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Phillies blow late lead, settle for series win over Marlins 12:44 PM (3 hours ago)

PHILADELPHIA — Six outs away from a win and series sweep over the Marlins, the Phillies ended up dropping their series finale against the Fish on Sunday, 7-5 in 10 innings, settling for a series win instead.

Rob Thomson called upong Orion Kerkering to protect a two-run lead in the top of the eighth, but the right-hander squandered it away. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning, Kerkering got back-to-back outs to nearly get out of trouble. But he hung a 1-1 sweeper to Javier Sanoja, who sent the pitch into the left-field seats for a go-ahead three-run home run.

The Phillies tied the game in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a hustle single by Cal Stevenson, who beat out a throw to first base with two outs to drive in a run.

But after coming through in the bottom of the eighth, the Phillies couldn’t do the same in the bottom of the ninth. With two runners on and one out, Kyle Schwarber popped out and Nick Castellanos flew out to right, sending the game to extras.

Matt Strahm pitched the top of the 10th for the Phillies, allowing two runs and earning the loss. Strahm gave up the first run on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Stowers. Sinoja later singled, driving in his fifth run of the day to give the Marlins a 7-5 lead.

The Phillies didn’t put up much of a fight in the bottom of the 10th, going down 1-2-3.

Phillies bullpen blows lead after stellar Luzardo outing 11:49 AM (4 hours ago)

PHILADELPHIA — Jesús Luzardo made it look easy against the club that let him go in the offseason.

Facing the Miami Marlins for the first time since the December trade that sent him to Philadelphia, Luzardo allowed only one earned run on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked none. His season ERA is at 2.08 after five starts.

The young Marlins lineup came out swinging, and Luzardo was able to take advantage of their aggressiveness. Despite going a season-high seven innings, Luzardo threw the least amount of pitches he’s had all season at 88. He was able to retire the side on 11 pitches or fewer in four of his seven innings of work.

He probably pitches into the eighth inning if the Phillies had a cleaner seventh inning defensively. Bryce Harper missed a ground ball hit off the bat of Matt Mervis that was scored a double. Bryson Stott booted what should have been the final out of the inning, allowing an unearned run to score.

Orion Kerkering allowed a three-run home run in the top of the eighth to erase a 4-2 Phillies lead.

The Phillies tied the game a half inning later. Pinch hitter Cal Stevenson reached on an infield single to drive in a run and make it 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth. The Marlins scored two runs in the top of the tenth against Matt Strahm to secure a 7-5 win.

Phillies Injury Updates: Brandon Marsh hamstring strain ‘as mild as it can be’ 8:00 AM (8 hours ago)

The Latest Phillies Injury Update

• Brandon Marsh (right hamstring strain) 
• Status: 10-day injured list
• The Phillies on Sunday, April 20 placed outfielder Brandon Marsh on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 17) with a right hamstring strain. He has not played since April 16 after tweaking his knee on a play in center field during the Giants series. Cal Stevenson was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his spot on the roster.
• Manager Rob Thomson said Marsh’s status wasn’t improving, so the team decided to backdate an IL stint. Marsh will be on the road with the Phillies in New York. Once he is able to run again at 100 percent, the Phillies will have him get some at-bats in minor league games. “It’s as mild as it can be,” Thomson said.
• Marsh’s injury is listed as a hamstring strain, but it’s related to the knee issue as the back of the knee and hamstring are connected. Marsh spent 12 days on the IL last year with a right hamstring strain. He went on a two-day minor league rehab assignment 10 days into his IL placement before returning to the big league club. — Last Updated on April 20 by Destiny Lugardo

• Ranger Suárez (low back stiffness)
• Status: 15-day injured list; Began rehab assignment on Thursday, April 10.
• Left-hander Ranger Suárez is on the injured list with back stiffness. He dealt with a back issue last year as well. Taijuan Walker has taken his place in the rotation for the time being.
• Suárez threw a bullpen session in Philadelphia on Friday. His next rehab start is scheduled for Tuesday, April 22 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. — Last Updated on April 20 by Destiny Lugardo

• Andrew Painter (Tommy John surgery)
• Status: Assigned to Clearwater Threshers; Could be pitching in the majors this summer
• Top prospect Andrew Painter should be in line to make his big-league debut in “July-ish” as Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski put it this offseason. He hasn’t pitched in a regular season game since injuring his elbow during the spring of 2023, but he should be ready to make an impact once he’s up, even in a limited workload.
• Painter, assigned to Low-A Clearwater, pitched three scoreless innings on Friday night, his second start of the year. He threw 49 pitches and allowed three hits and no runs. The right-hander struck out four hitters and walked none. His next start will be Thursday in Clearwater, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Zolecki also notes Painter is scheduled for three more innings/50 pitches and that 120 innings may be his limit for the entire year. — Last Updated April 19 by Bailey Digh

