SAN DIEGO — Aaron Nola and Trea Turner were probably the two Phillies who most needed a big performance on Tuesday.
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Nola lugged a 6.04 ERA into his start against the Padres, while Turner entered the game amid a 0-for-17 slump at the plate. In an effort to shake things up, interim manager Don Mattingly dropped Turner from the leadoff spot to second in the order behind Kyle Schwarber.
The change seemed to pay off, as Turner came through with a solo homer and later added a single to snap his skid. And Nola delivered his first quality start since May 4 in the Phillies’ 4-3 win over San Diego. He held the Padres to two runs on three hits — including a pair of infield singles — over six innings.
The Phillies were dealt a blow when Brandon Marsh left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a sprained middle finger on his right hand. He injured it in the first inning while diving back to first base on a successful pick-off.
Marsh, whose .326 batting average ranks second in baseball this year, singled in the third inning before being lifted for Adolis García, who was out of the starting lineup for a day off.
The Phillies built an early lead with solo home runs in each of the first three innings, courtesy of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Turner. They nearly added another in the fourth, but Jackson Merrill made a jumping catch at the center field wall to rob Edmundo Sosa.
Alec Bohm drove in another run in the third inning with an RBI single.
Nola retired the first 11 batters he faced, carrying a perfect game into the fourth inning. It was broken up when Turner fumbled a ground ball hit up the middle, which was ruled a single. Manny Machado homered on a first-pitch sinker in the next at-bat to cut the Phillies’ lead to 4-2.
The only other hit Nola allowed was an infield single from Xander Bogaerts in the sixth that was too soft for Bohm to make a play on. Nola did not issue a walk, and struck out five. The three hits were the fewest he has allowed in a start this season.
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The Phillies loaded the bases in the top of the eighth with the chance to add some insurance, but Justin Crawford grounded out to end the threat. Crawford is hitless since May 18.
Ramón Laureano hit a leadoff homer off Brad Keller in the eighth to bring the Padres within a run. Keller allowed a single and a walk to put the go-ahead run aboard, but he escaped the jam after Bohm made a big play on a soft grounder at third.
Jhoan Duran pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his 11th save of the year. The Phillies improved their record to 28-27, pulling back above the .500 mark.
As the Phillies continue to seek more production out of the cleanup spot, Rhys Hoskins was back in town with the Cleveland Guardians. Hoskins sat down with “Phillies Extra,” The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss his role with the first-place Guardians, his legacy with the Phillies, and more. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs
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