Phillies turn ground balls and pressure into 11-7 comeback win over Astros
Philadelphia erased Houston’s 4-0 lead with a four-run third inning built on five singles, aggressive baserunning and hit-and-run tactics.
The Philadelphia Phillies overcame an early 4-0 deficit to defeat the Houston Astros 11-7 at Citizens Bank Park, turning a productive ground-ball approach by Houston starter Hunter Brown into a decisive third-inning rally.
Brown entered Wednesday’s game among the major-league pitchers with the highest ground-ball rates among those with at least 80 innings. Yet Philadelphia scored four runs on five singles in the bottom of the third, with three of the hits travelling at 90.6 mph or lower, according to Statcast.
The Phillies also used movement on the bases to create openings. J.T. Realmuto reached on a ground ball with the runner in motion, allowing him to advance to third on Bryan De La Cruz’s grounder through the vacated right side of the infield.
Philadelphia continued the pressure when De La Cruz was started during Trea Turner’s at-bat. Turner’s ground ball also found the opened right side, after which he stole second base. Bryce Harper followed with the inning’s hardest-hit ball, a 98.6 mph single, and advanced to second when Houston’s throw home went off-line.
Luis Arraez then drove Harper in with a 95.2 mph single, tying the game. Brown finished the inning with a strikeout, but the Phillies continued adding runs after the third to secure the 11-7 win.
Brown recorded seven strikeouts and issued no walks, but Houston could not protect its early advantage. The report also described Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sánchez as the National League wins leader and noted that he had a higher ground-ball rate than Brown.
