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Tag: J.T. Realmuto

  • Phillies 2026 Offseason Check In – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Credit: Philadelphia Phillies-Facebook

    As the calendar turns to February, the thought of baseball begins to enter people’s minds.

    Pitchers and catchers will report on February 11th, which is just two weeks away.

    While the offseason has been severely underwhelming compared to what fans had expected, the Phillies will still have a formidable roster heading into the 2026 season.

    They took care of business by resigning both Kyle Schwarber to a 5-year, $150 million contract extension and JT Realmuto to a 3-year, $45 million contract. They added a veteran outfielder, Adolis Garcia, who’s spent his entire career with the Texas Rangers, by signing him to a one-year, $10 million contract.

    The Phillies are also hopeful that rookie outfielder Justin Crawford and rookie starting pitcher Andrew Painter will have an immediate impact on the team.

    Credit: Philadelphia Phillies-Facebook

    The problems lie with the fact that they missed out on the big fish in Bo Bichette, who decided that the New York Mets would be a better place for him to win.

    To quote the great movie Dodgeball, “That’s a bold move, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him.”

    The Mets pretty much outbid the Phillies by offering him a three-year, $126 million contract. Bichette is owed $42 million with opt-outs after the first and second year. The kicker is that he has an opt-out after the first and second year, so it’s very likely this could be a one-year deal.

    The Phillies also lost key starting pitcher Ranger Suarez to the Boston Red Sox, who signed him to a 5-year $130 million contract. Suarez is a great pitcher, especially in the postseason. Still, his injury history and a history of tailing off at the end of the regular season made the Phillies hesitant to offer him that much money, especially when top prospect Andrew Painter will hopefully be on the opening-day roster in 2026.

    Running It Back

    At this point, it feels like the same team that lost in the NLDS last year, and fans are concerned that this season will involve much of the same. The Mets and Dodgers both got significantly better as the Dodgers went out and signed top outfield FA Kyle Tucker, joining an already absurd lineup. The Atlanta Braves will look to have a bounce-back year as well, hoping guys like Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna Jr, Spencer Strider, and Matt Olson can all stay healthy throughout the season. The NL East will be much more competitive this year, and the Phillies are returning most of the same team.

    Rob Thomson did not take kindly to the term “running it back,” as he made it known in his press conference a few weeks ago that this team is different in terms of the bullpen, the addition of Adolis Garcia, Otto Kemp, and the opportunity that Justin Crawford will have this season as well. We got an outfielder to replace losing Kepler and eventually Nick Castellanos, Otto Kemp, who was solid but is most likely a platoon player, and an improved bullpen despite losing Matt Strahm. That’s some real groundbreaking stuff, according to manager Rob Thomson. I beg to differ.

    The consensus among the Phillies fans I’ve spoken to this offseason is that they’re very underwhelmed with how they handled it. Now that’s a take I agree with. Getting Schwarber back is enormous, and they are hopeful that Adolis Garcia can provide a spark for this team as he has in the past for the Rangers, especially in the postseason. I’m also very eager to see how top SS prospect Aidan Miller looks in spring training this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets called up before June if Alec Bohm is either traded or struggles early on.

    One of the last pieces to fall this offseason will be what happens with Nick Castellanos. The Phillies owe him $20 million next year, which is highway robbery on Castellanos’ end. It’s been expected that he would be traded or released all offseason. While neither has yet to happen, the Phillies will most likely be forced to release him, especially after the way he handled things with Rob Thomson last year.

    Spring Is Upon Us

    Pitchers and catchers report next week in Clearwater, Florida, for the start of 2026 spring training.

    It feels like just yesterday we were watching Kerkering throw the ball over JT’s head while the Eagles lost to the Giants that same night.

    I can’t wait to see what heartbreaking thing happens this year.

    Tags: 2026 Spring Training Aaron Nola Alec Bohm Boston Red Sox Bryce Harper Bryson Stott Dodgers J.T. Realmuto JT Realmuto Kyle Schwarber LA Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers Mets MLB New York Mets Nick Castellanos NL East Philadelphia Phillies Phillies Ranger Suarez Red Sox Rob Thomson Spring Training Texas Rangers Trea Turner Zach Wheeler

    Categorized:News Phillies

    Matt Saglembeni

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  • MLB free agency: Phillies targets to replace J.T. Realmuto

    Plan A for the Phillies is to bring back J.T. Realmuto, who is a free agent and will turn 35 before next season. 

    Relative to the rest of the league’s catchers, Realmuto remains among the best, despite his wear and tear (no one caught more innings in 2025). One might imagine it’s the years, not the dollars, that the Phils’ front office will be worried about — a drop-off is inevitable in his production and health. 

    But there is a history of catchers playing well into their late 30s, and it seems like Realmuto could be one of those guys.

    Another team could make a huge offer — he’s a free agent, after all — and the Phillies need to have a contingency plan. 

    The problem is, the options just aren’t there. There is no upgrade for Realmuto ,and there are few everyday options even available on the open market. Rafael Marchán is the in-house everyday catcher option, and frankly, he might be better than what’s out there.

    Here’s a look at their options at catcher, most of which will make it seem more important for Dave Dombrowski to strike a deal with the fan favorite.

    Not really an option

    Salvador Perez has a club option at $13.5 million, and if he becomes a free agent the Phillies should definitely be interested. He’s a nine-time All-Star and has five Silver Slugger awards and five Gold Gloves on his mantle. But he’s been a Royal for life, having played all 14 seasons there and he’s actually a few homers shy of having the all-time franchise record. It seems unlikely he’ll hit the open market.

