Inside The Phillies

Phillies Star Celebrates Birthday With Game-Winning Hit

Philadelphia Phillies star Trea Turner celebrated his 31st birthday in style.

Tyler Maher

Jun 30, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) reacts after hitting a double.
Jun 30, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) reacts after hitting a double. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies had no business beating the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

The Phillies played terribly during their series finale at Citizens Bank Park, looking more like the Bad News Bears than the team with the best record in the National League. They were horrific in the field (five errors) and floundered offensively, going 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 men on base.

To make matters worse, NL Cy Young candidate Ranger Suarez turned in his worst start of the season, getting lit up for six runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. By the time Rob Thomson mercifully removed him from the game, Philadelphia was down 6-2.

But the Phillies, as they have so many times this year, fought back. Despite missing Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto from their lineup, they still banged out 14 hits.

After Philadelphia cut the deficit to one, Trea Turner came up in the bottom of the seventh with a chance to put his team in front, and he made the most of it.

Turner, who admitted on Saturday that he's been trying to do too much with the aforementioned trio out, put his recent struggles behind him. With runners on second and third and two outs, Turner laced a 97-mph sinker from Anthony Bender into left-center field for a two-run single, giving the Phillies the lead.

That proved to be the difference as Philadelphia held on for the 7-6 victory, earning a series split with the Marlins and improving to 55-29.

Turner, who turned 31 on Sunday, celebrated his birthday by going 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. The trio of hits raised his batting line to .332/.380/.453, marking his first three-hit game since April 27. Teammates Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh thanked Turner by dousing him with water during his post-game interview.

A two-time All-Star, Turner is plenty capable of putting the team on his back when needed. Sunday's performance was a perfect reminder of that.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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