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  • Phillies odds and ends: Comeback puts Dodgers in rear view, keeps pace with Brewers

    Many fans were sleeping when the Phillies clinched the NL East on, well, Tuesday morning – well after 1 a.m. – with a 10th-inning win over the Dodgers.

    Likewise, folks were probably shocked on Wednesday to discover that the Phillies had beaten the Dodgers again in the second game of a three-game set despite trailing 4-0 after four innings and generating no offense against Shohei Ohtani. 

    The hangover should’ve been expected as the Phillies partied hard after their Monday night/Tuesday morning division-clinching win, but the Phillies beat up on the Los Angeles bullpen, scoring all nine runs off five different Dodgers relievers in the 9-6 win.

    Bryce Harper’s two-run double, Brandon Marsh’s three-run homer and Max Kepler’s two-run shot highlighted a six-run fifth inning for the Phils, and Rafael Marchán’s improbable three-run homer in the ninth broke a 6-6 tie. Jhoan Duran, who blew the save in Game 1, needed just 12 pitches to mow down the Dodgers for his 31st save.

    Here’s the big blast from Marchán, who started in place of J.T. Realmuto:

    In rallying back, the Phillies actually secured another milestone for the season – they ensured that any tiebreaker between them and the Dodgers in the National League playoffs would favor the Phillies.

    The Phillies, who will finish their six-game season series against the Dodgers tonight, have taken four of the five games so far and can finish no worse than 4-2, giving them a head-to-head advantage in a tiebreaker scenario.

    Is it moot? Probably, as the Phillies entered Wednesday’s action 6.5 games ahead of the Dodgers, who would fall into the Wild Card round as the third-ranked divisional leader. The Phillies also own any tiebreaker over the Cubs, who currently sit in the top Wild Card spot, 3.5 games behind the Phils, who also own the tiebreaker against them thanks to a 4-2 series win.

    The Phils also entered Wednesday 1.5 games behind the Brewers for the top seed, but the Phils went 1-5 against the Brew Crew this season, so any tiebreaker would favor Milwaukee.

    Another injury

    As if the recent losses of Trea Turner and Alec Bohm weren’t enough, the Phillies took another hit to the infield when they placed Edmundo Sosa on the 10-day Injured List before Tuesday’s game with a groin strain.

    Per Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation, Sosa’s groin strain is considered minor:

    The infield prospect they called up from Triple-A, Rafael Lantigua, was slashing .252/.359/.333 in 124 games with the IronPigs. He had seven HRs and 56 RBIs to go along with 17 SBs.

    Painter improvement? 

    Top Phils prospect Andrew Painter didn’t get that call-up that the Phillies had predicted in the spring would come in July, but he’s on the mound for the IronPigs at home Wednesday against Syracuse, trying to string together two positive outings.

    In his last start, Sept. 10 at Scranton/Wilkes Barre, he scattered three hits and didn’t allow a run through five innings. He also struck out six in a 74-pitch effort – one of his sharpest outings of late. Painter had given up six runs in each of his prior two starts as his ERA ballooned to 5.62, the highest it’s been this season.

    Painter is 1-1 in three starts this season against the Syracuse Mets, allowing 10 runs in 15.1 innings against them with 10 strikeouts and just three walks, but he’s also allowed six homers.

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  • Phillies prospect watch: Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford hitting like future roster cornerstones

    The Phillies are not the only team in the organization in a playoff hunt right now. Both the Iron Pigs (Triple-A) and Threshers (Single-A) have a chance to join the big league club in their respective postseasons. 

    And that’s because a lot of the franchise’s best prospects are playing pretty well as summer turns to fall and the 2025 season nears its conclusion.

    While the trade deadline is firmly in the rearview and big league promotions the rest of the way are unlikely, the players we’ll document below could be names to keep an eye on in spring training next March. 

    Here’s our latest check in with the Phillies’ top 15 prospects (according to MLB.com):

    Who’s hot?

    Aidan Miller, SS (No. 2)

    Philly’s top positional prospect has been everything the team has been hoping for so far, as he earned the farm systems hitter of the month honors for his performance in August — which was simply electric. The 21 year old slashed .348/.454/.629 (1.083 OPS), going 31-for-89 with 22 runs scored, 13 doubles, four homers, 16 RBI, 13 walks and 13 stolen bases in 22 games for double-A Reading.

    Justin Crawford, OF (No. 3)

    Crawford is also handling the bat very well, as he and Crawford both could factor into the team’s offseason plans and roster construction. The former first rounder is hitting .334 with a .411 on base percentage this season, numbers scouts are drooling over. He’s also finding more power in Triple-A — he had three homers in a four game stretch from August 24th to 28th.

