The Ramos roundup is a weekly sports column highlighting all the news of the week featuring the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Union.
Phillies Slip Up in Game 1 of NLDS to Dodgers 5-3
After jumping out to a three-run lead in the second inning, the Phillies surrendered five unanswered runs in a Game 1 loss in the NLDS Saturday night. Not sure what exactly is worse; the fact that Phils’ reliever Matt Strahm appeared to be tipping his pitches on the late Teoscar Hernandez home run or that the Philly bats went completely silent. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper combined for just one hit and one walk in 12 plate appearances in the loss. The rest of the offense generated just two extra base hits.
Obviously, this cannot continue if the Phillies are to have any sustainable success in this series. The offense needs to focus more on contact and barreling up balls rather than looking to bust a game open with one swing, like they did in the third inning of Saturday’s game.
Game 2 is Monday at 6:00 p.m. with Jesus Luzardo taking the ball as the starter. A win is paramount.
Eagles Blow 14-Point Lead in First Loss of Season
The Eagles had their undefeated streak snapped at the hands of Bo Nix and the Broncos 21-17 on Sunday. Nix is the first Denver Quarterback to win in Philadelphia since 1986. Jalen Hurts, on the other hand, threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
This looked eerily similar to previous Eagles games this season, where they struggled to sustain drives. The playcalling on offense continues to be troublesome, despite a 47-yard Saquon Barkley touchdown that made the game 17-3 Eagles in the third quarter. However, that play, along with a 52-yard completion to Devonta Smith in the second quarter, would be the only explosive plays of the game for them.
Conversely, the birds defense had difficulty containing Nix, receiver Courtland Sutton and running back J.K. Dobbins. They also took a few penalties in key moments, including a foolish unnecessary roughness one by Zack Baun in a third and short situation.
All in all, the Eagles execution needs to be better across the board. They’ll have an opportunity to do just that this Thursday on a short week matchup with the New York Giants.
Flyers Trade Ellis, Acquire Grundstrom and Guryev
In a somewhat surprising move, the Flyers announced that they have traded Ryan Ellis’ contract to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Philly is acquiring a couple of depth players in Carl Grundstrom and Artem Guryev in the trade, but the real win for them is getting out from underneath the Ellis contract. Ryan Ellis has been injured since 2021-2022; this is now year 7 of an 8-year, $50M contract, where he makes $6.25M annually.
The Flyers now have some operating room under the salary cap with $7,515,238 million in cap space. It’s rare the team has that kind of space in-season so we’ll see if they try and add another player. If not, they should have plenty of space in the summer of 2026.
Sixers Preseason is Underway
The Sixers wrapped up two preseason games in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Philly dropped both contests, but Tyrese Maxey, rookie VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Adem Bona all played minutes among the team’s regulars. With a full week of practice this week, Philly will play their first game at the new first Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 10th, when they play host to the Orlando Magic.
