Max Muncy homer lifts Dodgers past Phillies 2‑1
PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Max Muncy’s two-run homer in the fourth inning lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
The Dodgers, who lead the National League with a 64-38 record, rebounded from a 10-7 loss to the Phillies the previous night. Philadelphia fell to 56-46.
Justin Wrobleski pitched seven innings for the win, improving to 11-2. He allowed one run on five hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Zack Wheeler took the loss, dropping to 10-2, despite a strong outing of seven innings in which he gave up two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. Tanner Scott earned his 15th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Phillies struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Bryce Harper led off with a double and scored on a single by Alec Bohm, who finished 3 for 4. That gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers answered in the top of the fourth. Andy Pages led off with a single. Freddie Freeman flied out, but Muncy followed by driving a 1-1 pitch from Wheeler over the center-field wall for his 19th home run, scoring Pages and putting Los Angeles ahead 2-1.
That proved to be the decisive blow. The Dodgers managed only three more hits after Muncy’s homer, but their pitching staff made the lead stand.
Wrobleski settled in after the first-inning run, retiring 11 of the next 12 batters he faced. He worked around a double by Bohm in the sixth and a single in the fifth, but the Phillies could not push across the tying run.
Philadelphia threatened in the bottom of the ninth against Scott. Bohm singled to lead off. Edmundo Sosa struck out. J.T. Realmuto doubled, sending pinch-runner Justin Crawford to third. With one out and runners at second and third, Brandon Marsh hit a fielder’s choice grounder to third baseman Muncy, who threw home to catcher Dalton Rushing to cut down Crawford at the plate. Rushing then fired to shortstop Mookie Betts, who relayed to second baseman Tommy Edman to double up Realmuto trying to advance to second, ending the game.
The Phillies out-hit the Dodgers 7-5. Bohm drove in the only Philadelphia run. Harper, Realmuto, Trea Turner and Bryson Stott each had a hit for the Phillies. Muncy’s homer was the only extra-base hit for Los Angeles, which also got a double from Eliezer Alfonzo and singles from Pages, Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.
José Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Philadelphia, striking out one.
The Dodgers were without several regulars, including injured players, but their bullpen held the Phillies scoreless over the final two innings.
The game lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes before a crowd of 40,077.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Phillies 5, Dodgers 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Dodgers a 55.90 percent probability to win. Philadelphia was a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of three runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.