    Aroon Escobar, IF (No. 5)

    Escobar has jumped from being the 13th top prospect in the organization to sixth, then to fifth after the trade deadline. He has a five-game hit streak right now over at Jersey Shore, and two nights before the streak started he went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer. He’ll have to prove it in the higher minors before the Phillies pencil him in as a future big league contributor.

    Dante Nori, OF (No. 6)

    Nori recently made the leap, like Escobar, from Clearwater to Jersey Shore and he’s shown worthy of the promotion. In 10 games there, he’s hit .308 with 13 stolen bases. The team desperately needs outfield talent in the near future and if he can keep playing like a first round pick he could factor into their plans quickly.

    Gabriel Rincones, OF (No. 9)

    An older prospect at 24, Rincones has been on an absolute tear the last 10 days, hitting .447 in Triple-A. Over that span he has five homers, 14 RBI and a crazy .895 slugging percentage.

    Keaton Anthony, 1B (No. 15)

    Anthony is another older prospect whom you may not have heard of, but he’s on a hot streak in the minors and handled a promotion with gusto from Double to Triple-A. After slashing .330/.380/.522 in Reading, he’s hit .313 over 33 games in Lehigh Valley.

    Who’s not?

    Andrew Painter, SP (No. 1 prospect)

    Painter has been disappointing to fans, and probably to the organization too as each expected the top prospect in the organization to make a major league impact this summer. But he’s simply not ready for the majors — as he continues his return from TJ surgery. His most recent start Wednesday for Lehigh Valley saw the 21-year-old pummeled for 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in 5.1 innings against Toledo. Painter will finish the season in Triple-A and attempt to compete for a roster spot next spring. His ERA this year is 5.45.

    Jean Cabrera, SP (No. 11)

    Cabrera has been one of the best pitchers in Double-A Reading this season, but after what seemed like a very consistent start to the year he’s had some blips over his last 10 starts. Three times he’s allowed four or more runs, and four times he’s earned a loss in the ledger. He still has a pretty solid 3.75 ERA over his 25 starts this year.

    Carson DeMartini, 3B (No. 13)

    DeMartini, last year’s fourth-round pick, was raking in Jersey Shore to start the year, prompting a promotion to Reading in June. He’s not made the jump well, hitting just .202 over 66 games for the Fightin’s. 

    Devin Saltiban, 2B (No. 14)

    At just 20, Saltiban is having a rough go of it this season. With 66 games under his belt now for Jersey Shore, the infielder is hitting .188 — though he does have a decent walk rate and has hit five homers.

    Who’s not playing…

    Gage Wood, (No. 4)

    The Phillies took Wood with their first round pick earlier this summer and he’s slated to make his pro debut Saturday afternoon. For now, he’s got juice and good vibes surrounding him — he did toss an epic College World Series no-hitter.

    Cade Obermueller (No. 7)

    Obermueller is the Phillies’ second round pick from June and hasn’t yet thrown a pro pitch, though it is anticipated his 98 MPH fastball and killer slider could make him a future major leaguer.

    Moisés Chace, SP (No. 8)

    After a decent start to 2025, Chace’s season ended when he got Tommy John surgery late in the spring. 

    Matthew Fisher, SP (No. 10)

    Does it reflect poorly on the Phillies farm system that three of their top 10 prospects have yet to play and were drafted just this year? The consensus from experts is that the prospect pool for the Phillies is top-heavy and thin. Fisher is a talented HS pitcher drafted in the seventh round who will likely have a longer road to the majors.

    Griffin Burkholder, OF (No. 12)

    Burkholder was last year’s second-round pick is currently on the 60-day IL where he’ll be for the rest of the year. He did not play well in just second pro season, hitting .197 over 34 games.

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  • Phillies call up Garrett Stubbs, will go to six-man rotation with Walker Buehler

    The “Chief Vibes Officer” is coming back to the Phillies for the pennant race.

    Garrett Stubbs, one of the more popular and charismatic backup catchers in recent team history and known for bringing some levity to the clubhouse, has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to join the Phillies for the September run, the team announced Monday along with some other moves as MLB rosters expanded to 28.

    These transactions also mean that top prospect Andrew Painter, a pitcher who has struggled during the second half of the season, isn’t being called-up, which we referenced Sunday when news broke that the Phillies were signing two-time All Star Walker Buehler as an extra arm with plenty of postseason experience.

