Read a recap of the Philadelphia Phillies-San Diego Padres game on April 28, 2024 at PhilliesNation.com
Final Score: Phillies 8, Padres 6
Taijuan Walker was an important piece to the puzzle for the Phillies last season. He started 31 games, covered 172 2/3 innings and kept the team in games when he pitched. The Phillies went 21-10 in his 31 starts a season ago. The right-hander didn’t pitch in the postseason, though. Then, the start to his 2024 season was delayed after being diagnosed with an impingement in his throwing shoulder late in spring training.
The veteran finally returned to the mound for the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. His season debut was a mixed bag. He started the game with two quick and effective innings. He was then hit around in the third, only to settle down for the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. San Diego got to Walker again in the seventh.
The Padres scored three runs off Walker in the third. Jurickson Profar worked a two-out walk. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed up with an RBI double. And Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run home run to give the Padres a lead.
Walker would settle down and allow just one hit over the next three innings. He started the seventh with the Phillies ahead 7-3. He was pulled with the Phillies ahead by just one run.
Walker got Jackson Merrill to fly out to begin the seventh frame. The right-hander then walked Ha-Seong Kim and allowed a single to Graham Pauley. Next up was a pinch hitter. Luis Campusano stepped to the plate for nine-hole hitter Kyle Higashioka. With runners now on first and second, Campusano swung at, and drove, a 1-1 sinker deep into left field for a three-run homer, bringing the Padres within a run.
Altogether, Walker was charged with six runs over 6 1/3 innings. He threw 90 pitches, landing 59 of them for strikes. He didn’t limit the Padres’ contact as they swung and missed just 10 times. Walker’s fastball, something he’d like to be able to dial up until the mid-90s, averaged a tad over 92 mph.
Jeff Hoffman took over for Walker in the seventh and ended the Padres’ threat. Yunior Marte and José Alvarado followed Hoffman out of the bullpen. And they both worked clean innings to finish the game.
Walker’s third-inning struggles followed his offense giving him an early lead. In the top of the second, Nick Castellanos worked a one-out walk off San Diego starter Michael King. Bryson Stott then came to the dish and delivered. The Phillies second baseman made King pay for a mistake — he hung a 1-1 slider — by launching a two-run homer.
Stott Shot
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) April 28, 2024pic.twitter.com/c3VR4qPKaE
Stott wasn’t done there.
Two innings later, in the top of the fourth, Castellanos worked another walk, this time with two outs. Stott found himself down in the count 0-2 quickly. King tried to sneak a fastball by the left-handed hitter, but the pitch caught too much of the plate. Stott took advantage again, hitting his second two-run home run of the game.
Sunday was the first multi-home run game of Stott’s career. He came into the game struggling offensively. He was demoted to the eighth spot in the Phillies’ lineup a few weeks ago. Entering Sunday, he was hitting .210/.275/.284 with just three extra-base hits. The 26-year-old has shown flashes at times this year but hasn’t consistently hit like he did last year. Maybe going deep twice can get him going.
Highlights
421 feet for J.T.
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) April 28, 2024pic.twitter.com/L5s89jvUVv
Notes
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