Field Level Media
Apr 14, 2018
Philadelphia shortstop J.P. Crawford homered and drove in two runs, and Jake Arrieta earned his first win with the Phillies in a 9-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
Crawford doubled in a run in a six-run second inning and hit his second homer in three games in the fourth as the Phillies (8-5) stretched their winning streak to five games. They have won seven of eight.
Arrieta (1-0) gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) in 6 2/3 innings in his second start with the Phillies after signing a three-year, $75 million free agent deal in March. He struck out one and walked two.
Kevin Kiermaier and Mallex Smith had two hits, and C.J. Cron had two RBIs for the Rays (3-11), who are off to the worst start in franchise history.
Odubel Herrera had three hits and Nick Williams had two hits for the Phillies, whose starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine of the last 10 games with a 2.69 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings.
Rays right-hander Chris Archer (1-1) gave up eight hits, including three doubles and a homer, and seven runs in four innings. He struck out two and walked two.
The Phillies scored six runs in the second inning, when seven of the first eight reached on a hit or a walk. Williams and Scott Kingery opened the inning with doubles before Maikel Franco walked. Crawford doubled with one out to drive in Kingery and Cesar Hernandez singled in Franco for a 3-0 lead.
Carlos Santana looped a single to center to drive in Crawford and Herrera singled in Hernandez. Rhys Hopkins grounded into a force out at second and Santana scored when Archer's throw to the plate got away, making it 6-0.
Crawford's homer made it 7-0 in the fourth inning.
Cron hit a sacrifice fly and Matt Duffy doubled as the Rays broke Arrieta's shutout with a two-run fourth to make it 7-2.
Kingery doubled in a run and Franco had a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Cron added an RBI groundout in the sixth.
--Field Level Media