On Monday, it was Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy.
On Tuesday, it was Cal Stevenson.
These Lehigh Valley IronPigs are sure making an impact on the National League playoff race.
Stevenson came off the bench with runners on second and third and one out in an eventful bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night against the Rays and smashed a game-winning two-run double on a 2-2 count against Edwin Uceta.
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It propelled the Phillies to a 9-4 win, their second late victory in a row over the Rays. They won via walk-off Monday night when Kennedy walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to load the bases and Clemens singled in the winning run.
Kennedy had another big plate appearance Tuesday, singling in Stevenson with two outs for additional insurance. It extended the inning for Trea Turner, who hit his second two-run homer of the game to break it open.
The inning got even crazier from there. Bryce Harper doubled to the opposite field and Uceta's first pitch to Nick Castellanos was a 96 mph sinker to the left hip.
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Castellanos immediately pointed and walked toward Uceta, removed his elbow guard and had to be held back by home plate umpire John Libka. From the other side, Harper also took exception and approached the mound from second base. The benches cleared and at one point a fuming Harper was surrounded by a handful of Rays, but no punches were thrown by either side.
Uceta was ejected.
Just 10 days ago, all three of Clemens, Stevenson and Kennedy were at Triple A Lehigh Valley. Clemens was called up on September 1 when rosters expanded from 26 to 28, Stevenson came up on September 5 when Austin Hays was placed on the injured list with a kidney infection and Kennedy came up a day later when Alec Bohm went on the IL with a left hand strain.
All the pieces matter and they've sure mattered this week for a banged-up team without Bohm, Hays, J.T. Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and maybe now Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber set the major-league record in the first inning with his 14th leadoff home run of the season but exited in the fourth with elbow discomfort. The injury may have occurred on a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt after his third-inning walk.
The top three spots in the Phillies' order — Schwarber (then Kennedy), Turner and Harper — combined to go 9-for-14 with three homers and three doubles.
Harper's home run drought has reached 119 plate appearances but he's been extremely productive during it, hitting .337/.410/.471.
The Phillies took leads in each of the first three innings but starter Ranger Suarez was unable to protect all three. He was knocked around, allowing a career-high 12 hits over 5⅓ innings. He also allowed eight balls in play over 100 mph. These weren't cheapies.
Suarez has pitched with diminished velocity in his last two starts. His sinker has averaged 90.9 mph for the season but was 89.9 on Tuesday and 88.9 last Thursday in Miami. It matters because it's the pitch he throws the most. Suarez threw 45% sinkers against the Rays.
The sound of the contact increased by the batter in the top of the sixth but manager Rob Thomson tried to get his lefty through two more hitters atop Tampa Bay's lineup. It didn't work out with Cristopher Morel tripling and Jonathan Aranda walking on a full count.
Cristopher Sanchez has excelled over his last five starts, has a 3.33 ERA for the year and if the season ended today, he might start ahead of Suarez in a playoff series. There are still three weeks before that will come into play but Suarez' velocity and the overall crispness of his stuff will be closely monitored by the Phillies all month. He has three starts left.
Orion Kerkering relieved Suarez with one out and a man on third base in a tie game and continued his stellar season with a strikeout and dribbler in front of the plate fielded by Garrett Stubbs. Kerkering has a 2.06 ERA on the season. Matt Strahm (2.10) pitched a scoreless seventh. Their stinginess kept the game where it was ahead of the fateful bottom of the eighth.
The Phillies are 87-58 with 17 games to play. They've won 18 of their last 25 and will end the night with the best record in baseball since they have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. All of these wins are crucial for home-field advantage because the Dodgers' remaining schedule is mostly a cakewalk with nine of their final 12 against the Marlins and Rockies.
