A Home Run Derby broke out at Citizens Bank Park, and while conventional wisdom would hold that benefits the Los Angeles Dodgers, they suffered a heartbreaking 9-8 walk-off loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The defeat was L.A.’s first in five games against Philadelphia this season.
After a 22-minute rain delay just as the ninth inning was set to begin, the Dodgers awoke from an 0-for-12 skid to begin their final rally. Max Muncy’s leadoff walk was followed by a bloop single from A.J. Pollock to put the go-ahead run on base.
Phillies closer Hector Neris struck out Corey Seager but blew the save by surrendering a pinch-hit, three-run home run to Matt Beaty. L.A. erased what was a 6-1 deficit, but their own lead would not hold.
Kenley Jansen allowed three consecutive hits — double, single, flare RBI single — with one out in the ninth inning. The ball found Pollock yet again, as Bryce Harper’s one-hopper into center field got by him for a walk-off two-run double.
Hours earlier, Scott Kingery opened the scoring for a second time in as many nights. He pulled an elevated Walker Buehler fastball at the letters over the fence in right field to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Muncy then tied it in the second with a 440-foot blast to the upper deck in right field. The Phillies immediately jumped back out as Brad Miller capitalized on an error with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.
Harper broke the game open with a three-run home run before Buehler could get through the second. Tuesday became the first start of Buehler’s career in which he allowed three home runs.
He’d previously struggled at Citizens Bank Park, entering 1-1 with a 7.94 ERA in two games (one start). To Buehler’s credit, he blanked the Phillies the rest of the way as he got through six innings.
That allowed the Dodgers to steadily chip into their deficit behind one long ball after another. After Justin Turner reached on an error to lead off the fourth inning, Cody Bellinger made the Phillies pay by lining a two-run homer just over the wall in right field.
Bellinger extended his MLB lead with a 34th home run this season, and marked a 21st game he and Muncy each went deep. That’s good for the most among all MLB duos since 2018.
The home run barrage continued with Pollock lifting a breaking ball into the seats in left-center field. The homer was Pollock’s third since returning from the injured list, which surpassed his total prior to undergoing elbow surgery.
Joc Pederson pulled the Dodgers even closer in the fifth inning by lining his own home run into right field. With five homers on the night, the Dodgers overtook the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League lead.