    A good No. 2 or platoon option

    James McCann is a good offensive catcher, he hit .260 last year with the Diamondbacks. But he only played in 42 games, backing up Gabriel Moreno. He is 35, and a part-time player these days. 

    Danny Jansen hit .254 after being traded from Tampa to Milwaukee, but he didn’t even see the field for the NL Central champs in the postseason, backing up William Contreras. He’s just 30, but he’s also only played more than 100 games once in his MLB career.

    Gary Sánchez was elite for the Yankees in his mid-20s, but he hasn’t been a starting catcher since 2022 and hasn’t hit 20 homers since 2021. He is more of a backup who has a little pop and can play DH.

    Mitch Garver backed up Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 homers and is probably going to be AL MVP. Garver will be 35 next season and is a career .233 hitter.

    Elias Díaz is probably the most interesting of these options, as he was an All Star back in 2023 and last year hit .265 for two different teams. He had a down year as the everyday backstop for the Padres in 2025 hitting just .204.

    Trade targets

    The open market is not going to yield a replacement for Realmuto. But the trade market might. If Realmuto does walk, the Phillies will probably be aggressively pursuing a handful of catchers who are rumored to be available via trade.

    Ryan Jeffers had a great season in Minnesota, hitting .266 and playing in 116 games. The Twins and Phillies made two trades together in 2025, at the deadline for Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran, so these front offices know one another. Jeffers has one year of team control left in 2026. He isn’t the defensive master that Realmuto is, but he’s an average defender who can handle a pitching staff. He’s also 28, and could be a long-term investment after his arbitration is through.

    Jonah Heim is an one-time All-Star and former Gold Glover who has double-digit home run pop. He also has one year left of arbitration and is probably a cheaper option for the Phillies if Jeffers falls through. He’s a switch hitter who has been extremely healthy over his career with the Rangers. 

    Willson Contreras (not William, who remains under team control in Milwaukee for 2026) is sort of a stretch on this list — he was moved from catcher to first base full time last year after catching for nine years in Chicago and St. Louis. But the Cardinals are looking to get younger and rebuild and Contreras’ slash line of .257/.344/.447 with 20 homers and 80 RBI are very appealing. Would he go back to the battery? The 33-year-old signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal and is slated to earn $18 million next year and $18.5 million in 2027 before a club option in 2028. St. Louis wants to move that.  

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    Evan Macy

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  • J.T. Realmuto thinks the 2025 Phillies are ‘the deepest team we’ve had.’ This might be their best shot at a World Series.

    The Phillies are about to begin their fourth consecutive postseason run, still in pursuit of a World Series title. 

    They came close when they finally broke out in 2022, and have assembled some strong rosters for October in the couple of years since, but for one reason or another, it all just hasn’t fully added up yet. Something, or multiple things, always stopped them short. 

    But they’re back again, as a 96-win club, as the NL East champions for a second straight year, and as the No. 2 seed on the National League side of the postseason field. 

    If you ask J.T. Realmuto, this might be their best group. This might be their best shot.

    “In my opinion, this is probably the deepest team we’ve had,” the Phillies catcher said Friday. “I think the lineup’s as deep as we’ve had it. I think our bullpen is, in my opinion, the best top to bottom that we’ve had since I’ve been here. Obviously, it’s tough losing [Zack Wheeler]. You can’t replace a guy like that, but our starting pitching is still very deep. We’ve got guys that throw the ball really well and have had success at this stage. 

    “Obviously, we’ve had some good teams here, but I do feel like this is probably our deepest team we’ve had.”

    That’s saying something, and up against superstar Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the NLDS, it’s what the Phillies are going to need if they’re really going to see this October through all the way to the end. 

    As Realmuto mentioned, the Phillies lost their longtime ace Zack Wheeler for the rest of the year due to a blood clot, but in the face of sunddenly having a massive hole at the top of the rotation, left-hander Cristopher Sánchez rose to the occassion as a potentially Cy Young caliber No. 1, while fellow lefties Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez shored the picture up behind him. The Phils’ starting pitching 1-3 can arguably still go toe-to-toe with anyone’s. 

    Their bullpen, in a far, far cry from how it looked to begin the year, also has its clear and dependable order now. Tanner Banks, Matt Strahm, and David Robertson are the immediate arms to call on, and beyond them, Orion Kerkering, and potentially Walker Buehler, Taijuan Walker, or maybe even Aaron Nola. They all just need to get the Phillies to the ninth, then leave it to Jhoan Duran, as the first clear and effective closer the organization has had in a long time, to shut the door. 

    Jhoan-Duran-Save-Phillies-2025.jpgBill Streicher/Imagn Images

    The Phillies have felt like a different ball club since acquiring Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline.

    Then there’s the lineup. 

    Trea Turner went into the season with a renewed emphasis on getting on base in the leadoff spot, and that took him all the way to the NL batting title, while setting up the rest of the order to pile on. Kyle Schwarber, in a noted contract year, took off to MVP level power-hitting numbers; Bryson Stott lowered his hands and rediscovered his swing near the bottom of the lineup late in the year, and further up, Realmuto and Bohm are still a threat to do damage, while trade acquisition Harrison Bader came in and seems to have given the Phils just the kind of complement of outfield depth they were looking for. 

    Then, of course, Bryce Harper still sits at the heart of all of it, as the face of the franchise and the superstar who just seems made for the moment. 

    Against an L.A. lineup that could very well be their toughest competition out of any other club in the mix, the Phillies are going to need everyone, everything, and then some.

    Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park is only a few more hours away on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET.

