Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber come up clutch in Phillies' 9-6 win over the Athletics in extras

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 25, 2025

Published in Baseball

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — So desperate to end a skid that reached 10 games entering Saturday, the Athletics overturned nearly a quarter of their roster, bringing up five players from triple A.

One of those players included infielder Logan Davidson, who made his major league debut against the Phildelphia Phillies as a pinch-runner in the bottom of 10th. With the game tied at 6-6, a sacrifice fly from Brent Rooker gave Davidson a chance to walk things off.

But instead, a spectacular throw from Brandon Marsh and tag from J.T. Realmuto caught Davidson at the plate. The play kept the game alive, setting up Kyle Schwarber’s heroics in the 11th for the 9-6 Phillies win.

After Trea Turner walked to begin the 11th inning, Schwarber laced a line drive to right field that scored Turner and ghost-running Max Kepler. After Davidson unintentionally obstructed Schwarber’s path around first base, the umpires awarded Schwarber third. He scored another insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Nick Castellanos, giving reliever Max Lazar some breathing room for a scoreless bottom of the 11th.

The Phillies extended their win streak to nine straight, while the Athletics’ losing streak has reached 11.

The Phillies pitching staff struggled early. Starter Cristopher Sánchez had uncharacteristic struggles with command, continually falling behind hitters. By the time the left-hander issued his third walk of the second inning, José Ruiz had already started warming in the bullpen.

But Sánchez fought back, striking out Tyler Soderstrom looking with a sinker to strand the bases loaded and limit the damage to two runs on two hits. Sánchez’s pitch count was already up to 54 after the second, but he hung in through 42/3 innings, helped out by inning-ending double plays in the third and fourth.

An unearned run scored in the fifth, following a fielding error from Turner at shortstop. The Athletics added two more runs on three hits off Ruiz in the sixth, but the Phillies’ offense kept them in the game and helped overcome three errors.

In the ninth inning, Max Kepler crushed a 101.4 mph fastball from Mason Miller for a solo shot to tie the game at 6, countering a home run from Rooker off Joe Ross the inning before. Tanner Banks, pitching for the second consecutive night, mowed down three straight Athletics hitters to force extras.