• Weston Wilson (left oblique strain)
• Status: 10-day injured list, will start rehab assignment on Tuesday
• Weston Wilson missed out on a chance to break camp with the Phillies as a bench bat and an option in the outfield and infield due to his strained oblique. He’s a good fit once he’s healthy as a right-handed hitter to help balance out a lefty-heavy club.
• Wilson began a rehab assignment for Single-A Clearwater on April 8. His assignment was transferred to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday. In three games, Wilson is 3-for-14 with two walks. The Phillies have until April 28 to activate Wilson and put him on the major-league roster or option him to the minors. — Last updated April 19 by Bailey Digh

Phillies continue to feast on fish, hold on for win 19 Apr 12:22 PM (yesterday, 12:22 pm)

PHILADELPHIA — After scoring seven runs on nine hits on Friday, the Phillies’ offense continued feasting on Marlins’ pitchers on Saturday in an 11-10 victory. It was the Phillies’ third straight win, which secured, at least, a series victory over Miami.

Bryson Stott and Trea Turner were at the center of the Phillies’ offensive outburst, combining for seven hits, five RBIs and four runs atop the lineup. They were set up for big hits by Alec Bohm and Johan Rojas at the bottom of the batting order, who, together, recorded five hits and scored five runs.

The Phillies scored four runs in the bottom of the third off Marlins starter Cal Quantrill, who finished the afternoon charged with seven runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Rojas got things going to start the bottom of the third with a double to left field. He scored two batters later on a single by Turner.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber followed Turner’s single with back-to-back walks, loading the bases for Nick Castellanos. Castellanos plated Turner on a sacrifice fly to right field. Harper and Schwarber eventually scored on a Max Kepler double, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead.

Bohm started the bottom of the fourth with a single. Rojas followed with a bunt. Quantrill fielded the ball and double-pumped a throw to second. Bohm was safe. Quantrill, with Rojas busting it up the line, had no play at first and just held on to the ball; it was ruled a single.

With Bohm and Rojas on, Stott drove a 3-2 pitch to deep right field. Bohm scored with ease, and Rojas was right on his tail. It was a two-run double for Stott, and a 6-1 lead for the Phillies, extended to 7-1 on a double by Turner one batter later.

A Bohm double, Rojas RBI single and Stott RBI single extended the Phillies’ lead to 9-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

On the mound, Taijuan Walker’s start lasted only four innings and 56 pitches. He allowed one run on one hit. He walked three hitters and struck out two.

Walker’s average velocity was down at least 1 mph on all his pitches. His sinker averaged 91.4 mph and maxed out at 92.3 mph; it averaged 92.5 mph entering today.

In the top of the ninth, things got really tight as Jordan Romano struggled, allowing six runs on six hits. A Liam Hicks two-run home run made it an 11-10 game. Romano then left the mound hearing plenty of boos. José Alvarado came on with two outs, earning the save after getting Xavier Edwards to line out to right field.

Cole Hamels to make regular-season TV broadcasting debut on Sunday 19 Apr 6:04 AM (yesterday, 6:04 am)

PHILADELPHIA — While it may not be as highly anticipated as his first start in the majors in 2006, Cole Hamels is on the verge of another big-league debut.

Hamels, one of the best starting pitchers in Phillies franchise history and the MVP of the 2008 World Series, is set to serve as a color commentator on his first regular-season broadcast on Sunday. He’ll join a three-man television booth alongside play-by-play voice Tom McCarthy and fellow analyst Ruben Amaro Jr. with Taryn Hatcher as the field reporter when the Phillies take on the Marlins in the finale of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

The game will air locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Eastern. After a short stint calling games this spring, “Hollywood” will hit the screen for a contest that counts.

“I’m excited about it,” McCarthy said of working with Hamels. “I mean, he is unbelievably prepared. And I thought his two occasions in spring training, from day one to day two, were unbelievably better.”

Hamels was a guest instructor at Phillies camp this spring and also announced two games on TV with McCarthy: one Grapefruit League game and the Spring Breakout game for minor-league prospects. McCarthy noticed improvements from his new partner by his second day on the job.

