Strong pitching, three HRs carry Phillies past Reds

Edmundo Sosa, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber homered as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the visiting Cincinnati Reds 5-1 on Saturday and evened the three-game series.

The Phillies' three-homer attack complemented a solid effort by Ranger Suarez, who allowed one run and five hits over five innings. The left-hander walked two and struck out six before four Philadelphia relievers combined to hold Cincinnati scoreless the rest of the way.

Reds starter Nick Lodolo (5-6) gave up three runs and four hits over six innings, walking two and striking out eight. Will Benson's homer accounted for the only run for Cincinnati.

Both starting pitchers put up zeros through the first four innings. The closest either team came to a run during that stretch was a bases-loaded rally by Cincinnati in the fourth, but Suarez retired Jose Trevino on a groundout to escape that jam.

The Reds finally broke through in the fifth when Benson sent a first-pitch fastball over the wall in right-center field. Suarez allowed two more singles in that inning, but he retired Austin Hays on a called third strike to keep it at 1-0.

Philadelphia promptly tied it when Sosa homered against Lodolo in the bottom of the fifth. The hosts then tacked on two more runs in the sixth when Schwarber walked and Bohm delivered a two-run homer to center.

Meanwhile, the Phillies' bullpen kept the Reds in check. Jordan Romano (1-3) worked around a leadoff double in a scoreless sixth and Tanner Banks logged a 1-2-3 seventh. Orion Kerkering allowed two baserunners -- including an error by shortstop Trea Turner -- in the eighth, but he escaped without allowing a run.

Matt Strahm took care of things in the ninth to close out the Phillies' fourth win in six games. Strahm's job became a bit easier when Schwarber lifted a two-run homer to left -- his 27th of the season -- against Brent Suter in the eighth.

--Field Level Media