PHILADELPHIA -- — Spencer Turnbull carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, Alec Bohm hit a pair of three-run homers and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago White Sox 7-0 on Friday night to extend their winning streak to four.
Chicago has lost seven of eight and 12 of 14, dropping to a major league-worst 3-16. The White Sox have been shut out seven times and are hitting a major league-low .190.
Turnbull (2-0) didn’t allow a hit until Gavin Sheets singled into right field with one out in the seventh. He struck out six and walked two, pitching seven innings for the first time since his no-hitter for Detroit against Seattle on May 18, 2021.
“I thought about it a couple times,” Turnbull said of a no-hitter. “But you try to keep it out of your head for a little while, at least until after the game.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Turnbull likely wouldn’t have gone the full nine innings even with a no-hit bid intact.
“I think I would have gotten him out before he got to his pitch limit,” Thomson said. "We’re not going to put him in jeopardy.”
Turnbull retired 14 consecutive batters after a two-out walk to Paul DeJong in the second. Phillies starters have allowed one earned run over 29 1/3 innings in their last four games.
Before the game the Phillies announced Taijuan Walker will make one more rehab start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday. He then could return to the Phillies rotation, which could cause Turnbull to move to the bullpen. However, Turnbull’s making that decision difficult on Phillies management.
“Obviously I want to make it as hard as possible,” Turnbull said. “I want to start and give myself the best chance and give the team the best chance to win when I’m out there. But those decisions aren’t really up to me. I’m just here to help the team win in whatever role that is.”
With the Phillies wearing their blue, yellow and black jerseys for the second time, Matt Strahm allowed Nicky Lopez’s one-out single in the eighth and Orion Kerkering pitched the ninth, finishing a two-hitter.
Bohm matched a career high with six RBI and had his fourth career two-homer game. He drove a four-seam fastball from Garret Crochet (1-3) over the right-field scoreboard in the first and a full-count cutter into the left-center field seats in the third.
Bohm leads the Phillies with 17 RBI. He credited some tweaks to how the team prepares for opposing pitchers this season for a better approach at the plate.
“It’s a little more in depth and a little more focused work during the day against what the guy’s featuring that night,” Bohm said. “Putting the machine on an angle. Little things like that just trying to emulate what we’re going to see out there that night.”
Whit Merrifield homered in the fourth off Crochet, his first with the Phillies, and Trea Turner had his fourth three-hit game this season.
Crochet allowed seven runs and five hits in three innings.
“He got behind in the count and threw too many pitches,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifo saidl. “Every time there’s a crooked number there’s probably a walk somewhere."
UP NEXT
RHP Zack Wheeler, 0-3 despite a 3.00 ERA in four starts, will pitch for the Phillies on Saturday against Michael Soroka (0-2, 6.98).
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