Reds vs Phillies Recap: Phillies Rally Past Reds 5-4

On Monday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the Reds visited the Phillies in a close matchup. Cincinnati came into the game on a three-game losing streak after falling to the Guardians 10-3 the day before. Meanwhile, Philadelphia was riding high on a five-game winning streak following a dominant 6-0 shutout over the Pirates. Nick Lodolo took the mound for Cincinnati while Andrew Painter started for the Phillies. The home team came out swinging immediately. In the first inning, Sosa launched a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Turner, putting the Phillies up 1-0. Just moments later, García added another sacrifice fly to right, making it 2-0 Phillies. The Reds needed to respond quickly, and they did. Cincinnati tied things up in the second inning when Stephenson singled to right, scoring Stewart, followed by Friedl's sacrifice fly that brought home Lowe. After two innings, the scoreboard read 2-2, and the game was truly alive.

The game remained deadlocked at 2-2 through innings three, four, and five. Then in the sixth inning, Bohm stepped up and changed everything. The Phillies slugger connected on a changeup and sent it soaring 409 feet to center field for a home run. That blast gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Cincinnati refused to quit, though. In the seventh inning, Stewart answered back with a powerful home run of his own to right field, traveling 361 feet. That tied the game at 3-3 and kept the Reds' hopes alive. The momentum kept shifting. In the eighth inning, Cincinnati took the lead for the first time when Steer doubled down the left field line, scoring McLain to make it 4-3 Reds. However, the Phillies had one final answer ready. Stott stepped up with two outs and crushed a home run to right field, traveling 360 feet, and bringing Sosa home with him for a 5-4 Philadelphia victory.

Stott's two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the decisive moment. The home run gave Philadelphia a 5-4 advantage, and the Reds could not answer back in the ninth. When the final out was recorded, the Phillies celebrated a 5-4 victory that extended their winning streak to six games. For Cincinnati, the loss marked their third consecutive defeat. The Reds' injury troubles continued to pile up, with key players like Jose Trevino sidelined with a hamstring strain expected to sideline him three to four weeks. Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo clearly needed to steady Cincinnati's thin rotation while Hunter Greene remained unavailable with elbow surgery. Despite the close game and valiant comeback effort, Cincinnati fell just short. Philadelphia improved to 25-23 with the home win, while Cincinnati slipped to 24-24. You could feel how much this win mattered for the Phillies' championship hopes moving forward.