Trea Turner homered for the third straight game as the Philadelphia Phillies hammered Paul Skenes in a 10-6 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm also hit home runs for Philadelphia, which tagged Skenes (6-8) for eight runs (seven earned) in four innings. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner had never allowed more than five runs in any of his first 72 MLB starts.
Jared Triolo drove in three runs, and Nick Gonzales had three hits and an RBI for Pittsburgh, which will try to split the four-game series when the teams return to the field Thursday afternoon. Henry Davis homered for the Pirates in a losing effort.
The Phillies loaded the bases with one out against Skenes in the second inning. Justin Crawford then rolled a grounder to third base, but Gonzales’ throw to the plate hit the runner, allowing two runs to score.
The next hitter was Turner, who launched Skenes’ 0-1 sweeper into the seats in left field to extend the lead to 5-0.
Pittsburgh quickly got two runs back in the third, highlighted by Davis’ solo homer, but Marsh’s blast in the bottom half and Bryce Harper’s two-run double in the fourth pushed the lead to 8-2.
Zack Wheeler got the first two outs of the fifth, but he allowed singles to the next three batters. The final hit in that stretch was Gonzales’ RBI single that ended Wheeler’s night after just 4 2/3 innings.
The veteran right-hander was charged with four runs and nine hits, although he recorded 10 of his 14 outs via strikeout.
Kyle Backhus came on and hit two straight batters to force in a run as the visitors got within 8-4.
Backhus and Seth Johnson got the Phillies through the sixth inning, but Johnson ran into issues in the seventh. He allowed a pair of one-out walks, followed by Triolo’s two-run double as the margin narrowed to 8-6.
Orion Kerkering (6-0) jogged out of the bullpen and got the final two outs of the inning. He then worked a 1-2-3 eighth while throwing just eight pitches.
Bohm’s eighth-inning, two-run blast off Dennis Santana created some breathing room for Philadelphia closer Jhoan Duran, who slammed the door in the ninth.
