An offensive explosion in the sixth inning saw a combined nine runs as the Philadelphia Phillies held on for a hard-fought 6-5 home win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Both teams had their ace pitchers on the mound, and they were both excellent through the first five innings as Philadelphia's Aaron Nola and San Francisco's Carlos Rodon combined for one earned run.
The Phillies led 2-0 heading into the sixth frame – with one of the runs going down as unearned for the pitcher due to a fielding error – before the Giants finally found their groove.
The Giants' first five batters in the sixth inning went: double, RBI rouble, single, hit-by-pitch, before being capped off with a big three-run home run to Wilmer Flores.
With their big inning, the Giants jumped ahead 5-2, and after seeing Nola fall apart, the visitors opted to pull Rodon from the game. It was a decision that will be questioned after the Phillies rallied back with four runs of their own in the same frame.
They came with a pair of two-run homers – the first a 348-foot shot from Nick Maton, before Kyle Schwarber sent his 392 feet over the wall to put his side back in front 6-5.
From that point on the bullpens took over, with no hits and no walks allowed by either team in the final three frames, allowing Corey Knebel to come in and collect the save for the Phillies.
Verlander teases a no-hitter
Houston Astros star pitcher Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before his side then had to fight from behind to beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4.
Verlander was spectacular, allowing just one walk through the first six innings, but only led 1-0 as Cole Irvin was also at the top of his game on the mound for the Athletics.
In the seventh inning, an Elvis Andrus RBI double and a two-run Christian Bethancourt home run turned the game on its head, grabbing a 3-1 lead for the Athletics in the process, holding it until the ninth inning.
It was a poor showing from Oakland reliever Dany Jimenez, allowing the bases to load before walking in a run to make it 3-2, setting the plate for Yordan Alvarez to be the hero with a three-run, bases clearing, game-winning double.
Rockies win a shoot-out
The Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 13-12 in an extra-innings crowd-pleaser, ending in a walk-off home run.
Six Rockies finished with at least two hits, but Brendan Rodgers was the undisputed star of the show, hitting solo home runs in the second and fifth innings, before crushing his third long-ball of the day for the walk-off winner in the 10th frame.
Ryan McMahon was also terrific with the bat for the home side, with a three-run triple in the third inning and an RBI double in the fifth, as he and Rodgers combined to drive in eight of Colorado's 13 runs.