The four-time All-Star has spent time around the club ahead of Sunday’s broadcast. He was in uniform on Wednesday to do some coaching. McCarthy believes that’ll help Hamels settle in once he gets on TV.

“It’s getting used to the microphone, getting used to seeing and saying what you see,” McCarthy said. “And I think the fact that he’s been in the dugout and been working with these guys the whole week is going to add a little bit of flavor.”

Hamels formally retired from playing last summer after a 15-year career on the mound. The lefty spent 10 seasons with the Phillies, developing from a top prospect into a franchise icon. From afar, he’s kept tabs on the latest news and information in Philadelphia and across Major League Baseball.

“I think that’s important,” McCarthy said, “because he’s not going to do a lot of games, but he’s still going to have his thumbprint on what’s happening around baseball. So I’m looking forward to it. I love the fact that we have a 2008 World Series champion in the booth with us. I think it’s great perspective.”

The rotation of regular color commentators on NBC Sports Philly includes Amaro, a player on the 1993 Phillies team that won the National League pennant who later became the general manager of the organization; John Kruk, a beloved 1993 Phillie; and former big-league catcher and 1995 first-round draft pick Ben Davis. Hamels will bring some different insight as someone who played for the 2008 team and pitched in the majors only five years ago.

According to McCarthy, Hamels will do games on Sundays periodically throughout the season. He’ll be there for the days when Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who typically does “Sundays with Schmidt” when the Phillies are at home, is not in the booth.

Hamels will get his first chance this weekend on Easter Sunday. McCarthy is ready to see how it plays out.

“We’ll see if he likes it,” McCarthy said. “We’ll see if he likes coaching. If those two games in spring training are any indication, I think he’s going to be really good at it.”

Phillies careful with surging Nick Castellanos as outfielder continues torrid start 18 Apr 7:13 PM (yesterday, 7:13 pm)

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Castellanos didn’t report any new injury. Manager Rob Thomson just wanted to get one of his hottest hitters out of harm’s way.

After leaving Thursday’s win with left hip flexor tightness, Castellanos was back in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. But the Phillies pinch ran for the right fielder at first base in the bottom of the fifth inning after he singled to left field to go 2-for-3 with a double on the day.

Leading by seven runs in an eventual 7-2 victory, Thomson made a bit of an aggressive move to take Castellanos out so early. With the outfield situation the way it is, it made some sense to proceed with caution.

“At that time, I didn’t really want him to run the bases,” Thomson said. “And we were up seven to nothing, so I felt pretty comfortable with it, just to get him out of there and make sure he’s safe.”

Castellanos is batting .319/.372/.528 with three home runs and six doubles this year, and he’s hitting .417 in his last seven games. He smoked a third-inning double the opposite way at 105 mph on Friday, then singled to left at 104 mph in the fifth. Castellanos is surging at the plate and providing some extra thump in the middle of the order behind Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in Philadelphia’s new lineup configuration. His production is a contrast to that of the rest of the Phillies’ outfield.

Newcomer Max Kepler has a .642 OPS as the everyday left fielder, and center fielder Brandon Marsh, now day-to-day with a knee issue, hasn’t recorded a hit in April. His batting average on the season has dipped to .095.

The glove-first Johan Rojas has put together some solid at-bats and swings recently, but he’s the only natural outfielder who hits right-handed on the roster besides Castellanos. Losing their right fielder due to injury for any period of time would be detrimental for the Phillies.

With that in mind, Thomson inserted Kody Clemens as a pinch runner in a lopsided game in the fifth. He picked Clemens, a left-handed hitter, since the Marlins had just used their only lefty reliever in Anthony Veneziano. Clemens stayed in the game in left field while Kepler shifted over to right field. The Phillies (12-8) held on to win without much worry.

Castellanos played 162 games last season and has played in 184 straight in the regular season. Maybe that streak will snap at some point this year or his torrid start will cool off. Either way, there aren’t many other options in the outfield. The Phillies will need him healthy and in the lineup as often as possible. With no new pain or discomfort in his hip, it’ll be that way on Saturday.

“He’ll be in there tomorrow,” Thomson said.

If ‘starting pitching wins championships,’ Phillies should feel great with Wheeler, Sánchez at the top 18 Apr 7:05 PM (yesterday, 7:05 pm)

PHILADELPHIA — It helps to have two National League Cy Young candidates pitching on back-to-back days.

