The Dodgers are back on top of baseball’s standings after a 2-1 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night, a result that pushed Los Angeles to 64-38 and nudged them ahead of Milwaukee for the best record in Major League Baseball.
It wasn’t a clean, easy night. Rain delayed first pitch by 80 minutes, and Philadelphia came out swinging once the game finally got going. In the bottom of the first, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm delivered back-to-back two-out hits to put the Phillies in front early.
That was about as good as it got for Philadelphia.
Justin Wrobleski settled in after the opening frame and kept the Phillies off the board the rest of the way. The Dodgers’ starter worked 6.1 innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out seven and walking one. In two starts against the Phillies this season, he now owns a 1.35 ERA, and his season ERA has dropped to 2.62.
Los Angeles’ first real chance came in the third, when catcher Eliezer Alfonzo Jr., starting in place of Dalton Rushing, doubled for the club’s first baserunner. Shohei Ohtani followed with a single, but the inning unraveled when Ohtani was thrown out trying to advance to second base. Alfonzo did not score before the tag, and the Dodgers came away empty.
They didn’t stay quiet for long. Andy Pages opened the fourth with a single, and Max Muncy followed by launching a two-run home run to straightaway center, flipping the game to 2-1 in Los Angeles’ favor.
The homer was a milestone for Muncy. It was his 228th as a Dodger, tying Ron Cey for second place on the Dodgers’ all-time home run list. On the franchise leaderboard, he’s now tied for fifth, behind Roy Campanella (242), Eric Karros (270), Gil Hodges (361) and Duke Snider (389).
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen handled the rest. Evan Phillips struck out Derek Hill and Bryson Stott after taking over in the seventh, then retired Trea Turner to start the eighth before handing things to Tanner Scott. Scott got Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the eighth, then returned for the ninth to protect the one-run lead.
Philadelphia did put pressure on Los Angeles in the final inning, getting runners to second and third with one out. But the Phillies finished the night with a game-ending double play in a rough baserunning sequence that sealed the Dodgers’ win.
The two teams will meet again Wednesday in the rubber match of the series, with first pitch set for 3:40 p.m. PT/6:40 p.m. ET.
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For Philadelphia, the bigger concern is how few of those prospects look ready to matter in the near term, even with 2027 in view. The hope now is that at least one of the groups upper-tier talents can force the issue soon, because the Phillies can only lean so long on patience before the roster needs a real infusion of help. [Read more 🡒]