    As for the 32-year-old Stubbs, team president Dave Dombrowski told reporters on Sunday that having a third catcher behind J.T. Realmuto and backup Rafael Marchan will allow the Phillies to give the 34-year-old Realmuto some rest without necessarily removing him from the batting order.

    Per On Pattison, Dombrowski explained that Realmuto can be used as a pinch hitter on the rare days when Marchan gets a start, but Stubbs can then enter the game so Realmuto doesn’t have to go in and catch.

    “We thought Stubby would be a nice addition,” Dombrowski said. “Of course he can play different positions, he’s been a winner, he’s done a great job for us at Triple-A, not only on the field but in the clubhouse.”

    Check out the entire explanation here:

    Realmuto is one of the Phillies’ hottest hitters and has emerged as an answer in the cleanup spot, which had been a carousel for the Phillies throughout much of the first half. Realmuto is slashing .266/.321/.403 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs. Although he cooled down in August, Realmuto has by far been the best right-handed protection for lefties Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the order. 

    Giving Realmuto the chance to stay in the lineup as a pinch hitter on a day when he’s not catching could provide an extra boost for the Phils as they entered Monday’s game against the National League-leading Brewers with a 6-game lead over the Mets in the NL East.

    The Phils trail the Brewers by 5.5 games for the top seed in the NL as they prepare to face Milwaukee for a three-game series with a rare off day in between Monday and Wednesday.

    Stubbs had played 192 games for the Phillies from 2022-2024 as the No. 2 catcher behind Realmuto but was sent to Triple-A out of spring training this year as the team moved onto Marchan as the top backup.

    For the Triple-A Iron Pigs, Stubbs slashed .265/.352/.402 in 264 at-bats over 71 games. He also had eight homers and 50 RBIs, as has been the catcher for some of Painter’s starts.

    In spring training, the Phillies openly discussed calling up Painter sometime in July, but their decision to sign Buehler, who’ll be available to pitch in the postseason, all but slammed the door on Painter’s big-league arrival in 2025 unless the Phillies are hit with injuries.

    In the same meeting with reporters to discuss Stubbs’ call-up, Dombrowski said the Phillies would be going to a six-man rotation after a four-game home series against the Mets from Sept. 8-11 with the team in the middle of a streak of 15 games in 15 days and preferred to have Buehler’s experience.

    Painter has struggled lately in Triple-A, carrying a 4-5 record and 5.36 ERA in 19 starts for Lehigh Valley. Buehler, a two-time All Star and two-time World Series champ with the Dodgers, was recently released by the Red Sox after going 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA in 22 starts, but Dombrowski said the Phillies “see something that can help him.” 

    “This year hasn’t been as good for him as some other years but we still like a lot of his stuff,” Dombrowski told reporters. “We could’ve used somebody internal but we just think it makes us better; we think he’s a better alternative for us than what is there. 

    “Painter has been fine, but he’s still working on his command so we’re not ready to make that type of commitment and we just thought he’d give us the best chance to win at this point.”

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  • Report: Phillies add two-time World Series champion pitcher Walker Buehler

    Looking for another arm, the Phillies on Sunday reportedly agreed to sign two-time World Series champion Walker Buehler, who’s also a two-time All Star.

    Multiple reporters, including MLB.com Insider Mark Feinsand, reported the signing, although The Athletic’s Matt Gelb also reported earlier in the day that the Phillies had interest in bringing in Buehler, who was released recently by the Red Sox after struggling for much of the season.

    Buehler will also be available to pitch in the postseason for the Phillies. An All-Star in 2019 and 2021, Buehler had a 5.45 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) with the Red Sox this year, to go along with a 7-7 record and 1.56 WHIP. Last year, his final year for the Dodgers, he was 1-6 in 16 starts, with a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.

    But he also has plenty of playoff experience, and has performed well in the postseason. He has started 19 postseason games and last year started Game 6 of the World Series, allowing no runs on two hits in five innings to pick up the victory in Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Yankees. Two nights later, he entered in the ninth and picked up the save in a 7-6 Game 5 win to clinch the title for L.A.

    Buehler’s career playoff ERA is 3.04 in 94.2 total innings, with 114 strikeouts.

    The Phillies on Wednesday begin a streak of 15 games in 15 days, so the need for a spot-starter could come up. The addition of Buehler also means that Phils top prospect, right-hander Andrew Painter, probably won’t be promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley unless injuries hit the rotation.

    In another move Monday, the Phillies announced that they claimed left-handed pitcher Tim Mayza off waivers from the Pirates and transferred Zack Wheeler to the 60-day injured list. 

    Wheeler is out for the rest of the season after having a blood clot removed from near his right shoulder and also undergoing thoracic outlet surgery.

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