A day after Cristopher Sánchez struck out 12 and walked one over seven innings, Zack Wheeler one upped him. He punched out 13 Marlins hitters without allowing a free pass in the Phillies’ 7-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

It’s the first time Phillies starters have struck out 12 hitters in back-to-back games since 2011, when Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee punched out 14 and 12 batters respectively on April 24-25.

Wheeler’s 13 strikeouts were one off his career high of 14 set on May 29, 2021. It’s the first time he has struck out 13 without allowing a walk. He’s the only pitcher in baseball to record at least 20 swing-and-misses in multiple starts this season.

Wheeler credits his turnaround to a mechanical adjustment that allowed him to get his front landing leg over better. He allowed nine earned runs over his last two starts, pushing his ERA above four for the first time since July 2023.

He threw four-seam fastballs 42% of the time. Of his 20 swing-and-misses, 11 came on the heater.

“Fastball was playing a little different,” Wheeler said. “It was spinning nice and true. The way you want it to be.”

This time last year, the Phillies were in the early stages of a 29-6 stretch that propelled them to their first National League East crown since 2011. Phillies starters threw seven innings 17 times in that 35-game span in 2024. Nine big league clubs, including three that made the postseason, did not receive as many seven-inning starts over the course of the entire season.

As most of the league struggles to find quality starting pitching, the Phillies have doubled down on dominating through the rotation. Wheeler is now signed for three years at the third-highest average annual salary in MLB at $42 million. Sánchez is under contract through 2030 at an extraordinarily team-friendly rate. Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker, the Phillies’ No. 4 and 5 starters, are making a combined $244 million. The Phillies also traded a top 100 prospect in Starlyn Caba to the Marlins for two years of Jesús Luzardo. They also have Andrew Painter, one of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball, slated to make his debut in the summer.

So far, the rotation is off to an excellent start. Nola’s 6.55 ERA and Ranger Suárez’s unavailability have been the only blemishes, but Sánchez and Wheeler have looked like a two-headed monster. Luzardo, who is scheduled to start Easter Sunday against his former team, comes with durability concerns, but he has a 2.31 ERA through his first four starts. They have even gotten production from Walker, who many believed could have been a camp cut if all five starters began the season healthy.

“Starting pitching wins championships,” Bryce Harper said. “Having a guy like Sánchez go in yesterday and do what he did. Twelve punchies. Throwing strikes. He’s special. He’s fun to watch. I think the whole starting staff did pretty dang good. It’s been fun to watch.”

With Walker on the mound, the Phillies will head into Saturday with a well-rested bullpen.

“Competition is a good thing sometimes,” Rob Thomson said with a smile.

Phillies jump all over Alcantara as Wheeler dominates Marlins in opener 18 Apr 5:21 PM (yesterday, 5:21 pm)

Zack Wheeler did not have his very best stuff his last couple outings, and while it’s easy to blow early-season trends out of proportion, it’s hard to ever get too concerned about him. Wheeler demonstrated why on Friday, punching out 13 Marlins and walking zero in seven innings of two-run ball to lead the Phillies to a painless 7-2 series-opening win.

The baker’s dozen strikeout total was one shy of Wheeler’s career high and his most since he set down 14 on May 29, 2021, his 22nd start with the Phillies. A night after Cristopher Sánchez’s devastating changeup led him to 24 whiffs on 97 pitches against the Giants, Wheeler generated 20 on 96.

He attacked the zone all night because he got a lead quick and watched it grow quick. After fouling off three straight 0-2 pitches from Sandy Alcantara in the first inning, Bryce Harper hit his third homer in his last four games, finding the second deck.

They tripled that lead in the second inning without an extra-base hit. A walk and three straight singles scored two, before a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch made it 6-0.

The punctation mark of the Phillies’ night offensively came in the fifth, in much more explosive fashion. Kyle Schwarber, who like Harper fell down 0-2, crushed a sweeper from Anthony Veneziano into an area of Citizens Bank Park that few other hitters have visited with the regularity that he does.

It was his fourth homer against left-handed pitching this season. He has three against righties, in over 20 more plate appearances. He’s also reached safely in all 20 games this season.

The Phillies struck out only six times on Friday night, after striking out just seven times on Thursday. Their pitchers struck out 16 Marlins.

Just as important as Wheeler getting back on track was the Phillies mostly giving their bullpen a night off. Tanner Banks and José Ruiz threw the final two innings of the game, each walking one and retiring the following three. Philadelphia is 12-8.

