Phillies win 11th straight road game with victory over AL-leading Rays

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Taijuan Walker overcome early struggles to win his sixth consecutive start and the Philadelphia Phillies extended their road winning streak to 11 games with an 8-4 victory over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

It's the third-longest road winning streak in Phillies history, trailing a 13-game run in 1976 and 12-game stretch that spanned the 1887 and '88 seasons.

Tampa Bay has lost a season-high four in a row and 10 of 16 overall. After starting 30-6 at home, Tampa Bay has dropped six of 10.

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Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper, left, beats the throw to Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia to score on J.T. Realmutos single during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla.  (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

Walker (10-3) allowed four runs and five hits, all in the first three of his seven-inning outing. The right-hander, who had given up three runs over 32 innings in his previous five starts, walked five and struck out eight.

"It really could have been a lot worse," Walker said. "Five walks, something I don’t want to do, especially against a team like that (can) score at will. Towards the end of the game I was able to put those shutdown innings up."

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said with a smile that Walker was "effectively wild."

Bryson Stott had four hits, and J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm each had three as Philadelphia finished with 17 hits overall. Bryce Harper went 2 for 5 in his fifth consecutive game with two hits.

The Phillies will try to sweep the three-game series Thursday night after winning 3-1 behind Aaron Nola's 7 1/3