The Phillies finish their past week of baseball with a 3-3 record over 3 games. They lost 2 of 3 to the Guardians on the road and won 2 of 3 against the Orioles at home. Over the 6 games for the week, they outscored opponents 25-22. They started the week 1-3, with all three losses being decided by 1 run. Frustrations were clearly growing, but the week was saved by winning the last two games against the Orioles. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and remain in 2nd place in the NL East, with a 55-47 record, just a half game ahead of the Marlins.
They are tied for the second Wild Card position with the Reds, in a race that has 5 teams competing for 3 spots, and are all within one game of each other. After a tough 2-week span, the Phillies find themselves with a great opportunity to solidify their playoff spot with 3 games against the Pirates and 4 games against the Marlins this week. Harper playing first base now looks like a long-term solution, which leaves the question of what do the Phillies add at the deadline? A right-handed hitting corner outfielder, starting pitching and bullpen depth appear to be the needs. With the trade deadline August 1st, it is likely that the Phillies make some moves prior to the next blog.
NL Wild Card Standings
Hitting Stats (last 7 days)
Pitching Stats (last 7 days)
Injury Updates
Cristian Pache - Pache underwent a procedure to remove a screw from his right elbow July 17th and was placed on the 10-day injured list. Pache has been cleared to do light throwing and hit off the tee. According to Ron Thomson, he is still at least two weeks away from returning.
Seranthony Dominguez - Dominguez was activated on July 25th. Andrew Belatti was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Dominguez on the roster.
Jose Alvarado - Alvarado was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 7) with left elbow inflammation. Alvarado has started throwing long-toss and should be throwing off a mound soon.
Andrew Painter - Painter underwent a successful Tommy John surgery on July 25th. It is likely that he won’t pitch again until the 2025 season.
Results:
7/21 @ Cleveland Guardians - L (5-6)
Ranger Suarez got the start against rookie pitcher Gavin Williams. The Guardians scored 2 runs in the 1st on a Josh Bell double and David Fry single. Jake Cave hit an RBI single to center field in the 4th inning to make the score 2-1. Steven Kwans RBI single in the bottom of the 4th made the score 3-1, and an RBI fielder’s choice in the 5th made it 4-1. Kyle Schwarber walked with the bases loaded in the 6th to make the score 4-2. Ahmed Rosario’s RBI single in the 6th added a run for the Guardians who went up 5-2. In the 7th inning, JT Realmuto hit a 2-run homer and Bryson Stott, the following hitter, hit a solo home run to make the score 6-5.
The Phillies were unable to push another run across in the last two innings as reliever’s Stephan and Clase shut it down. It wasn’t Ranger’s finest outing, who finished with 5 innings, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 4 earned runs on 8 hits. Bryson Stott was 2 for 4 with a homer, walk, RBI, and 2 runs. Alec Bohm was 2 for 4. Of note, Bryce Harper made his first career start at first base and made an impressive leaping catch over the fence.
7/22 @ Cleveland Guardians - L (0-1)
Zach Wheeler got the start against rookie pitcher Tanner Bibee in what one could surmise was a pitcher’s duel based on the final score. Wheeler went 7 innings, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 1 earned run on 5 hits. Matt Strahm followed him with a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. Bibee looked excellent, throwing 7 innings, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 0 runs on 2 hits, and De los Santos and Clase each threw scoreless innings in relief.
The pivotal moment of the game came in the bottom of the 6th inning. With 2 outs and a runner on 1st, Jose Ramirez hit a sky-high pop up to shallow right center field. Stott backpedaled towards it from second base, and Marsh and Castellanos closed in from center and right field respectively. Due to a miscommunication, the ball dropped in between all three fielders and the run scored all the way from 1st base. No fielder even touched the ball and it was ruled an error. The Phillies only compiled 2 hits in the game as a team and the loss was their 4th in a row.
7/23 @ Cleveland Guardians - W (8-5)
Aaron Nola took the mound against reliever Xzavion Curry with the Phillies looking to avoid a sweep in Cleveland. The Phillies scored a run in the top of the 1st on a balk, then Steven Kwan answered in the bottom half with a solo homer to even the score. Andres Gimenez hit a solo homer in the 2nd and an RBI fielder’s choice in the 3rd made it 3-1. Schwarber legged out an RBI infield single and later scored on a very odd RBI ground out from Harper (both the hitter and catcher thought the ball was foul) as the Phillies tied it up at 3 in the 5th.
The Phillies got a bit of luck in the 6th, scoring a run on a dropped pop up behind 3rd base to take the lead. The score remained at 4-3 into the 9th inning as Craig Kimbrel came on for the save. With 2 outs, David Fry hit a solo home run to force the game into extras. The top of the 10th was big for the Phillies, Harper hit an RBI single up the middle, JT hit a deep sac fly to right, and Bohm hit an RBI single all to give them an 8-4 lead. The Guardians made it interesting in the bottom of the 10th, scoring 1 on a single and later loading the bases for Jose Ramirez and 0 outs. Yunior Marte came in for Jeff Hoffman, and he was able to get out of the jam to finish a Phils win.
Bryson Stott had possibly the most productive 0 for 1 game you’ll ever see - with 4 walks, 3 stolen bases, and a run. Marsh was 2 for 5 with a triple, run, and RBI. Trea Turner was 2 for 4 with a double and a run. Nola finished with a solid performance - 7 innings, 7 strikeouts, 0 walks, and 3 earned runs on 6 hits. The Phillies avoided the sweep and hoped to carry some momentum going into a very tough series with the Orioles.
