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Spring training will be a little different this year. The Phillies have a remarkable 16 players appearing in the World Baseball Classic, with 10 of them are likely to be on the team’s 26-man roster.
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Evan Macy
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Tag: Edmundo Sosa
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Phillies have 16 players playing in World Baseball Classic, is that good or bad?
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Phillies odds and ends: Comeback puts Dodgers in rear view, keeps pace with Brewers
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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.
The Phillies placed INF Edmundo Sosa on the 10-day IL with a right groin strain (retro to 9/13). To fill his spot on the 28-man roster, INF Rafael Lantigua (No. 19) had his contract selected from Lehigh Valley (AAA). To make room on the 40-man roster, OF Brewer Hicklen was DFA’d.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 16, 2025
Per Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation, Sosa’s groin strain is considered minor:
Rob Thomson called Edmundo Sosa’s groin strain “very mild.” They expect him to be activated in a week. The IL stint is backdated three days.
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) September 17, 2025
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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Geoff Mosher
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How The Phillies Are Thriving In The Absence Of Trea Turner – Philadelphia Sports Nation
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You don’t need to be a diehard baseball fan to know the Phillies are a star-studded lineup. Names like, Schwarber, Harper, Turner, Wheeler and Nola are pretty common names and faces even for the casual fan. They hit moonshots, come up with big hits in crucial situations and retire the side in high leverage situations.
What makes this 2024 Phillies team special is the production they are getting from the depth of their lineup. When Trea Turner went down on May 3rd with a hamstring injury, Phillies fans were unsure how the team would tread water and pick up the slack during his absence. Turner was hot out of the gate this season. With a .343 batting average and a 144 OPS+, it was hard to imagine they could replicate that success with their current bench position players.
Edmundo Sosa was given the opportunity to play shortstop for roughly six weeks in Turner’s absence. What he has done filling in thus far, has been nothing short of incredible. Sosa hasn’t been an everyday player since the 2021 season when he was playing middle infield for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I just go out and have fun. That’s the key for success,” Sosa said. “I go out and enjoy my game and above everything, I try to help my team win. I just kept working the same way that I’ve done.
“I think I’m a renewed player. I’m more intelligent, more prepared for the situation because of the experience that I’ve gotten and that’s helped me a lot.”
Sosa is now hitting .319 with a 1.000 OPS in his 72 at bats this season. Even more impressive, are his splits vs left-handed pitching, .382 AVG and a 1.299 OPS. He is mashing left handed pitching.
“He’s really playing well,” Thomson said. “I think that’s a function of getting more consistent at-bats, getting reps…and he’s really playing well defensively. He’s a good player.”
The Phillies are on pace to win over 110 games this season. That alone, with a fully healthy lineup is an incredible feat and yet they are doing it without their $300 million dollar shortstop.
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Sheffield Shuffler
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Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1
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HOUSTON — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.
Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on.
Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out.
“Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”
Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. A throwing error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa allowed another run in the first, and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.
A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings, Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.
With the Phillies trailing by four runs, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.
First base umpire Tripp Gibson at first signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.
Schwarber, who led the NL with 46 home runs this season and added three more in the playoffs, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.
Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel on Brandon Marsh’s grounder.
Following the split in Houston, the Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009.
Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.
After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez pitched with polish and poise. His cheeks glistening with sweat, the 28-year-old left-hander struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6 1/3 innings.
He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph and baffled them with his curve, which got six of his strikeouts — three of them looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.
When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.
“His sinker was fantastic. His curveball was pretty good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “His putaway pitches were good.”
Thomson didn’t take issue with Valdez rubbing his palm — social media was abuzz, wondering if there was some substance there.
“The umpires check these guys after almost every inning and if there’s something going on MLB will take care of it,” Thomson said. “We saw it the last time he started, too.”
Nick Castellanos led off the Phillies seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.
A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.
Altuve lined a sinker into left, and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.
Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19-foot wall in left.
“I was pulling for a fourth, actually,” Baker said. “Try to score as many runs as you can. Because you know Wheeler is one of the tougher guys in baseball.”
Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
Bregman, healthy after two injury-hampered seasons, hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate. Bregman has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.
Wheeler gave up five runs — four earned — six hits and three walks in five innings, a day after Aaron Nola struggled.
“I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while,” Thomson said. “Those guys have been so good for us for so long, and I fully expect them to come back and be ready to go and pitch well for us.”
BIG DIFFERENCE
Houston won 106 games during the season and Philadelphia 87, the second-highest win disparity in the Series behind the 93-win Chicago White Sox beat the 116-win Cubs in 1906.
UP NEXT
RHP Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 for the Phillies and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez will take the mound for Game 4, and likely LHP Cristian Javier for Houston.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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