PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott hit two-run homers and Alec Bohm added a solo shot to prove manager Rob Thomson prophetic that his slumping homer-happy team would start going deep as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Thursday night.
“The slug will come,” Marsh said. “With the lineup we have, it’s just a matter of time.”
Ranger Suárez (2-0) struck out eight over six shutout innings to help the Phillies win the opener of a season-high, 10-game homestand that included four with the Pirates, and three games each against the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox.
Maybe an extended stay at home will get the Phillies’ bats on a tear.
Yes, it’s April and the merits of batting average as a significant statistic is debatable in baseball these days, but the Phillies entered with just three players in the starting lineup hitting above .240, while two — including All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos — were below .170.
“We haven’t hit yet, that’s the biggest thing,” Thomson said before the game. “We haven’t slugged yet. I think our approach has been decent. But we just haven’t slugged. This team’s gonna slug at some point.”
How about in the fourth inning?
Bohm — who had no homers this season after hitting 20 last season — socked his first off Pirates starter Jared Jones over the outstretched glove of centerfielder Michael A. Taylor for the 1-0 lead. The homer was the Phillies’ first extra-base hit in 91 consecutive plate appearances.
“Once guys put the balls in the seats, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, here we go,” Thomson said.
How about in the seventh?
Marsh hit a two-run homer — after a brief review overturned a double call — in the inning that chased Jones. Stott also hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot later in the inning off reliever Colin Holderman for a 5-0 lead.
“Just keep running them out there because we’re going to slug,” Thomson said. “If you don’t think we’re going to slug, you ain’t watching the games.”
Jones (1-2) was otherwise solid and struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings.
Suárez was even better, and sent the surprising Pirates to their first back-to-back losses of the season.
“He was on the edges, man,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He threw the ball on the edges, he kept us off the barrel. That’s what he does. When he’s really effective, that’s what he does. He goes to both sides off the plate, he uses the cutter and the sinker and he was really good tonight.”
Yunior Marte struck out the side in a scoreless seventh inning for the Phillies.
Bohm raised his right arm in triumph and was soundly cheered by 33,362 Phillies fans on the two-year anniversary of when the third baseman was caught muttering “ I (expletive) hate this place,” after committing his second error in a three-error game.
Bohm not only immediately moved past the misstep and grew into a fan favorite on a team that has made two straight playoff appearances, the Phillies will even offer a Bohm “I Love This Place” T-shirt next month as part of a promotion night.
Bohm made a sliding catch on a popup in foul territory to end the game.
“We’ve got dudes and dogs on dogs that show up and show out every night,” Marsh said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Holderman was reinstated him from the 15-day injured list (illness).
Phillies RHP Taijuan Walker (right shoulder) opened a rehab assignment Thursday for Class A Clearwater. RHP Orion Kerkering (right forearm strain) also had his rehab assignment transferred to Clearwater.
UP NEXT
Former Phillies LHP Bailey Falter (0-0, 5.40 ERA) gets the start for Pittsburgh against Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (0-1, 4.82 ERA) on Friday.
