Red Sox win in 11 innings with home run of their own
PHILADELPHIA – Four home runs flew off Phillies bats in the first four innings the night of July 23.
While that was a beautiful sight for many of the 42,601 gathered at Citizens Bank Park, it was ultimately a lesson in the perils of jumping to conclusions.
Surely, some made that mistake after Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott launched balls into the seats to carve a 5-run lead that appeared quite comfortable the way Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo was mowing down Red Sox.
Harper’s second-deck blast was the 350th of his epic career. Stott’s rip over the right-field wall came after he elected, wisely as it turned out, to play on the day his and wife Dru's second child, a son, was born. He’d earlier doubled.
It was a wonderful hint at what the Phillies could be. But they were just teasing.
That’s why those same customers who delighted in that early home-run barrage went home disillusioned, despite another blast by J.T. Realmuto in the eighth inning. The teams exchanged solitary 10th-inning runs before Boston prevailed 9-8 thanks to Carlos Narvaez’s 11th-inning two-run homer off Seth Johnson, the Phillies’ eighth pitcher.
Johan Rojas' two-out RBI single in the home half of the 11th still left the Phillies short as Max Kepler struck out looking to end the game and 0-anfor-5 night that dropped his average to .203.
"Not getting a win out there was pretty tough," Harper said.
That early Phillies cushion vanished in a stunning tidal wave of walks by Luzardo, who had retired the first nine Red Sox he’d faced while whiffing five of them, then one more during a shutout fourth inning.
He then became a different pitcher, with four fifth-inning walks sandwiched by Masataka Yoshida’s double and Romy Gonzalez’ two-out grand slam allowing the Red Sox to inch ahead 6-5. The inning also included a popup behind home plate that catcher J.T. Realmuto -- and his teammates -- lost in the sky and and the baseball fell behind him.
It was a microcosm of Luzardo’s 2025 season of extremes. He had a 1.95 ERA after his 10th start May 20. That ERA is now 4.58 after start No. 21.
"Back to the drawing board," said Luzardo, who struggled pitching out of the stretch.
"I'm working day and night trying to figure it out," he added. "It's something that needs to get fixed and needs to get fixed now."
Realmuto’s game-tying eighth-inning homer only delayed the inevitable as Boston salvaged its first win in the series and the Phillies closed out the homestand.
What the home team may look like when it returns to Citizens Bank Park Aug. 1 remains to be seen.
Three-game sets at Yankee Stadium and in Chicago against the White Sox loom for the Phillies with that July 31 trade deadline hovering on the calendar.
Surely, roster alterations are needed and are coming, particularly to improve the bullpen and perhaps the outfield, too.
The Phillies will hope the team that suits up Aug. 1 might have the pop that was exhibited Wednesday night. Certainly, Harper's resurgence has been a boon. He was 9-for-24 on the six-game homestand with four doubles and four homers.
But a baseball team probably shouldn't hit five home runs and lose, ensuring that figuring out what's ailing Luzardo is particularly imperative.
"It's disappointing," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "I thought the offense was good tonight. The bullpen was good.
"That fifth inning was just a killer, that's all. He had one baserunner earlier. He walked a guy [in the fourth]. He threw the ball well. I don't know what happened in the fifth. Lost his concentration? Were they picking something up? I don't know."
BRYCE SENDS NO. 350 TO THE SECOND DECK! pic.twitter.com/SrxdtwCTuM
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 23, 2025
Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Phillies fall to Boston Red Sox despite early home run barrage
Category: Baseball