    “I think that’s what this series is going to be all about,” Realmuto said. “In my opinion, the talent is pretty evenly matched across both teams. [The Dodgers are] extremely talented over in that clubhouse, and we obviously have confidence in the guys we have, so the series is going to come down to who’s able to get those big hits in the big moments and command the strike zone, both pitching and hitting. And then not trying to do too much when the runners are on base and being able to shorten up, put the ball in play, find the holes, it’s going to be a very evenly matched series.

    “Whoever comes up in those big spots and is able to put the ball in play, find the gap…It might not necessarily be the big home run that wins the series. I think it’s going to be doing the little things correctly.”

    It might be their best shot.

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  • Phillies Magic Number Down To One, Clinch Postseason Berth – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Credit: John Jones/Imagn Images

    The Phillies came into last week preparing for their biggest series of the season, a four-game series against the New York Mets, with their magic sitting at 13. Since then, the Phillies would go on to sweep the Mets, take two out of three from the Kansas City Royals, and now sit just one game away from clinching the NL East for consecutive seasons. The last time the Phillies did that was in 2010-2011.

    NL East Dominance

    As of today, the Phillies are 89-61, 12 games up on the New York Mets (77-73) for first place in the NL East, which is something I didn’t expect to write this season. I truly believed the Mets would be competitive and the NL East would be close for the majority of the season. However, the Mets have played dreadful baseball in September and just snapped an eight-game losing streak yesterday.

    As for the Phillies, they are playing their best baseball of the season right now. The pitching looks great, the offense looks better despite the Phillies missing both Trea Turner and Alex Bohm this week, and the bullpen has found its rhythm. They have found different ways to win games, not just relying on the offense or pitching. Some nights, the pitching staff looks incredible when the offense doesn’t, and vice versa. This team looks like a team built to win in the postseason, and the Phillies are just 12 games away from starting another attempt at a World Series run. The Phillies head out west for six games before returning home for a six-game home stand to close out the season.

    The Phillies currently sit as the two seed in the National League but are only two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers (91-59) as the one seed. If the Phillies could clinch home-field advantage throughout the entire playoffs, that would make me feel much better entering the postseason.

    Bader Leading Off

    Once the Phillies announced that Trea Turner was going on the IL, I was unsure who the Phillies would bat leadoff. In last week’s article, I discussed the potential for Stott or Bader to step into that role. In the first game, Rob Thomson went with Bryce Harper in the leadoff spot, which was questionable and rightfully so. In the next game, Rob put Bader at the leadoff spot, and it clicked. In his first game batting leadoff, Bader went 3/5 with a home run against his former team, the New York Mets. Thomson kept Bader in the leadoff spot for the remainder of the week, and boy, did it work. Bader had a great week and has had an even better start to his Phillies career. Bader has a .349 BA with a .940 OPS in 38 games played for the Phillies. Not only has he delivered offensively, but defensively, he’s been great as well. Bader has made some really impressive grabs in the outfield, and for the first time in a while, it feels like the Phillies have found their centerfielder.

    Dave Dombrowski did an incredible job this trade deadline, not only acquiring Harrison Bader but also Jhoan Duran, who has continued to pitch great for us as the closer. The Phillies added a legit CF and closer and now look like a team primed to make some noise in the postseason.

    Two Weeks Remain

    The Phillies kick off their final road trip of the season tonight, as they open up a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (84-65), a team that’s fighting to clinch the NL West. This series could also be a potential playoff matchup. The Dodgers have had a down year compared to where everyone expected them to be. Injuries have hit them hard, and the pitching isn’t what they had hoped. The Phillies always seem to play well at Dodger Stadium, so wins in 2/3 games seem likely. They have an off day on Thursday before they play a three-game weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (75-75).

    The Phillies need just one more win on the season to clinch the NL East, and I like their odds to do it tonight at 10:10 EST with Ranger Suarez on the mound.

    Weekly Predictions

    Not only do the Phillies win the NL East this week, but they also overtake the Milwaukee Brewers for the one seed in the National League.

    Tags: Aaron Nola Alec Bohm Brandon Marsh Bryce Harper Bryson Stott Harrison Bader J.T. Realmuto JT Realmuto Kyle Schwarber MLB New York Mets Nick Castellanos Philadelphia Philadelphia Phillies Phillies Ranger Suarez Trea Turner Zach Wheeler

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    Matt Saglembeni

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  • The New York Mets Come to Town in September Division Showdown for Phillies – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Credit: John Jones/Imagn Images

    The Phillies took 2/3 from the Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins last week, helping them maintain a seven-game lead in the NL East.

    The New York Mets (76-67) come to town for a four-game series that can make or break their season.

    The Phillies have an opportunity to make up for what happened in New York just a few weeks ago and bury the Mets.

    The Final Sprint

    The Phillies enter Monday night with their magic number sitting at 13 and the Mets coming to town for a four-game series. To say this series is the most important so far this season is an understatement, especially after the Phillies were swept in New York just two weeks ago. Luckily, the Phillies won’t have to deal with the horrors or parabolic microphones that Citi Field brings. They will have to deal with being without their top hitter, Trea Turner, as he is currently undergoing MRI scans on his right hamstring after he left the game early Sunday. They are unsure how serious the strain is, but it’s not ideal for the Phillies to be without their leadoff hitter for the next few games and possibly even weeks.

    If Trea does end up on the IL, I am curious who Rob Thomson will end up batting leadoff. With the year Kyle Schwarber has had, I feel like you have to keep him at the second spot in the order. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bader or even Stott bat leadoff if Trea misses an extended amount of time.

