Taijuan Walker’s first career save secures small-ball win and series over Rays
Baseball is a tough business, and Taijuan Walker was reminded of that when his 2.54 ERA across six starts this year couldn’t help him avoid an entirely circumstantial move to the bullpen.
He picked up right where he left off, and then some.
Walker was dominant in his bullpen season debut to cap Wednesday’s 7-0 win over the Rays. The Phillies righty struck out seven batters and allowed one hit in three innings for his first career save.
He was the headliner from a Phillies pitching standpoint on Wednesday, and that’s saying something. Cristopher Sánchez was electric in front of him, surrendering just one singular hit against the team that traded him to Philadelphia in 2019. (The hit did not belong to Curtis Mead.) For the second straight night, one of the Phillies’ top starters finished with a mid-80s pitch count that could’ve gotten higher if needed.
It wasn’t needed.
The Phillies’ offense, which had homered 10 times across its past four games, did it a different way on Wednesday. It erupted for five runs in the fourth inning courtesy of three singles, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, superb baserunning and a two-run opposite-field Bryce Harper double to cap it off.
You could argue the inning’s highlight landed three feet in front of the plate.
They collected 11 hits, their fourth straight game in double digits. It wasn’t entirely without thump, as their third knock left Trea Turner’s bat at 107.9 mph. It would’ve left the yard at all 30 active MLB stadiums, full-time minor-league park or not.
The’ve scored at least seven runs four games in a row. The two hits allowed is a season-best. The Phillies win their fourth straight series and their eighth game out of 10 since getting swept in New York.