7/24 vs. Baltimore Orioles - L (2-3)
Christopher Sanchez got the start against Dean Kremer to kick off an interleague series with the O’s. Jordan Westburg hit a solo home run that just wrapped the right field foul pole in the 2nd inning to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead. Kyle Schwarber drove in Stubbs on a sac fly in the 5th to equal the score at 1-1. The next at-bat. Trea Turner struck out on a called third strike and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Ryan Mountcastle then hit a solo homer in the 6th to go up 2-1. In the bottom of the 8th with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Nick Castellanos hit a ball into the left-center gap that was cutoff by the center fielder, scoring Schwaber from 2nd. Bryce Harper was called out on a bang-bang play at home, trying to score from 1st base, and the game was tied at 2 heading into the 9th inning. Kimbrel came in to pitch the 9th, and Colton Cowser hit a 2-out double down the left field line that was just out of a diving Schwarber’s reach, and Henderson scored from 2nd to give the O’s the lead. After putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs, the Phils were unable to push a run across to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th.
It was a frustrating loss for Philly in a game that they could’ve won, especially when Baltimore’s two best bullpen pieces were unavailable. Sanchez had arguably the best outing of his career, going 7 innings, 8 strikeouts, 0 walks, and 2 earned runs on 4 hits. Johan Rojas had a nice day, going 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases. Bryce Harper also had a 2 for 4 day.
7/25 vs. Baltimore Orioles - W (4-3)
Taijuan Walker took the mound against former Phillie Kyle Gibson. Walker got into some trouble in the 2nd inning, as Austin Hays hit an RBI double, but he was able to escape a bases loaded, 0 outs situation. The O’s added another run in the 3rd inning on an Adam Frazier RBI double to go up 2-0. In the bottom of the 3rd, Johan Rojas hit an RBI single to make the score 2-1. Bryce Harper hit a 2-out, solo home run in the 6th inning to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan O’hearn hit a solo shot off of Matt Strahm in the 8th inning to give the O’s a 3-2 lead.
Yennier Cano came on in the bottom of the 9th for a save. Bryson Stott came up with 2 outs and Harper on first base, and hit a line drive down the right field line for a double that scored Harper and tied the game. Realmuto hit a weak ground ball to Jorge Mateo at shortstop who bobbled the ball slightly, and JT beat the throw at first. Alec Bohm then hit a ground ball between the shortstop and third baseman that drove in Stott for a walk-off RBI single.
Taijuan Walker did not have his best stuff, but he battled and limited the damage, finishing with 5.2 innings, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks, and 2 runs on 6 hits. Strahm and Marte each threw 1.2 innings out of the bullpen and got the job done. Harper was 2 for 4 with a home run, RBI, and 2 runs. Alec Bohm was 2 for 4 with a double, RBI, and a run.
7/26 vs. Baltimore Orioles - W (6-4)
Ranger Suarez got the start against Kyle Bradish. The scoring opened in the top of the 3rd with an Adley Rutschman 3-run home run, giving Baltimore a 3-0 lead. Jake Cave hit an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd, and Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single to bring the score to 3-2. JT Realmuto hit a 2 RBI double in the 4th inning to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead.
Austin Hays hit a 2-out RBI single in the 7th inning off Seranthony Dominguez (the earned run given to Suarez) as the O’s tied the game at 4. Edmundo Sosa hit a 2-out, solo home run in the bottom of the 7th, and Harper hit an RBI single later in the frame to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead. Kimbrel shut it down in the 8th and Gregory Soto came on in the 9th to close the game and earned his second save of the season.
Suarez finished with a line of 6 innings, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs on 7 hits. The Phillies compiled 9 hits as a team, and Jake Cave went 2 for 4 with a double, a run, and an RBI. Cave also made an impressive run-saving catch, crashing into the left field wall and hanging onto it.
Looking Ahead
The Phillies begin Week 17 of the season with a 3-game series on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates (45-57) over the weekend. They then travel to Miami for a 4-game series against the Marlins (55-48) Monday through Thursday.
Friday, 7/28 7:05pm @ PIT - Zach Wheeler (7-5, 3.88 ERA) vs. Mitch Keller (9-6, 4.01 ERA)
Saturday, 7/29 7:05pm @ PIT - Aaron Nola (9-6, 4.25 ERA) vs. Quinn Priester (1-1, 9.28 ERA)
Sunday, 7/30 1:35pm @ PIT - Christopher Sanchez (0-3, 2.98 ERA) vs. Rich Hill (7-10, 4.82 ERA)
Monday, 7/31 6:40pm @ MIA - Taijuan Walker (11-4. 4.06 ERA) vs. Edward Cabrera (5-6, 4.74 ERA)
Tuesday, 8/1 6:40pm @ MIA - Ranger Suarez (2-5, 4.22 ERA) vs. Sandy Alcantara (4-9, 4.46 ERA)
Wednesday, 8/2 6:40pm @ MIA - Zach Wheeler vs. Braxton Garrett (5-3, 4.32 ERA)
Thursday, 8/3 12:10pm @ MIA - Aaron Nola vs. Johnny Cueto (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
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