Cristopher Sánchez’s changeup Thursday wasn’t just wipeout. It was historic 18 Apr 6:34 AM (2 days ago)

Cristopher Sánchez recorded the final out of the fourth inning on Thursday against the Giants and flexed his arms in celebration. It was not a big spot: The bases were empty, the count 0-2, the Phillies leading by four.

But it was the end of a ridiculous inning. Sánchez struck out that side in that fourth frame for his sixth, seventh and eighth punchouts of the game. All eight of those came on changeups. In the fourth inning, he threw 11 pitches. Eight of them were changeups.

If we’re taking things literally, “changeup” was a stretch of a descriptor on Thursday night. He threw 97 pitches and 50 of them — more than half — were changeups.

He wasn’t changing up much by throwing what has become one of the most devastating pitches in the sport, but there was no reason to. Sánchez induced 22 — yes, twenty-two — whiffs on the pitch in the series finale. It’s the most on a changeup in a single game since pitch tracking began in 2008, Just Baseball noted.

Sánchez’s celebration at the end of that fourth inning was not an overreaction to an impressive feat in a benign situation. It was an acknowledgment that he’s well aware of what he is — and what that pitch is.

“His confidence,” J.T. Realmuto said postgame when asked what’s made Sánchez even better this year than he was in his breakout 2024 season. “Just coming off of last year and knowing how good his stuff is and how well it plays in the zone. His stuff is virtually the same as it was last year. I think this year, he’s just a little more confident with it and attacking the zone more.”

The Phillies have not lost a Sánchez start since Aug. 22 of last year. In the 11 straight games (including the NLDS) the Phillies have won with Sánchez on the hill, he has allowed more than three earned runs just once, and it happened against one of the best offenses the sport has ever seen. (Still, he struck out nine Dodgers that night, April 6, in less than six innings.)

And their formula in Thursday night’s win was a formula that can mask one of the team’s biggest flaws, as of April. They don’t have a bullpen problem, per se — they have a middle-innings bullpen problem.

The back end is just fine. Rob Thomson went to it in the eighth inning on Thursday. Orion Kerkering struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the next. José Alvarado made things interesting in the ninth, surrendering a homer and eventually bringing the go-ahead run to the plate, but for the fourth time in four opportunities, he earned the save. His ERA is under 3.00 and he’s struck out 13.5 batters per nine innings.

It is not a guaranteed eighth- and ninth-inning lockdown, but it’s reliable, and it gives the Phillies an obvious workaround to their bullpen problem: Just get there, or close. The starters are doing their part: The Phillies have accumulated the third-fewest innings out of the bullpen so far this year.

Alvarado and Kerkering won’t be available every night, which is why Jordan Romano’s possible resurgence and Matt Strahm’s continued steadiness are important. But when needed, more often than not, those two will be ready, and they add up to a pretty good chance of winning, the way they did Thursday.

It will help if Cristopher Sánchez continues to change up absolutely nothing.

Phillies avoid 2 serious injuries in outfield, but questions remain 17 Apr 5:00 PM (2 days ago)

PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies have avoided two serious injuries in the already thin outfield. 

Right fielder Nick Castellanos left Thursday’s 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the seventh with left hip flexor tightness. He felt it while trying to run out a double play ball in the bottom of the fifth. He played defense in the sixth, but felt his hip tightening up. Edmundo Sosa came into the game to play left field. Max Kepler shifted from left to right field. Castellanos after the game called the early exit “precautionary.” He expects to be in the lineup Friday — and extend his streak of consecutive regular season games played to 184. The number, admittedly, doesn’t mean much to him.

Brandon Marsh was out of the starting lineup after tweaking his right knee while trying to stop a weird bounce from falling behind him during the previous game. He is considered day-to-day, per manager Rob Thomson. He does not anticipate Marsh needing an IL stint. 

One IL placement would have made the already untenable outfield situation worse. Two would have been borderline disastrous. Marsh is stuck in an 0-for-31 rut, but Castellanos has arguably been the Phillies’ most consistent hitter. His .304 batting average is best among qualified hitters on the team. His .867 OPS is second to only Kyle Schwarber (1.032). He has struck out in only 18.6% of his plate appearances. If that number holds, it would be the lowest rate of his career by far. 

The outfield, particularly left and center field, have been an adventure for the Phillies. Phillies center fielders have a .450 OPS. Two teams, the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox, are somehow worse. Marsh has been struggling, but Johan Rojas hasn’t looked much better. A glove-first defender, he has made some costly mistakes in the outfield. Cal Stevenson, who is on the 40-man roster, would have likely been the next man up if Marsh had to go on the injured list. He is batting .186 with a .647 OPS at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The right-handed hitting Óscar Mercado could have been another option. Weston Wilson, who is still rehabbing from an oblique injury suffered in spring training, may have been recalled early if the Castellanos injury was serious. It’s way too early to call up 21-year-old top prospect Justin Crawford.

