Little man provides big hit as Phillies rally past Marlins with huge 8th inning

Ronald Torreyes racked up a whole bunch of hotel points last month. 

On Tuesday night, he racked up a couple of huge RBIs. 

The RBIs were more fun.

Torreyes, activated from the COVID-19 injured list earlier in the day, smacked a two-run, pinch-hit double with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the Phillies ahead and on their way to an 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night.

Torreyes' hit was one of seven that the Phillies had in the seven-run inning as they came back from a 3-1 deficit. In addition to the seven hits, Phillies hitters drew two walks in the inning, including one by Andrew Knapp after being down 0-2. In all, nine straight Phillies hitters reached base in the inning. 

Torreyes' double, against Miami reliever John Curtiss, came on an 0-1 fastball.

The RBIs were his first since 2019 when he had one — just one — in seven games with the Minnesota Twins. That RBI came when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. 

"I was very, very happy to get the opportunity to help the team," the 28-year-old utility man from Venezuela said. "I was happy because the manager trusted me in that situation. I was actually looking for a fastball up and I got the pitch."

At 5-8, 155 pounds, Torreyes isn't the biggest guy on the field. 

But he has a big fan in Joe Girardi.

"He's a baseball player," said Girardi, who managed Torreyes with the Yankees and pushed for the Phillies to sign him to a minor-league deal the last two winters. "He knows how to do so many different things. If you were just to watch him work every day, he gets ground balls everywhere and he runs around in the outfield and catches fly balls. He's always prepared and when you have a guy like that, you never worry about him. He may not play for two weeks and you know he's going to be prepared to play no matter where you put him. That's the bottom line. And he's going to keep himself prepared offensively, too. He's going to take a ton of swings in the cage. He's just always ready."

Torreyes made the Phillies' opening day roster but tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-April.

He had no symptoms but was isolated in his hotel room for 11 straight days.

Finally, he was cleared to go to Lehigh Valley and start working out.

"I'm very happy to be back and help the team win," he said.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Phillies as they improved to 22-20 and 14-6 at home.

The Phillies got another excellent start from Zack Wheeler, who allowed just an unearned run over seven walk-free innings. He struck out 10.  

"He didn't get the win, but he was a huge part of it," Girardi said. "He was great." 

Wheeler has allowed just two earned runs over his last 28 innings. In his previous start at home, he pitched a three-hit shutout against Milwaukee. His ERA is down to 2.52 overall and 2.02 in five home starts. 

The offense did not support Wheeler. Marlins rookie Cody Poteet pitched five shutout innings in his second big-league start and left leading, 1-0. The Phils eked out a run in the seventh on two singles and a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen to tie the game. 

The game did not stay tied for long as Jose Alvarado allowed a two-run homer to Jazz Chisholm in the top of the eighth.

The Phils tied the game in the bottom of the inning on hits by Alec Bohm and Nick Maton.

Then Torreyes put them over the top.

Not a bad way to start a homestand, especially against Miami. The Marlins won seven of 10 meetings between the two teams last year and essentially prevented the Phillies from making the playoffs.

The series continues Wednesday night. 

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