    Revenge Time

    PHOTO: John Jones/Imagn Images

    As the Phillies enter this series against the Mets, I am feeling confident this team will win at least 2/4, if not 3/4, over the Mets at home. After getting swept on the road a few weeks ago, I would like to think this team has the firepower to get there get back in some way. This is a series where the Phillies need Bryce Harper to tap into some of that postseason energy and deliver some big hits. If Turner is out for this entire series, which is likely, the Phillies will need their big bats in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to show up. Schwarber was in the midst of a 0-17 stretch the last time he played the Mets, so I’m hopeful that won’t be happening again this series.

    I’m also looking for Alec Bohm and Harrison Bader to stay consistent as well. Bader has been a great addition to this team as he has made some great plays in centerfield while also coming up with some clutch hits.

    The Phillies will also need a better pitching performance from Aaron Nolan in game one compared to the last time he pitched. Nola has been shaky since returning from the IL, and without Zach Wheeler for the rest of the season, the Phillies desperately need Nola to get back on track. If Nola can have a solid start tonight, that would give both him and the Phillies a much-needed confidence boost heading down the stretch.

    Upcoming Week

    After the Phillies complete their four-game series against the Mets, they jump right into a weekend series matchup against the Kansas City Royals (73-70), a team that is also fighting for a playoff spot. This team is targeting a playoff spot in the American League.

    As of Monday, the Royals are two games back of the final wild card spot in the American League. The Phillies have a big week ahead with a chance to not only bury the Mets but take full control of the NL East with 19 games remaining.

    Weekly Prediction: Bryce Harper has one of those signature series where he crushes the ball and powers the Phillies to a series win against both the Mets and Royals.

    Tags: Aaron Nola Alec Bohm Bryce Harper Bryson Stott Harrison Bader J.T. Realmuto JT Realmuto Kansas City Royals Kyle Schwarber Mets MLB New York Mets Nick Castellanos NL NL East Philadelphia Philadelphia Phillies Phillies Ranger Suarez Rob Thomson Royals Trea Turner Zach Wheeler

    Categorized:News Phillies

    Matt Saglembeni

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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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  • Phillies return home with sweep of Mariners in offensive onslaught

    The Phillies needed to get back home after a 10-game rollercoaster of a road trip, and they needed to come back to the Citizens Bank Park crowd with a performance like this week’s. 

    The bats hit all over the field and into the seats; the starting pitchers, in the face of losing Zack Wheeler indefinitely as their ace at the top, held strong; and though the bullpen still proved shaky overall, so long as they can get to the ninth, their newest closer can and will shut it down. 

    The Phillies swept the visiting – and contending – Seattle Mariners in a three-game series and the first leg of a six-game homestand for the club in South Philadelphia, capping the set off with an 11-2 win on Wednesday backed by 12 strikeouts and six excellent innings from Jesús Luzardo.

    The Phillies are 74-53, and continue to maintain their lead over the Mets for first in the NL East, which now stands at a 6.0-game buffer with the Nationals on deck and then a potentially pivotal trip up to Queens coming up. 

    Their work against Seattle was a good start to lead them into it. They needed that. 

    They needed Ranger Suárez to bounce back. The left-hander was falling back into what looked to be becoming habitual second-half struggles, but with the makeup of the Phillies’ starting rotation suddenly shifting, he rounded back into dominance on Monday night.

    Suárez mowed through the Mariners’ order for 6.2 innings, collecting 10 strikeouts and holding them scoreless until, after 102 pitches, a solo homer from Mitch Garver and a hit by pitch to Dominic Canzone that immediately followed put a blemish on the effort and gave manager Rob Thomson the cue to hand the ball off to the bullpen. (What they didn’t need, though, was Jordan Romano, with a six-run lead, nearly sending it all off the rails in an instant. It’s only getting harder to trust him with any situation anymore.)

    They needed Cristopher Sánchez to continue endlessly rising to the occasion, too. 

    The de facto No. 1 in the Phillies’ rotation now, Sánchez took his turn on the mound on Tuesday night with his changeup as lethal as ever, leaving Seattle’s lineup flailing as he went on to match a career-best 12 strikeouts. When he was pulled in the seventh after allowing a walk, but not before he registered that last strikeout with a 4-1 lead, the left-hander handed the ball to Thomson and walked back to the dugout with the crowd of more than 44,000 not just standing for him, but roaring. (It just happened to be Orion Kerkering’s turn to run into trouble in relief right after, but the Phillies found a way to survive it.)

    Then they really needed that offensive onslaught. 

    By the second inning on Tuesday night, every batter in the lineup had a hit. Bryce Harper went on to crush two homers way into right field, J.T. Realmuto went solo to left for his trip around the bases, and Trea Turner, before either of those, launched a three-run shot over the fence for his first home run at home all season – and what was, then officially wasn’t his 1,500th career hit. 

    “To be honest with you, I don’t think that’s ever happened to me where I haven’t hit a homer at home for however many games,” Turner said from the clubhouse afterward. “Fifty games sounds like a lot, but we’re 120 games in or whatever it is, that’s pretty crazy that I’ve hit as many as I have on the road and zero at home. It was kind of becoming a joke or just giving up on it because it’s really weird.”

    But it was hard to even realize it had been that long before it, finally, happened. 

    Turner went 4-for-6 leading off on Monday night with two runs scored and five runs driven in. On Tuesday, Turner singled, stole a base, and then scored to spot the Phillies a 3-1 lead. Then on Wednesday, he sailed a pitch to the right-center wall from the jump and flew around the bases for a lead-off triple that went on to tie the game early, 1-1.

