Before this article starts, we must congratulate our MV3 on winning player of the week for the first time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Now, let’s get to the three-game series. The Phillies come back from their successful trip out west and look to build off their momentum against a west coast team – the Padres.
Game One
This game was a battle of the pitchers. With Clevinger on the mound for San Diego, Eflin needed to hold his own. He did just that, but ultimately the Padres got to him and the bullpen at the end.
Unfortunately, Austin Nola hit into fielders choice, and our good friend, former Met’s infielder Robinson Canó was on third to give them the run in the fifth inning. Two more innings came and went, then Canó and Grisham hit into center field to make the game 3-0. The Padres relievers came in to close it out and end the game.
Not only did the Phillies not score runs, they only managed to get five hits in 32 at-bats. It was definitely a terrible performance for the offense.
Game Two
Wheeler day is a personal favorite of mine. Before we get to the pitching, we need to talk about how the game started for our defense. Bohm goes to throw the ball to Rhys at first base, but it gets past him. Realmuto is there to back Rhys up like the BCIB he is, but they trot to the ball. Kim tried to take advantage of that and run to third, but JT threw him out at third. Annoying, but glad the out happened at all.
Wheeler pitched a phenomenal seven innings, so let’s start with him to discuss to game after the weird error that became an out. You couldn’t have asked for a better outing from him as he notched nine strikeouts in seven innings and no earned runs or walks.
Let’s get to the offense. Blake Snell only lasted 3.2 innings against our Phillies. The Phillies only managed to get five hits again with three walks, but those turned into three runs throughout the game. JT Realmuto came up clutch with two outs as he singles into center to let Rhys score. Then, a few innings later, Rhys blasts one to left field to make it a 2-0 game. The next inning, Herrera also comes up clutch as he doubles to right, which lets Schwarber easily score to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
The pitchers make it a boring rest of the game if you’re not someone that loves pitching. Alvarado and Knebel shut down the eighth and ninth innings. Overall, a decent game to watch. Not all wins will have a bunch of runs, so pitching must do it’s job. That was the case this time.
Game Three
The Phillies tried to make it three series in a row where they won a series, but they get shutout yet again.
Kyle Gibson pitched a fine 5.2 innings. He notched seven strikeouts without a walk, but allowed two runs on eight hits. That’s a lot of hits, but only allowing two runs is impressive and worth noting. A professional baseball team above the luxury tax should be able to make a two-run game competitive.
The offense simply couldn’t get it going when it mattered today or in this series. They had eight total hits with Hoskins (2), Bohm (1), Schwarber (1), Herrera (1), Camargo (1), Stubbs (1), and Stott (1) all contributed with hits, but they just couldn’t score runs. Every time it looked like a run was about to be scored, something got messed up.
This was a horrible series by the offense to start the home stand, but at least the pitching managed to keep it within reach at all times. We start the Dodgers series tomorrow and I hope to see some alive bats. I’ll be at the game Saturday for my first one since Opening Day, let’s see if they’ll impress.
