Brandon Marsh’s walk-off single in the 11th vs. Cubs ends Phillies’ five-game losing streak

The last time Otto Kemp can recall bunting was four years ago, while he was playing summer ball in between collegiate seasons in St. Cloud, Minn. It didn’t go very well.

“I popped it up, straight to the catcher,” Kemp said.

But when Phillies manager Rob Thomson approached Kemp over the weekend about his bunting skills, Kemp was willing to do anything to help the team. He got in some bunting work during pregame batting practice on Monday. And in the 11th inning against the Chicago Cubs, the game tied at 3, and the winning run on second, he squared up to lay one down.

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Kemp, who had already collected his first two major league hits earlier in the evening, put a perfect bunt down the third base line, beating out the throw to first for another single. It brought Brandon Marsh to the plate with the bases loaded, setting up Marsh’s first career walk-off hit, as the Phillies ended their five-game slide with a 4-3 win over the Cubs.

“Honestly, it felt like it was a big situation, and I was happy that I could just help move the runners over and give Marshy a chance to do what he did,” Kemp said.

While Kemp hadn’t bunted in a game since 2021, he said he got extensive practice while attending Division II Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

“I was raised with a West Coast baseball team, so we did a lot of bunting practice, so it just takes a little bit to get back into gear,” he said.

Bryson Stott, who also played collegiately on the West Coast for UNLV, laid down a bunt single earlier in the inning as the Phillies turned to small ball to get their bats going. While they had 19 baserunners and finished with 16 hits, the Phillies only managed to score four runs.

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The Phillies also gifted the Cubs three outs on the bases. Edmundo Sosa and Nick Castellanos were thrown out attempting to stretch singles to doubles, while Trea Turner was picked off at first. They hit into three double plays.

“I think that comes down to … just trying to do too much,” Thomson said. “Just got to relax, play your game, take what the game gives you, and we’ll be fine.”

The pitching staff kept them in the game long enough for the 11th-inning heroics. Kemp wasn’t the only Phillie leaving Citizens Bank Park with a milestone baseball, as Zack Wheeler’s sixth-inning strikeout of Kyle Tucker marked his 1,000th as a Phillie. He also recorded his 100th quality start in a Phillies uniform.

“It was pretty cool when I did get it, the fans gave me a standing ovation, and I appreciate that,” Wheeler said. “So pretty cool to do it, but do it at home. Just adds a little bit more to it.”

Wheeler had not pitched in a game since May 29, missing a turn in the rotation as he and his wife Dominique welcomed their fourth child. But despite the extended time away, Wheeler showed no rust. Outside of an elevated fastball to Tucker in the first inning that the outfielder deposited in the right field seats, he shut down the Cubs offense. His milestone strikeout of Tucker was his seventh of the night, while he held Chicago to three hits.

Matt Strahm pitched the eighth and allowed a game-tying homer to Ian Happ. Outside of that, the bullpen gave the offense ample opportunity to get going. Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, and Jordan Romano each tossed a scoreless frame.

Carlos Hernández gave up a double to Pete Crow-Armstrong that scored Chicago’s ghost runner in the top of the 11th to break the 2-2 tie, but J.T. Realmuto tied the game up with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, before bunts by Stott and Kemp.

For Kemp, the moment was made all the more special since his PLNU coach Justin James was there — along with Kemp’s father and wife — to see him put into practice something he’d worked on, years ago, on a Division II baseball field.

It was a day of many firsts for him. Kemp, undrafted out of college, had intentionally never set foot in Citizens Bank Park before making his home debut on Monday.

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“I just tried to keep it special. Just tried to keep it something that I get to do on the first day that I make it to the big leagues,” Kemp said. “And it was kind of just a little bit of motivation to keep me pushing and get to this point.

“It’s unbelievable. The energy that I felt today, the support from all these fans, the buzz, is crazy. And that was another reason why I didn’t want to experience it before the first big league game. So it was awesome. I am excited to be a Phillie.”