    In his last nine games entering Wednesday’s series finale, Turner was slashing .450/.476/.600 with a nine-game hit streak that he quickly stretched into 10. 

    The rest of the lineup has been following his lead.

    “I think for him, and I think he understood, that for us to win, he’s gotta score runs and he’s gotta be on base, utilize the speed,” Thomson said postgame on Tuesday night. “The home runs, they’re gonna come…He’s so important to our offense.”

    As are Harper, Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and of late, Bryson Stott.

    Harper singled to begin the eighth on Tuesday night, then Realmuto homered again for the go-ahead. 

    Schwarber tee’d up on his 44th homer of the season earlier in the first, and reached a new career-high 105 RBIs quickly into Wednesday with a sac fly that scored Turner from third, and all as the “M-V-P” chants grow louder. He still has more than a month to keep building his case, and did so with one more homer to pile on late into Wednesday.

    Then Stott, settling in at the ninth spot in the order, doubled and went 2-for-5 on Monday; drew a walk, stole a base, scored, and homered on Tuesday; and doubled to the right-field wall to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the second on Wednesday that they never looked back from.

    “I like him right where he’s at,” Thomson said pregame Wednesday of having Stott that far down the lineup. “He’s playing great.”

    And the Phillies need that from him. 

    They needed everything they got at the Bank this week, and more of it as the regular season pushes into its final month. 

    Finally, they needed Jhoan Duran, for the save on Tuesday night and just in general. 

    Because for as unstable as the Phillies’ bullpen can still be, one thing is absolute about it now: If the Phils get to the ninth with the lead, you’re seeing spiders on the screen and triple-digits on the radar gun. 

    Then it’s game over.

    Managing the outfield

    Nick Castellanos sat for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners. He sat on Saturday in Washington, too. 

    Before the trade deadline, he was an assumed everyday player, but since Harrison Bader came in from Minnesota, the Phillies have been trying to manage a four-man outfield rotation between Bader, Castellanos, Max Kepler, and a Brandon Marsh on a considerable hot streak of late. 

    In his office ahead of Wednesday’s game, Thomson indicated to reporters that the Phillies will likely continue to operate on that outfield rotation. Well, for now, at least. 

    “I mean, if three guys get really hot and one guy’s not…yeah,” Thomson said, not wholly committing to the idea. 

    But for now, Marsh started in left on Wednesday, Bader in center, and Kepler in right. 

    Marsh went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored at the plate, Bader 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Kepler 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the fourth that put the Phillies ahead, 3-1. 

    Bader and Kepler have both had their struggles with consistency. So has Castellanos, although he did go 2-for-5 in back-to-back games Sunday in Washington and then Monday at home against Seattle before going 0-for-4 on Tuesday night. 

    There’s a balance to be struck now between getting all four outfielders enough rest and at-bats, Thomson explained. The manager also noted that Castellanos’ knee injury, which he suffered up at Yankee Stadium in late July, was another point to be mindful of as he navigates who plays and when. 

    Granted, Thomson acknowledged, too, that Castellanos would disregard that as someone who prides themselves on playing every day.

    But…

    “He’s a good teammate, and he knows that those other guys are good players, too,” Thomson said of Castellanos.

    “I think they’re all everyday players to tell you the truth,” Thomson added. It’s just you gotta keep them all rested and sharp at the same time if you can.”

    Welcome back

    José Alvarado was reinstated from his 80-game PED suspension on Tuesday and was finally back on the mound on Wednesday.

    Called on for the eighth inning, and with a comfortable 8-2 lead to work with, the Citizens Bank Park crowd welcomed Alvarado back with cheers upon PA announcer Dan Baker’s call that he was entering the game. 

    Then the flamethrowing left-hander made quick work of the Mariners: A 1-2-3 inning, with a strikeout of star slugger Cal Raleigh to send them toward the ninth. 

    He didn’t miss a beat. 

    Nick Tricome

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  • The Panic Button is Becoming a Reality for the Phillies – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    The Panic Button is Becoming a Reality for the Phillies – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    The Philadelphia Phillies have the second-best record in baseball behind the Cleveland Guardians, but it could almost be time to press the panic button.

    The Phillies have been one of the top teams all season and held the best record in the MLB for quite some time. Rob Thomson’s team hasn’t been playing good baseball recently.

    The Phillies have lost five straight series going back to before the All-Star break. They’ve lost 11 of their last 15 games.

    Fans are Getting Ready to Press the Panic Button

    The Phillies are losing a lot of games. They’re not just losing games; they’re losing games in sloppy and underperforming ways.

    The big-money players have not been producing in this 15-game stretch. Bryce Harper is batting .153 with four home runs, Trea Turner is batting .203 with four home runs, J.T. Realmuto is batting .231 with no home runs or RBI, and Kyle Schwarber is batting .220 with three home runs. Nick Castellanos is the only one playing well right now, with a .276 batting average, three home runs, and 14 RBI. All-Star Alec Bohm, who was at the top of the league in RBI, only has three in this stretch of games. He now ranks No. 9 in the MLB and No. 3 in the National League in that category.

    Not only are the players not producing at the plate, but the pitching has been inconsistent as of late. The Phillies had five pitchers selected for the 2024 All-Star game because of how dominant the group was leading up to it. Prior to the All-Star break, their team ERA was 3.41, which ranked No. 2 in the MLB, only behind the Atlanta Braves, which had a 3.40 ERA. The team ERA has sat at 4.68 since the break, ranking No. 23 in the MLB in that span.

