Phillies secure series win over Marlins but blow seven-run lead in ninth

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 19, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Romano entered in the ninth inning on Saturday for the Phillies with a seven-run lead.

He walked off, six hits and two home runs later, with the tying run at the plate and José Alvarado taking over, now in a save situation.

Alvarado needed two pitches to end the game, inducing a lineout from Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards to preserve an 11-10 win.

The Phillies saw production from up and down the order as they racked up 18 hits, including six doubles. From the bottom half of the lineup, Max Kepler hit a two-run double in the third inning for his first hit this year with runners in scoring position, while Alec Bohm extended his hit streak to six consecutive games.

Johan Rojas, who hit 3 for 5 out of the nine-hole, was effective at turning the lineup back over to Bryson Stott (3 for 5, three RBIs) and Trea Turner (4 for 5, two RBIs), who combined for seven hits and five RBIs.

The offensive outburst gave the Phillies’ pitching staff some needed support. Starter Taijuan Walker held the Marlins to just one hit and one run, but he was lifted after four innings and only 56 pitches. Walker’s velocity was down a tick across the board, with his four seam 2.2 mph slower than his average.

He pitched his way out of some trouble in the third inning. Graham Pauley singled, and advanced to third on when a fielder’s choice turned into a throwing error on Bohm. But a heads-up play from Bryce Harper at first caught Pauley in a run-down, and Walker followed it up with two straight groundouts to escape the inning.

While his offense ran up the score on Cal Quantrill, Walker had to sit for lengthy periods between innings. He issued two consecutive walks to lead off the fourth, and Kyle Stowers came around to score on an RBI groundout.

The bullpen took over in the fifth. Matt Strahm gave up two consecutive singles but induced a double play and a groundout to hold the Marlins off. Right-hander Carlos Hernández struggled in the sixth, giving up three runs on a hit by pitch, two singles and a double.

In addition to his production at the plate, Stott made some difficult plays at second base. He picked a hard-hit ball on the edge of the infield in the eighth inning and fired a strike to Harper for the out.

Joe Ross pitched shutout seventh and eighth innings, while Romano entered for the ninth. Romano had a seven-run lead, but he gave up a double, a single and a first-pitch home run to Dane Myers before recording an out.

The Marlins recorded three more hits to pull within one. Boos rained down from the home crowd as Romano departed the mound.