the same so far this year. Schwarber, who has batted in the leadoff spot the past few days, kicked things off with a bang. In the Phillies’ first at bat of the game, Schwarber launched a 2-2 fastball from Tigers lefty Tyler Alexander into the right field seats for an early 1-0 lead. After annihilating their opponents the past few days, it looked like the Phillies were on their way to another track meet on Tuesday, however the Tigers’ pitchers settled down and didn’t allow another run.
Luckily for the Phils, Taijuan Walker had his best outing of the year. The right-hander was brilliant, tossing 7.0 shutout innings, only surrendering three hits and three walks, while punching out eight. Walker has struggled mightily this season, but his excellent outing came at the perfect time, allowing the Phils to secure a 1-0 victory for their fourth straight win. Seranthony Domínguez held the Tigers in check in the eighth, and the resurgent Craig Kimbrel locked down the save with a dominant ninth inning, striking out the side.
The Phillies have been mercurial to say the least this season, but they’ve looked rejuvenated the past few days. Playing bad teams always helps, but the Phils’ offense has heated up in a big way and they’ve gotten good pitching performances to boot. We’ll see if this hot streak can last when they take on the vaunted Dodgers on Friday, but for now it’s nice to see them lock up their fourth straight win and counting.