    The Phillies have 54 games left in the 2024 season. They sit 6.5 games ahead of the Braves in the NL East. The Phillies are in a good position and have a really good team. The players need to step up and get back to playing clean, winning baseball.

    If this losing trend continues, it’ll be hard not to press the panic button heading into the playoffs.

    PHOTO: —

    Mike Hennelly

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  • Phillies injury updates: When will Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and others return?

    Phillies injury updates: When will Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and others return?

    The Phillies didn’t fly to Chicago without their rehabbing sluggers, and that’s a good sign for a lineup that has been decimated by (minor) injuries over the last few weeks.

    Somehow, the Phillies improved to their most games above .500 so far this season with a win against the Cubs on Tuesday night, doing it without three of their best hitters in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. They did it with Michael Mercado filling in for not one, but two injured fifth starters in Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull.

    So what’s the latest on these five key injured players?

    Bryce Harper, 1B

    The Phillies’ first baseman and NL MVP candidate jogged Tuesday at Wrigley Field, and manager Rob Thomson told reporters that his hamstring was improving (via MLB.com). He said a return before the All-Star break was possible. The soonest Harper is permitted to suit up after his 10-day IL stint is July 9.

    Kyle Schwarber, DH

    With a “very very mild” strain to his groin, the Phillies home run savant is also expected to be back at plate very close to his July 9th eligible return date.

    J.T. Realmuto, C

    Perhaps the most promising news from Tuesday was that Realmuto took batting practice with his teammates on the north side of Chicago. It was the first time he was spotted hitting since he got surgery on his right knee back on June 12. He also participated in other drills. His expected return was about a month, which could land him back behind the plate just after the All-Star break, though he seems ahead of schedule based on what was seen at Wrigley.

    Taijuan Walker, SP

    Walker never looked like himself this season, and he’s currently dealing with a few injury issues ranging from a sore shoulder to a blister on his right index finger. Walker will be out until at least the All-Star break, and his return timeline seems a little more murky than his teammates. His recovery depends on when he is able to grip and throw without pain.

    Spencer Turnbull, SP

    Finally, Turnbull, who was called upon to replace Walker but left with a strain to his lat midway through his latest stint on the mound. The injury was given a six-to-eight week recover timeframe — a  length that would also likely require a rehab assignment. August seems likely as a target for Turnbull.

    Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy

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    Evan Macy

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  • Ezequiel Tovar lifts Rockies to thrilling 3-2, 11-inning win over Phillies

    Ezequiel Tovar lifts Rockies to thrilling 3-2, 11-inning win over Phillies

    Heroes have been hard to find for the Rockies, but Friday night, there were plenty of them in LoDo.

    Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar ripped an RBI single down the left-field line off Phillies left-hander Gregory Soto to score Brenton Doyle from third and lift Colorado to a thrilling 3-2 victory.

    Tovar hit Soto’s 0-1 slider for the second walk-off hit of his career.

    “Honestly, I was just thinking, ‘Get a good at-bat there because our bullpen did a hell of a job tonight,’ ” Tovar said, using bullpen catcher Aaron Munoz as his interpreter.

    “Situations like that are extremely fun,” Tovar continued. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous in pregame or in any of those at-bats. But any situation, in any at-bat, I just try to get a hit up the middle, basically.”

    Tovar, who went 4 for 6 and had the first four-hit game of his career, would not have had the chance to don Superman’s cape had it not been for backup catcher Jacob Stallings. Or a lockdown night by the bullpen.

    In the ninth, with the Rockies trailing 2-1 and down to their final out, Stallings ripped a 427-foot, pinch-hit homer off Phillies closer Jose Alvarado to tie the game, 2-2. Stallings ambushed Alvarado’s first pitch, a 97 mph sinker, to send the game into extra innings.

    “I know what a tough at-bat Alvarado is,” said Stallings, who hit the first pinch-hit homer of his nine-year career. “But that was a really cool moment and it ranks up there as one of my favorites. But contributing to the win was the most important thing.”

    Stallings is the third player in Rockies history to launch a game-tying, pinch-hit home run with two outs in the ninth inning. The others were Larry Walker, on July 17, 1999, at Cincinnati, and Sam Hillard, on Sept. 28, 2019, vs. Milwaukee.

    And Colorado’s much-maligned relief corps came through big time.

    Reliever Nick Mears found himself against the ropes in the 10th. A one-out walk by Whit Merrifield, followed by a bloop single to center by pinch-hitter Kody Clemens, loaded the bases. But Mears struck out the dangerous Kyle Schwarber looking at a curveball and got J.T. Realmuto to ground out to first.

    On a night when Colorado desperately needed a reliever to come through, Mears delivered two scoreless innings. And then Tyler Kinley delivered a scoreless 11th to notch the win.

    The Rockies have become extra-inning warriors. They beat Oakland in 12 innings Wednesday night and lost to the A’s in 11 innings on Thursday. Friday marked just the second time the Rockies have played three consecutive extra-inning games. It last happened June 20-22, 2002, when the Rockies beat the Yankees in the 10th, followed by a win over Tampa in the 10th, then another win over Tampa in the 11th.

    Before all of the late-game drama, Colorado left-hander Ty Blach pitched a terrific game.

    The Phillies came to LoDo on a roll, having won 29 of their previous 35 games but Colorado went toe-to-toe with them.

    The night’s fireworks came early when Phillies star first baseman Bryce Harper was ejected in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Brian Walsh. Harper struck out on three pitches against Blach. Harper spiked his batting helmet and then continued to argue. It was Harper’s first ejection of the season and the 21st of his career.

