Phillies set outrageous National League record in victory over Cubs

The Phillies overcame the Cubs 17-8 and made history along the way

Don’t worry, the Philadelphia Phillies haven’t broken the MLB blown saves record just yet.

No, this record is something that has apparently never been done in MLB history before.

In Thursday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs, Phillies pitchers Matt Moore and JD Hammer combined to allow the Cubs to score seven runs in the third inning. The Phillies had yet to get on the board themselves, and a bullpen game certainly didn’t feel winnable, even against the now-66-81 fourth-place Cubs.

However, in the bottom of the following inning, the Phillies’ bats responded with seven runs of their own. They kept tacking them on from there, scoring a total of 17 runs between the fourth and eighth inning. You really can’t make this stuff up.

According to Stats by STATS, no National League team in the modern ever had ever been down by seven runs and come back to win by scoring nine or more. By winning 17-8, the Phillies did just that.

The Phillies’ social team’s response was predictably hilarious:

Five Phillies batters had multi-hit games, including the top three batters in the lineup and number-nine hitter Matt Vierling, who was celebrating his 25th birthday.

The seventeen runs scored matched their season-high from June 1.

Bryce Harper continues to exhibit MVP-caliber offense with his 33rd home run

Bryce Harper, whose MVP odds are improving with every passing game, went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, four RBI, two walks in his 125th game of the season. He doubled twice and hit his 33rd home run of the season, his seventh home run in 14 games this month. His 1.055 OPS also leads all of MLB.

With this win, the Phillies improve to 74-72 and are only three games behind the Braves – who also just lost a series to the Rockies – in the division.

The Phillies will spend the weekend with the Mets while the Braves have to face the Giants, who will hopefully knock them down a peg or five.