Philadelphia Phillies shortstop hits his 20th home run of the season in the first game

The Philadelphia Phillies entered Wednesday's game needing to defeat the Chicago Cubs and lose to the Milwaukee Brewers to secure one of the top two spots in the 2024 MLB playoffs and a BYE to the National League Divisional Series.

Not even a full inning has been played and the Phillies are already leading 1-0 after shortstop Trea Turner hit a one-out solo home run, his 20th of the season.

After first batter Kyle Schwarber led off Philadelphia's half of the first inning with a groundout to the first baseman, Turner came to bat to make his first cut against Cubs starter Javier Assad.

Turner threw the first pitch with a sinker, earning the first strike and putting him behind 0-1.

On the second pitch, the shortstop would catch another sinker, catch more from the plate and sit on the belt, and he would pull it into the left field seats for a solo home run.

After last night's 4-10 loss to Chicago, the Phillies had to find their way back to winning ways with only four games left in the season.

They did this in an impressive way in the first inning, scoring two more runs before the end of the inning, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 lead.

With left-hander Cristopher Sanchez on the mound in a home game, a 3-0 lead might be enough for the Phillies, but a stronger performance and more points on offense would always be welcome.

With eight innings still to play, this game promises to be an exciting one for Philadelphia.