    “Bummed,” Harper told reporters in the Philadelphia clubhouse. “I wasn’t trying to get thrown out. I was just having a conversation. There are guys who are professionals in this league. They understand it. I guess 120 didn’t understand it.”

    The “120” Harper reference is Walsh’s umpire jersey number.

    Crew chief Vic Carapazza provided a pool report about Harper’s ejection after the game.

    “What led to the ejection was that Bryce Harper was clearly upset about the pitches and Brian gave him a long leash,” Carapazza said. “He kept him in the game, and Bryce just kept arguing about balls and strikes and, at the end of the day, equipment violation is basically a big warning and, if you continue to talk about pitches, then Brian had to handle it. So that’s it, really.”

    Besides striking out Harper, Blach set the stage for the Rockies’ victory. Following in the footsteps of Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner’s excellent starts in Oakland, Blach slowed down the Phillies for 6 2/3 innings.

    The Phillies hurt him with two swings in the fifth inning. Nick Castellanos led off with a 445-foot blast to center, teeing off on Blach’s 1-0 cutter. Two batters later, Edmundo Sosa launched Blach’s 2-1 sinker into the left-field bleacher for a 2-0 Philly lead.

    Blach allowed five hits, struck out two, and walked two. Of his 78 pitches, 58 were thrown for strikes. Most impressive, his only three-ball counts of the night came vs. the final two batters he faced.

    “The key was to pitch down,” Blach said. “I know they like to do damage, so I tried to get some groundballs.

    He threw 78 pitches, 58 for strikes, in his very efficient night.

    “When I’m right, that’s how things are going,” he said. “I’m just attacking the zone and changing speeds, going in and out. The changeup was good tonight and I was able to keep those guys off-balance.”

    Colorado sliced Philadelphia’s lead in half in the bottom of the fifth, combining a double by Hunter Goodman, a single up the middle for Alan Trejo, who was filling in at third base for Ryan McMahon, and an RBI single by Tovar. Tovar’s 23 RBIs rank are tied for second on the team with  Elias Diaz and trail only McMahon (30).

    Saturday’s pitching matchup

    Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.05 ERA) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (1-7, 5.89)

    7:10 p.m. Saturday, Coors Field

    TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

    Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

    While right-hander Cal Quantrill and lefty Austin Gomber have been pitching like All-Stars this month, Hudson continues to struggle. But he has made some progress, even though he picked up his seventh loss on Sunday at San Francisco. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. Lack of pitch efficiency has been a problem for the right-hander all season. And Hudson has struggled at Coors Field, going 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA, 15 walks and 11 strikeouts over four starts. In five career starts against the Phillies, he’s 1-2 with a 3.58 ERA, 16 walks and 15 strikeouts. As a member of the Cardinals last season, he made two starts against Philly, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

    Nola has pitched well against Colorado, going 4-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 10 starts, striking out 72 while walking only 11. He dominated the Rockies in Philadelphia last month, allowing one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He fanned nine and walked one. Nola is coming off a strong performance vs. the Nationals last Sunday when he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks across seven innings. He struck out five. In five career starts at Coors Field, he’s 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA.

    Pitching probables

    Sunday: Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez (9-0, 1.36) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (3-3, 3.59), 1:10 p.m.

    Monday: Guardians RHP Xzavion Curry (2-2, 1.93) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (1-2, 2.76), 2:10 p.m.

    Tuesday: Rockies TBD at Guardians TBD, 6:40 p.m.

    Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.

    Patrick Saunders

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  • Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    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.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    HOUSTON — A timely swing by J.T. Realmuto propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to an unlikely win in the World Series opener.

    A terrific stab by right fielder Nick Castellanos gave him that shot.

    Realmuto hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies, saved by Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night.

    Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

    They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a game-saving grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

    “All in all, it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

    Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats.

    Realmuto hoped for the best as he saw right fielder Kyle Tucker pursuing the ball.

    “Once I saw him running back to the wall, I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, please just don’t catch it, just don’t catch it.’”

    He didn’t, the ball sailing just beyond his reach.

    Realmuto circled the bases in a scene he dreamed about as a kid.

    “Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean Wiffle Ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation. I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up,” he said.

    And did he usually deliver?

    “Every time, yes,” Realmuto said, laughing.

    Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk waved his walk-off fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 Series against Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

    Big-hitting Bryce Harper added two singles for the Phillies in his World Series debut. The two-time NL MVP is batting .426 (20 for 47) with five homers this postseason.

    Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

    “Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” Verlander said. “I need to do better. No excuses.”

    Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

    Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

    Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

    The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

    Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

    The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 behind Aaron Nola to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team and earn its first playoff trip in 11 years.

    Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

    Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

    The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

    Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made his stellar play.

    With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

    Right before the pitch, Castellanos moved in a little closer.

    “That was just what my instincts told me to do. I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there than torching something over my head,” he said.

    In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

    “I’ve had a couple people say that it seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” he said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”

    In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

    The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing.

    Tucker had the orange-clad home crowd rocking early as he became the first player in franchise history with a multi-home run game in the World Series. One of the few players in the majors to hit without batting gloves and suddenly exuding attitude, he had four RBIs a year after finishing the Fall Classic without one.

    The normally mild-mannered Tucker punctuated his first homer with a nifty bat flip and mixed in an expletive as he screamed toward the dugout while beginning his trot.

    Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last trip to Minute Maid Park, more than three weeks ago when Philadelphia secured its first playoff spot since 2011. Things didn’t go nearly as smooth in his return Friday.

    Tucker sent an off-speed pitch from Nola soaring high and into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0 with no outs in the second. Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado added singles for another run.

