Philadelphia Phillies vs San Francisco Giants Box Score on Aug 20, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 20, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pedro Florimon capped an eventful day with a tie-breaking, two-run single in the eighth inning Sunday, sending the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and a split of their four-game series.

The Phillies (45-77) and Giants (50-76) began the series as the two losingest teams in baseball, and finished it that way as well after Philadelphia won Saturday and Sunday to capture the season series 4-3.

The loss formally eliminated the Giants from contention in the National League West.

The Phillies trailed 2-1 before stringing together five consecutive one-out singles against right-hander Hunter Strickland (2-3), the third Giants pitcher, in the eighth.

Jorge Alfaro tied the game with the third of the five hits, scoring Rhys Hoskins. Alfaro has recorded at least one hit in all seven games he's played for the Phillies this season.

After Nick Williams singled to load the bases, Florimon delivered his difference-making hit to right field, scoring Maikel Franco and Alfaro.

The inning ended when Giants right fielder Gorkys Hernandez threw out Williams at the plate after the Phillies' sixth hit of the inning, a two-out single by pinch-hitter Ty Kelly.

The Giants threatened to get even or perhaps go back ahead in the bottom of the eighth, but Phillies closer Hector Neris struck out Pablo Sandoval to end the bases-loaded threat and retain the 4-2 lead.

After Hoskins provided an insurance run with a solo home run in the top of the ninth, Neris survived a shaky bottom of the inning, striking out Denard Span as the potential tying run for his 15th save.

Left-hander Adam Morgan (2-1), who pitched a scoreless seventh inning, got the win.

Neither starter -- the Giants' Madison Bumgarner and Phillies' Ben Lively -- got a decision after being involved in a pitchers' duel for six innings.

Bumgarner got the better of it, allowing just four hits and one run in his six innings. He walked one and struck out seven before leaving with a 2-1 lead after throwing 111 pitches.

The only Phillies run against Bumgarner came on a second-inning RBI double by Florimon, who was making his first career start in left field.

Florimon, who had just one other game of major league experience in the outfield in his 260-game career, threw out Buster Posey at the plate trying to score on a Brandon Crawford single in the bottom of the second.

Lively, called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make the start, allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, yet remained winless since his major league debut against the Giants on June 3. He walked two and struck out four.

Posey and Bumgarner had RBI hits off Lively to account for the Giants' scoring.

Florimon finished with a career-best-tying three RBIs for the Phillies, who had lost the first five games of their Western swing before winning Saturday and Sunday.

Florimon, Hoskins, Franco and Williams collected two hits apiece for the Phillies, who out-hit the Giants 13-10.

Posey and Crawford had two hits apiece for the Giants, who were seeking to win three straight home series for the first time since May.

NOTES: The home run by Philadelphia 1B/LF Rhys Hoskins was his fifth in his first 11 major league games, a first in Phillies history. ... INF/LF Pedro Florimon's outfield assist was the Phillies' 25th of the season, the second-most in the National League behind Cincinnati's 31. ... Before promoting RHP Ben Lively from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, the Phillies had played the previous two games with just 24 available players. ... The Giants continue a seven-game homestand with a visit from the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. Twenty-seven of the Giants' final 37 games will be against teams currently over .500. ... After getting a day off Monday, the Phillies will open a 10-game homestand with a double-header against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.