Phillies 5, Angels 3: Sosa's Pinch-Hit Grand Slam Wins It in the Ninth

Two outs in the ninth. Bases loaded. Sosa.

August 28, 2026 – Anaheim – Reid Detmers had thrown six innings and one run. The Los Angeles Angels still led 3-1 in the ninth. Ben Joyce walked the bases loaded with two outs.

Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit. He hit a grand slam to center, his sixth homer and the first slam of his career. The Philadelphia Phillies won 5-3 at Angel Stadium.

Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner singled after it. Bryce Harper flew out. The damage was already done.

Painter survived the first. Detmers almost survived the night.

Zach Neto walked. Mike Trout singled. Wade Meckler singled Neto home. Then Andrew Painter threw two wild pitches. Trout scored on the first. Meckler scored on the second. 3-0 after one, three earned runs, one RBI hit.

Painter got through six anyway: two hits, three walks, six strikeouts, 94 pitches. The Angels managed three hits all night. After the first, they did not score again.

Detmers kept it 3-0 into the fifth. Derek Hill bunted Alec Bohm home. 3-1. José Fermín, Ryan Watson, and Tayler Saucedo walked the middle innings without giving the lead back. Joyce entered a 3-1 game in the ninth and never recorded the third out.

Two outs, three baserunners, one swing

Luis Arraez grounded out to start the ninth. Bohm was hit by a pitch. Justin Crawford walked. Bryson Stott flew out. Two outs. J.T. Realmuto walked to load them.

Sosa was not in the starting lineup. He was the last swing Philadelphia had. He did not miss it. Alex McFarlane got the win for a scoreless eighth. Jonathan Bowlan struck out two in the ninth for the save.

Philadelphia had 11 hits and still needed a pinch-hitter to finish it. Los Angeles had a 3-0 first-inning lead and a starter who did his job. The ninth inning rewrote both of those facts.

AthX Engine scored the slam and the six innings behind it

AthX Engine put Philadelphia at 10 team fantasy points. Painter's 15 pitching FP sat on Friday's pitcher board even without the decision. Sosa's 9 hitting FP came on one at-bat. That is what a two-out grand slam does to a daily card.

Fantasy points measure the night. They are not share price.

What's next

Philadelphia stole a road game it trailed for eight innings. Los Angeles has to explain a 3-0 first that became a 5-3 loss. Detmers' six innings were not the problem. The last three outs were.

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*Sources: MLB Gameday, ESPN recap, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*