The Philadelphia Phillies sweep the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game interleague series. No other team has swept the Rays at Tropicana Field this season. This sweep extends the Phillies’ road win streak to 12 games. They will have a chance to match their modern-era record of 13 consecutive road wins against the Miami Marlins on July 7. That is the Phillies’ last series before the All-Star beak
In addition to that the Phillies have the exact same record through 86 games that they had that far into the 1980 and 2008 seasons. Both of those seasons saw the Phillies win the World Series. Currently, the Phillies sit at 47-39, 3rd in the NL East, and 11.0 games behind the division leader. The Phillies currently hold the third wild card spot in the NL, 0.5 games ahead of the next team.
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— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 7, 2023
Philadelphia Phillies Sweep Breakdown
In the first game of the series, the Phillies beat the Rays 3-1. Former teammates Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin faced off on the mound. Nola had 12 strikeouts in the game moving him into third for the most games with at least 10 strikeouts for the Phillies going back to 1901. This is the 30th time Nola has struck out at least 10 batters in a game. After the game concluded Nola and Eflin did a jersey swap.
In the second game of the series, the Phillies defeated the Rays 8-4. The Phillies recorded 17 hits in the game. Nick Castellanos became the 72nd player to have a regular season home run against every current MLB team. Trea Turner hit his first home run outside of Philadelphia since May 2. Bryson Stott recorded his 28th game this season with multiple hits having four of the 17 hits. Taijuan Walker picked up his 10th win of the season.
The third game of the series saw the Phillies win against the Rays 3-1 in extra innings. Darick Hall hit his first home run of the season after recently being called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Turner and Kyle Schwarber drove in the two runs in the 11th inning that decided the outcome. Matt Strahm earned the win after holding the Rays scoreless in the two extra innings.
Main photo credits:
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner, Bryson Stott, Taijuan Walker, Darick Hall, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Strahm