Left field is also unsettled. The Phillies went into this year with Max Kepler as an everyday player. He has not been in the lineup each of the last three times the Phillies have faced a lefty. They opted for Edmundo Sosa in left against Chris Sale on April 8. He sat against Matthew Liberatore on Sunday. They put Schwarber in left to get J.T. Realmuto a DH day on Wednesday against Robbie Ray. Against lefties, Kepler is 3-for-16 with six strikeouts. 

For now, the Phillies’ Opening Day outfield remains intact. Whether that is a good thing or not is part of the problem, but the Phillies have issues that other teams would love to have. They have not made a roster move all season. Their biggest rival, the Atlanta Braves, are 5-13 and lost their biggest free agent signing of the year to a PED suspension. The Mets, who are 0.5 game ahead of the Phillies in the NL East, are still waiting for their starting catcher and two rotation arms to return from the injured list. 

And while things may seem dire for a Phillies team who can’t hit with runners in scoring position and seem thin in the bullpen, they can take comfort in having an ascending ace like Cristopher Sánchez signed to a long-term deal. The 2024 All-Star recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts on Thursday. He became the first Phillies left-hander to strike out at least 12 in a game since Cole Hamels no-hit the Chicago Cubs in his final start as a Phillie on July 25, 2015. Giants hitters whiffed at Sánchez’s changeup 22 times, the most he has had in a single outing. 

The Phillies have won all four of Sánchez’s starts. All of those wins came after a loss. 

“It’s staying healthy as much as I can,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “The next thing is being there and having that mentality to be a stopper. To be able to put my team in a position to win every time I’m pitching.” 

With that, the Phillies are 11-8. It is the exact same record they had through the first 19 games in 2024. Thomson made sure to point that out to reporters pregame.

Phillies continue to struggle with runners in scoring position in lopsided loss to Giants 16 Apr 5:51 PM (3 days ago)

Final Score: Giants 11, Phillies 4

Phillies hitters remained patient against San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray, drawing five walks. Two came with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning. Bryce Harper was particularly patient. He walked on four pitches in each of his first two plate appearances.

After seeing eight straight balls to begin his night in the batter’s box, Harper wasted no time in his third trip to the dish. The ninth pitch of the game he saw from Ray was just like the first eight: not a strike. But it didn’t matter. Harper swung and tied the game, 4-4, with a long two-run home run.

The Phillies were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position before Harper’s homer. It’s been a struggle for them in those situations so far this season. And it continued to be a struggle on Wednesday.

Harper’s homer was the only hit the Phillies got with runners in scoring position. Rob Thomson’s lineup finished their night 1-for-9 in those situations. They stranded 10 total baserunners. Their season average with runners in scoring position now sits at .200.

The Phillies found themselves down 4-0 before seeing a pitch from Ray, whose night lasted just four innings. Aaron Nola had issues in the top of the first. He threw 35 pitches. He walked two hitters, including one with the bases loaded. He allowed four hits. All four runs he surrendered were earned.

The right-hander settled in, though, after his lengthy first inning; at least until the top of the sixth. After the Giants retook the lead an inning earlier, Nola allowed a single between two walks, loading the bases with one out in the sixth. His night was done after that.

Rob Thomson called upon José Ruiz with the bases loaded. Ruiz walked the first batter he faced, Willy Adames, forcing in a run. Jung Hoo Lee then hit a sac fly to left field, giving the Giants a 7-4 lead. Nola’s line was done. He was charged with seven runs (six earned). His ERA through four starts is 6.65.

The Phillies had a chance to get back into the game in the bottom of the sixth. With Trea Turner and Harper on first and second, the middle of the order was up. Kyle Schwarber hit a sac fly, advancing Turner to third. Nick Castellanos grounded into a 6-4 force out. Their threat was over in seven pitches.

San Francisco put the game away a half inning later, scoring four runs off Joe Ross.

Kyle Schwarber to make season debut in left field on windy night 16 Apr 1:45 PM (4 days ago)

PHILADELPHIA — The left-field conditions on Wednesday night might feel familiar for Kyle Schwarber.

