Dominant Start
What a way to start the game! Although our bats were a bit quiet in the first inning, our pitching and defense held their ground against the Pirates. We immediately set the tone with a quick 1-2-3 inning on defense, getting outs from Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds, and Oneil Cruz. Kudos to our team for not letting them gain early momentum.
Second Inning Surge 
The top of the second inning was undoubtedly where we began to turn the tide. Alec Bohm started things off with a solid single to left, followed by Edmundo Sosa’s double that advanced Bohm to third. Weston Wilson then hit a sac fly to bring Bohm home, followed by a clutch single from Garrett Stubbs that brought Sosa home. Just like that, we were up 2-0! 
Middle Innings Strategy
Our middle innings were less eventful in terms of scoring but absolutely solid in terms of keeping the Pirates off the board. The only scare came in the bottom of the 3rd where Andrew McCutchen managed to single, but with Bryan Reynolds on base, Oneil Cruz couldn’t capitalize and struck out swinging. Big props to our pitchers for keeping their composure and getting us out of these tight spots!
Seventh Inning Explosion 
The seventh inning was a masterpiece. After Garrett Stubbs walked and Cristian Pache struck out, Kyle Schwarber grounded into a fielder's choice, but a fortunate error kept the inning alive. Trea Turner then singled to bring in Stubbs, followed by a ground out by Bryce Harper that scored Schwarber. Further hitting from Bohm drove Turner home, extending our lead to a commanding 5-0. Insurance and Shutdown 
Our lead was capped off beautifully in the ninth inning with Nick Castellanos smashing a homer to left field, bringing the score to 6-0. Fielding errors from the Pirates continued to help us out, but we didn't need any more runs to seal the deal. The bottom of the ninth was just pure dominance with Luis Ruiz on the mound, who perfectly closed the game by getting the final outs. Final Remarks
Overall, this was a terrific performance by the Phillies. Stellar pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting—it all came together beautifully. Shoutout to Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, and Garrett Stubbs for their key contributions at the plate. Keep it up, Phillies!
End of game; Pirates Score: 0, Phillies Score: 6
Scoreboard for Phillies @ Pirates (July 21st, 2024)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 0 |