Sosa, Luzardo lead Phillies to first place

PHILADELPHIA – In April, the Phillies were trying to find every way possible to get Edmundo Sosa in the lineup. He even played the outfield. It didn’t last long. He got some playing time at third base when Bryce Harper missed games after a hit-by-pitch in the Atlanta series. The Phillies in June have prioritized at-bats for Otto Kemp over Sosa. 

In just his second start in the last 12 days, Sosa delivered the biggest hit of the series, a three-run home run against David Peterson in a 7-1 win over the New York Mets. The Phillies (47-31) now have sole possession of first place in the National League East over the Mets (42-32). 

Sosa had quite the day. He reached on an infield hit in his first at-bat, then got picked off at second base. He doubled in the sixth, and came up to bat in the eighth a triple shy of the cycle. He could get at least two more chances to start this week, with the Phillies slated to face lefties Framber Valdez and Colton Gordon in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

“He’s an electric guy,” manager Rob Thomson said about Sosa. “There are nights where he looks like an All-Star.” 

Jesús Luzardo once again showed up to play against a National League powerhouse. He allowed only three hits over 6 2/3 innings, and earned his seventh victory of the season. 

In four starts against teams with top-four records in the National League, the Cubs (twice), Dodgers and Mets, Luzardo has allowed only one earned run while striking out 30 over 25 2/3 innings pitched. 

His sixth inning ended with an epic strikeout of his former rookie-ball teammate and good friend Juan Soto. Luzardo came up and in and got him to swing on the third pitch, and caught him by surprise with a 2-2 fastball at 97.8 mph down the middle for strike three. 

“When we’re playing, we compete against each other,” Luzardo said about Soto. “He does a great job of playing the mental side, the looks and the dancing and all that. You do your best to keep that out of it and make your pitch.” 

Nick Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, and Kyle Schwarber hit his 24th home run of the season. 

Schwarber came into the game 1-for-18 lifetime against Peterson. The Phillies brought 10 men to the plate as part of a five-run fourth inning against the left-hander. 

“Mistakes are few and far between with him,” Schwarber said. “When you do see one, you want to take advantage of it. You don’t want to foul it off. I was able to put a good swing on it. He’s kind of a unique arm. We did a really good job today of making him work and making him feel like we weren’t going to help him out with chasing.” 

As Alec Bohm said while mic’d up on the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, nobody cares about who is in first place in June. Every win against the Mets, however, is a big one. After getting swept in a three-game set at Citi Field in April, the season series against the Mets is now a manageable 2-4 with the Phillies taking two of three over the weekend.