It would have been understandable if the Phillies hadn’t brought their A-game. It was the final contest of a six-game road trip that hadn’t been going very well, and it was played at a stadium where they almost never win. (Nine straight losses at Oracle Park entering today!) It didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility for the Phillies to have mailed it in on Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of their flight home.
Instead, they got a strong start from Cristopher Sanchez, big games at the plate by Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, and a little bit of extra inspiration from a couple of inside pitches.