Spencer Turnbull shines on the mound in Phillies' 7-0 rout of White Sox

PHILADELPHIA — J.T. Realmuto stood on the grass near the Phillies' dugout and waited.

It was impossible not to notice him — and not just because he was clad from head to toe in canary yellow catcher's gear. The rest of the Phillies had dashed off the field, but there was Realmuto, lingering behind for pitcher Spencer Turnbull.

Turnbull's days in the starting rotation are numbered. Nothing about what happened Friday night is going to change that. Taijuan Walker is due to return from a shoulder injury next weekend and will reclaim his spot. That was always going to be the plan.

Still, Turnbull tossed 6 1/3 innings before allowing a hit in a 7-0 slaughter of the punchless White Sox at Citizens Bank Park, dropping his ERA to 1.23 in four fill-in starts.

The least Realmuto could do was shake his hand.

Alec Bohm was the Phillies' hitting star in the series opener against the White Sox, whose 3-16 record is the worst in baseball. Bohm blasted an opposite-field three-run homer into the right-field bleachers in the first inning, then hit a mirror image three-run shot to left field in the third.

It was Bohm's fourth career two-homer game and the fourth time he drove in six runs. It also marked the latest sign that the 27-year-old third baseman is poised to grow into the power that is commonly expected from a 6-foot-5, 220-pound middle-of-the-order hitter.

There were other big offensive moments. Trea Turner continued his tear on the homestand with three more hits, and Whit Merrifield busted out after a brutally slow start with a solo homer in the fourth inning.

But there was a common theme in the Phillies' fourth consecutive victory against another tomato-can opponent: Stellar starting pitching.

Turnbull was ticketed for the bullpen until Walker injured his shoulder at the tail end of spring training. He defeated the Reds in the rain in his Phillies debut, tossed six scoreless innings in St. Louis, then overcame four walks against the Pirates last week.

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