The former Cubs outfielder spent six seasons bracing the cold and wind at Wrigley Field. That could come in handy as he heads out for his first game of the season in the field while dealing with chilly temperatures and 25 mph gusts at Citizens Bank Park.

“He’s an experienced guy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s played in Chicago for a lot of years. He can handle it.”

Schwarber, the Phillies’ left fielder in his first season in Philadelphia in 2022, has been the club’s primary designated hitter since Bryce Harper moved to first base partway through 2023. Schwarber only appeared in five games on defense last year. But the slugger is playing left on Wednesday to allow catcher J.T. Realmuto to slide into the DH spot against left-hander Robbie Ray and the San Francisco Giants.

The veteran backstop Realmuto only has a .695 OPS so far this season, but he posted his best performance of the year in a win on Tuesday. He went 2-for-4 with his first home run.

Getting Realmuto, 34, some additional time off his feet will be a focus for the Phillies. They’ll get him a break from catching on Wednesday with a chance to build upon his most recent offensive showing.

“The other thing I want to help him with is maintaining rhythm at the plate,” Thomson said. “He feels like, when he takes a day off when he’s going good, it upsets his rhythm.”

In addition to having Schwarber play left field, the Phillies (10-7) will have some other changes to the lineup. Aside from Harper and Schwarber batting back-to-back in the two and three holes, the team will stack righties. Edmundo Sosa will play second base for Bryson Stott and hit seventh. Rafael Marchan is catching and hitting eighth, while Johan Rojas will play center and bat in the nine hole.

“I gave J.T. a half-day and put Marchan behind the plate, so we get more right-handed hitters against Ray,” Thomson said.

Ray has pitched well for the Giants with a 2.93 ERA in three starts this season. The Phillies will start Aaron Nola (5.51 ERA) after splitting the first two games of this four-game series with San Francisco.

Full Phillies lineup

Bryce Harper ‘thankful’ for baseball and family after in-game gender reveal 16 Apr 1:15 PM (4 days ago)

PHILADELPHIA — Waves of gratitude tend to hit Bryce Harper at weird times. He couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful game of baseball in the on-deck circle during the third inning of Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. He was emboldened to challenge center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and tag up and take second base on a fly ball from Kyle Schwarber. It did not work.

It’s all part of the Bryce Harper Experience. You embrace the good and tolerate the things that make you scratch your head. He made up for it four innings later when he blasted a towering two-run home run to right field through the wind.

He later shared his thoughts.

“I’m so thankful to play in this game,” Harper said. “I’m so thankful to play in this park. I don’t know. I think guys put so much stress on themselves. I do it. I do it every night. I probably do it more than most, right? And I have my whole career. I’m very tough on myself. I’m very hard on myself. … I want our younger guys and I want our older guys to enjoy this game and enjoy the moment of being here and being a Philadelphia Phillie.”

A Harper home run is a great story on any given day, but the story would have been an all-timer if it came a day earlier. In his first at-bat on Monday, Harper walked to the plate with a baby blue bat. Harper informed teammates before the game that he wanted to include the team in revealing the gender of his fourth child. He ordered one pink bat and one blue bat. His close friend Trea Turner was tasked with giving him the correct bat. Turner messed around with the pink bat before handing him the blue one. Harper had to conceal the color of his bat from his family in the stands.

Harper swung at two pitches below the zone for a swinging strikeout. Can you blame him for being a little anxious?

“I don’t. I didn’t,” Harper laughed. “You guys saw.”

The blue bat was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the game. Harper is not sure what he’ll do with either the pink or blue bats. He could bury them in the basement along with other pieces of memorabilia from his career.

For now, it’s a cool memory to have as a soon-to-be father of four.

“It was really cool,” Harper said. “Another baby boy. I’m so blessed to have the family that I do. I’m so grateful for that. Three healthy ones. Hopefully another healthy one as well.

“Gender, I don’t care either way. As long as they’re healthy. As long as they’re strong. I feel like I’m more of a girl dad than I am a boy dad. Very thankful to hopefully welcome a baby boy here soon.”

Phillies get big day from bottom of order to ignite win over Giants 15 Apr 7:55 PM (4 days ago)

PHILADELPHIA — As the wind whipped and swirled in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park, the last two batters in the Phillies’ lineup made manufacturing a run look like a breeze.

Alec Bohm stepped in the box with no outs and a runner on second base, moving him over to third with a groundout. Brandon Marsh, the No. 9 hitter, followed that up with a sacrifice fly to right field. The trips to the plate were productive.

