Phillies score 18 in rout of Diamondbacks

PHOENIX (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies pounded 22 hits, scored 18 runs and did basically anything they wanted offensively in an 18-2 drubbing of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

Yet surprisingly, the story was about the pitching.

Left-hander Bailey Falter threw a career-high 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one run, giving the Phillies another rotation option during the stretch run. He walked none and struck out six, carving through the D-backs lineup with ease.

“We needed a ‘W’ today and that's what we did,” Falter said. “The bats were fantastic, I went out and did my job and gave us a chance to win.”

Falter (3-3) has spent much of this season bouncing between Philadelphia and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, not necessarily because he wasn't effective in the big leagues, but because of a roster crunch that often left the 25-year-old as the odd man out.

He's making it harder to demote him to the minors these days. The Phillies are 4-0 in his last four starts.

The only blemish in Falter's night was in the seventh inning, when he left the game with right groin tightness. But interim manager Rob Thompson called the move precautionary and said he didn't believe it would cause the lefty to miss any time.

“He's done a great job,” Thompson said. “His confidence has risen, he's comfortable, his breaking ball is getting better each start and he's throwing strikes.”

All nine starters in Philadelphia’s lineup had at least two hits, including Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Matt Vierling, Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa. Marsh had three hits, including a two-run triple and finished with three RBIs.

Philadelphia sent 15 batters to the plate in a seven-run eighth inning. It was a