Always never enough: Rockies 9, Phillies 7

TL;DR

The Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Colorado Rockies 9-7 after a dramatic comeback fell short in extra innings. Jesus Luzardo struggled early, but the Phillies rallied to tie the game before ultimately losing.

Key points

Phillies lost 9-7 to Rockies in extra innings
Jesus Luzardo struggled, allowing five runs in the fourth inning
Phillies rallied to tie the game with five runs in the eighth
Troy Johnston scored the go-ahead run for the Rockies
Aaron Nola is set to pitch against Kyle Freeland next

Philadelphia PhilliesColorado Rockies

May 8, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) enters the field with catcher JT Realmuto (10) before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies (17-22) overcame a six-run deficit to come all the way back to take their series opener against the visiting Colorado Rockies (16-23) to extra innings, only to let it slip away for a 9-7 defeat. Jesus Luzardo dug a huge hole with a nightmare fourth inning, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks. Prior to that, he gave up one run on two hits and struck out six, including the whole side in the third. Kyle Schwarber got the Phillies on the board with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth. A JT Realmuto RBI double cut the deficit to four but the Rockies would get that run right back on a Tyler Freeman home run in the top of the seventh. Don Mattingly was seemingly waving the white flag by pitching his closer, Jhoan Duran, in the eighth inning to just get some work in after his return from the injured list. But the offense had a five-run rally of their own in store for the bottom of the eighth, bringing eight batters to the plate. got the fun started with a leadoff single and came home to score on a hit by . hit an RBI double, his fifth extra-base hit in the month of May after tallying only four in April. The rally was punctuated by a game-tying two-run homer by Justin Crawford, the first of several in his career. held the ninth but the top of the order couldn’t crack Rockies’ closer, , so onto the tenth we went. allowed a one-out single which put the ghost runner on third base, but he worked out of the jam with a pop fly by and a punchout of . After intentionally walking Marsh to start the frame, Vodnik again retired the heart of the order with little resistance. came on in the top of the eleventh and allowed the go-ahead run to score on his second pitch, a double down the right field line by . Johnston scored two batters later on a single by to cap off the victory. Crawford legged out an infield dribbler to lead off the bottom of the eleventh and made it to third on a fly out, but Schwarber and Harper couldn’t finish it off. Harper reached base four times with two hits and two walks, raising his OBP to .382. Marsh also had two walks to go along with his RBI single, and Crawford had his second three-hit game of the year. Turner and Sosa were the only members of the lineup to fail to reach base, each going 0-5 at the dish. will face off against Rockies’ left-hander, , tomorrow night in the middle game of the series.

Q&A

What was the final score of the Phillies vs Rockies game on May 8, 2026?

The final score was 9-7 in favor of the Colorado Rockies.

Who was the starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in the May 8 game?

Jesus Luzardo was the starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.

How did the Phillies manage to tie the game against the Rockies?

The Phillies tied the game with a five-run rally in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Justin Crawford.

Who scored the go-ahead run for the Rockies in the eleventh inning?

Troy Johnston scored the go-ahead run for the Rockies in the eleventh inning.