PHILADELPHIA — Gabriel Rincones Jr.’s first career hit was a home run. Rincones hit a solo home run in his first at-bat as a member of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He pulled a 1-2 sweeper inside from Marlins starter Ryan Gusto. He hit it plenty hard and high. The wind kept it fair.
The shot down the right-field line in the second inning put the Phillies up 1-0 and set the tone for what became a commanding 7-0 shutout victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
Rincones, playing in just his second major league game, is currently in Philadelphia's lineup filling the void in right field after Adolis García was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right lat tear. The rookie seized his moment in front of the home crowd, later adding a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the third inning to finish his night with a pair of runs driven in. He became the second Phillies player this year to homer for his first major league hit, joining Felix Reyes, who accomplished the feat in April.
The Phillies badly needed a spark after being shut out twice over the weekend in Milwaukee, and they found it not only from their newest rookie but also from their ace.
Zack Wheeler was masterful on the mound. The veteran right-hander tossed six scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out nine Marlins. After allowing a leadoff single to Liam Hicks and a walk to Otto López to start the contest, Wheeler buckled down to fan four straight batters, asserting his dominance early. He earned the win, improving his record to 6-1 and lowering his ERA to a sparkling 2.01 through 10 starts.
A trio of relievers — Tim Mayza, Jonathan Bowlan, and Chase Shugart — each pitched a scoreless frame to complete the staff shutout.
Offensively, the Phillies kept the pressure on Gusto, who ultimately took the loss after yielding five runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. J.T. Realmuto widened the gap in the fifth, crushing a first-pitch slider from Gusto over the left-field wall for a two-run homer. Justin Crawford collected three hits and an RBI, while Brandon Marsh continued his red-hot hitting, going 2-for-5 with a double to bump his batting average to .324.
The only point of concern for Philadelphia came in the sixth inning when star shortstop Trea Turner was hit by a pitch. Turner left the game before the eighth inning with a right wrist contusion, though interim manager Don Mattingly confirmed postgame that X-rays were negative.
With the victory, the Philadelphia Phillies improved their overall record to 39-33. They currently sit in second place in the National League East division, trailing the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 7.5 games. The Marlins, meanwhile, fell to just their third loss in 13 June games.