Bohm and Marsh have struggled so far this season. They’ve been dropped in the order. But both players put together key plate appearances in crucial spots on Tuesday night.

“Everybody was pretty fired up,” manager Rob Thomson said, “seeing those guys to be able to contribute to the club. They love each other, and they want to see their teammates do well.”

Bohm went 1-for-4 with the go-ahead single in the sixth inning of a 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants to even up the series in the second of a four-game set. Marsh went 0-for-3, but hit that sac fly to drive in seven-hole hitter Max Kepler, who hit the ball hard on his way to a 2-for-4 night with a double. The bottom third did what it needed to do, and the entire offense benefited.

“Me and Brandon, if we’re playing up to three-quarters of what we’re capable of and we’re hitting eighth and ninth,” Bohm said, “then we have a really good lineup. Because we’re not eight and nine hitters. It’s that simple, I guess, to lengthen out the order and get us some production down at the bottom of the order today.”

Bohm was an All-Star at third base last season and spent the majority of the year as Philadelphia’s cleanup hitter. But he declined in the second half and was benched in one of the team’s postseason games. Despite making decent contact fairly often, the results haven’t been great to start 2025, and Bohm’s frustrations have been apparent at times. Thomson moved him down in the lineup last week.

Marsh, who hit in different spots last year but was most commonly the No. 7 batter, is still hitless in April and was given a breather on Monday to regroup. He hasn’t had a ton of quality at-bats throughout the season so far.

Behind their performances, the Phillies (10-7) finally got a solid day from the bottom of their order to complement a strong showing from their other pieces. Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto both homered. Bryson Stott went 2-for-4 with a triple out of the leadoff spot. And Bohm delivered a base hit off right-hander Justin Verlander to left-center field to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the sixth.

“If we do our job at the bottom of the order,” Marsh said, “you can kind of expect what you’re going to get from the top half. There’s some dogs up there. We do our role better at the bottom, like Max is doing, Bohm’s doing, and we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.”

Thomson suggested that Tuesday night’s game could build confidence for Bohm and Marsh, two teammates and close friends who have gone through it this year. Bohm’s batting average is .162, while Marsh is hitting just .100. Maybe they can use their most recent game as a stepping stone.

Eventually, Bohm and Marsh could potentially work their way back up the batting order if they can get back to the best versions of themselves on a consistent basis. That’ll take time to prove. For now, they can help the team by doing what they can to turn the lineup over and get runs across.

“We know what all those guys are capable of at the top of the order,” Bohm said. “I think lately, we’ve just kind of been outs, and that’s why we’re so frustrated about it, because we know we’re way better than we’ve been. And I think when this whole thing comes together, you’re going to see a pretty deep lineup.”

Bohm’s much-needed hit, Realmuto’s first homer, wind lift Phillies past Giants 15 Apr 5:33 PM (4 days ago)

The Phillies will take runs however they can get them right now, and so they can thank the elements, somewhat, for doing their part on Tuesday night. A few big hits, some of which Citizens Bank Park’s swirling gusts helped produce, provided a jolt for a slumping offense whose six runs amounted to a series-tying victory over the Giants.

But the biggest hit of the night was not aided by the weather, and it was a huge one both for team and for individual. Alec Bohm, mired then in a 6-for-58, gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning with a first-pitch line drive single to left-center. They would lead the rest of the way.

It was part of a two-run sixth that did get some assistance from the atmosphere. With two on and one out, J.T. Realmuto lofted a high pop up to shallow left, blowing away from a sliding Heliot Ramos and landing for a single that had an xBA of .010 — and tied the game.

It was the second hit of the day for Realmuto, who homered in the second to open the scoring.

Later, Bryce Harper popped one up 45 degrees into right field, and the wind took over to grow the Phillies’ lead from one to three.

The Giants cut it back to two in the eighth, but with runners on the corners and nobody out, José Alvarado buckled down to retire the next three hitters and preserve the two-run advantage. Matt Strahm provided a much less stressful ninth inning, setting down the side on seven pitches for the win.

Jesús Luzardo had statistically his rockiest outing as a Phillie, allowing a season-high three runs and striking out a season-low four in 5 1/3 innings. Arguably the most encouraging performance from the bullpen belonged to Jordan Romano, who fired a 1-2-3 seventh and has now tossed three straight scoreless innings, with just one hit in that span.

The Phillies got to future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander for eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The 42-year-old threw 104 pitches, a questionable decision by manager Bob Melvin. Not his first at this ballpark.