Clemens scores Estevez, Rojas in wild ninth inning, Phils win to start homestand Originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Johan Rojas followed him immediately.
He timed the jump perfectly.
Brandon Lowe’s loud, dangerous ball found its way into the center fielder’s glove, but only for a split second before it popped out and over the short wall for a game-tying home run in the ninth inning.
Rojas, who seemed to believe he had made the play, looked at his glove in shock. The crowd of 39,511 quickly went from cheers to groans. Second baseman Bryson Stott put his hands on his head and closer Carlos Estevez crouched in disbelief.
A half-inning later, none of that mattered. Kody Clemens replaced Estevez and Rojas and hit a left-handed-versus-left-handed single with the bases loaded to lift the Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Phillies loaded the sacks on a single by Bryce Harper, a two-out infield single by Bryson Stott and a full-count walk by reserve infielder Buddy Kennedy in just his third plate appearance with the team.
The Phillies improved to 86-58 with 18 games remaining. They entered the night a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in the National League and continued to apply pressure. They also extended their lead to 3½ games over the non-playing Brewers for the second spot, which comes with a wild-card bye. The teams meet next Monday through Wednesday and the Phillies would love to arrive in Milwaukee with a lead greater than the length of that three-game series.
It was a stellar night for the Phils’ pitching staff. Cristopher Sanchez, Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman kept the Rays off the scoreboard for eight innings with no Tampa Bay player reaching scoring position until the top of the eighth.
Sanchez, who came up through the Rays’ system before the Phillies acquired him in November 2019, has a 3.33 ERA in a career-high 165 innings.
Despite the heavy workload, he has shown no signs of fatigue, posting a 2.14 ERA over his last five starts. The Rays were no match for his changeup on Monday night.
The Phillies needed that kind of performance from Sanchez because the offensive futility of Sunday’s 10-1 loss in Miami carried over into the first game of this week’s home series. The Phillies were hitless until Kyle Schwarber hit a solo homer to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the sixth. It was Schwarber’s 34th of the season and six in seven games this month.
The Phillies’ lineup is depleted without Alec Bohm, JT Realmuto, Austin Hays and Edmundo Sosa. Realmuto could be back this weekend and Sosa could be back Monday, but Bohm and Hays could remain on the injured list even when they’re eligible to return. Bohm still hasn’t been able to swing without pain and the Phillies need him to do so on consecutive days before bringing him back. Realmuto is still dealing with fluid in his left knee after hitting a pitch into it Friday. Hays has a kidney infection that could keep him out for most of September. Sosa is experiencing back spasms.
Without them, the Phillies played six left-handed hitters on Monday: Schwarber, Harper, Stott, Brandon Marsh, Clemens and Garrett Stubbs. This makes them more susceptible against lefties, with Weston Wilson the only threat off the bench, which only increases the importance of Clemens’ big at-bat against the Rays.