    Peña, the ALCS MVP, doubled to open Houston’s third before Yordan Alvarez grounded out. He was initially ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged the call, and it was overturned.

    Bregman, who was Nola’s roommate at LSU, walked before Tucker went deep again, knocking a ball into the stands behind the bullpen in right-center to extend it to 5-0.

    Verlander, who had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA in the regular season, allowed six hits and five runs in five innings. He joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers in major league history to make a World Series start in three different decades but still could not claim that elusive World Series win. Friday was his 12th career start in a postseason series opener, tying him with Jon Lester for most in MLB history.

    Verlander, who started his third Series opener, retired the first 10 batters before Rhys Hoskins singled with one out in the fourth. Harper and Castellanos singled for a run and Alec Bohm hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3.

    Brandon Marsh opened the fifth with a double before Kyle Schwarber walked. Realmuto sent them both home with a double off the wall in left-center to tie it at 5-all.

    UP NEXT

    Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

    Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

    PHILADELPHIA — The billionaire owner of the Philadelphia Phillies pounded his fists on Bryce Harper’s chest and joked the Phillies slugger was almost underpaid at $330 million over the life of his contract.

    It was absurd to put a price tag on the moment for John Middleton as he pulled in Harper for a hug while the National League championship celebration swirled around them on the field. This was a moment the duo visualized when Middleton took a jet in February 2019 to Las Vegas to court Harper in meetings and dinners that would eventually yield a 13-year, $330-million deal, the biggest in baseball history for a free agent.

    So when Harper and Middleton finally embraced — once the Phillies beat San Diego 4-3 on Sunday in Game 5 of the NLCS and reached their first World Series since 2009 — yeah, the feelings were a bit more personal.

    “You bet it was! Of course it was,” Middleton said. “(It’s) $330 million later, mutual promises of being committed to winning and doing whatever it took to win.”

    Harper delivered in the postseason, a place seen only in fits and spurts for a franchise that has two World Series championships in 140 years. The tater forever etched as an all-timer in team history — the one that had Middleton and Phillies fans everywhere pleading for the ball to keep going — was his game-winning, two-run homer in the eighth that lifted Philly into the World Series and left even Harper momentarily bewildered.

    “Oh my gosh. I just did that,” Harper said in the dugout.

    Sure did.

    Next stop, Houston.

    The Phillies open the World Series on Friday against the Astros with more than a puncher’s chance against the defending American League champions strictly because of Harper. The numbers only tell part of the tale, even as the 30-year-old designated hitter is piling up stats among the best in postseason history, all while declaring Citizens Bank Park is his house. He leads in the clubhouse, and from his Phillie Phanatic cleats and headband, to his novelty T-shirts to his shoutouts for Philly sports legends, he has embraced the fans and the pressure of playing in the city like few outsiders ever have in any sport.

    “All the things we thought he was, have turned out to be true,” Middleton said. “There’s been no disappointments. Sometimes when you go through that process you think you understand somebody and what you really get is a little bit different. There is nothing different with Bryce. He is just committed to winning. He’ll do whatever it takes. I think if I told him he had to play third base, he’d play third base.”

    The right fielder who bowed to Phillies fans each time he ran out to start the game was forced into a DH role in April because of a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow. Because Harper could not throw with the injury, had the National League not adopted the DH rule this season, he might have missed a considerable chunk of time, if not the season. Remember, too: When Harper’s thumb was broken by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell in late June, there were concerns he might not be back until next year.

    The 2021 NL MVP slumped a bit late in the season as the Phillies made a run a the NL wild card. But in the playoffs against St. Louis, Atlanta and the Padres, Harper’s numbers soared higher than his jersey sales. Unlike Padres slugger Manny Machado, Harper did not ask for an out in his contract, though his postseason play would have provided ample negotiation fuel.

    Among his October achievements:

    — Harper is hitting .419 with six doubles, five homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a 1.351 OPS in the postseason.

    — His 11 extra-base hits are most for a Phillies player in a postseason and his 10-game hitting streak matches Lenny Dykstra (1993) for the team’s longest in the playoffs.

    — Harper’s go-ahead home run was the sixth in MLB postseason history in the eighth inning or later that gave his team the lead when trailing in a potential series-clinching game.

    “As good as it gets,” Phillies manger Rob Thomson said. “I mean, he’s proved to me over and over and over again that there’s no moment that’s too big for him, and he’s come through so many times. You just kind of expect it when he goes to the plate.”

    Harper almost does, too. With the Phillies down 3-2 and reliever Robert Suarez on the mound, Harper had a message in the dugout.

    “Let’s give them something to remember,” Harper said.

    He got the help he needed once J.T. Realmuto led off the inning with a single. Padres manager Bob Melvin elected to stay with the right-handed Suarez against the lefty Harper rather than bring in Josh Hader, the hard-throwing lefty closer.

    Harper started 1-1, then fouled off three straight pitches in the rain as a sellout crowd of 45,485 grew louder. He took ball two. Then, boom. Harper hammered a 98.9 mph sinker to left-center, and minutes later, the Phillies had won the game and the pennant. He had long ago won over Philly.

    “I just looked at my dugout and kind of it’s for all of them,” Harper said. “It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization. We haven’t been here for a long time. It’s for every single fan that’s here now and that isn’t here. It’s for all of them no matter where you came from, who you are, you’ve got Phils on your chest, you’re family. I really believe that. That’s from right here.”

    ———

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  • World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

    World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

    Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber breaking the Bank in Philly. Yordan Alvarez launching moonshots in H-Town.

    Dusty Baker trying for a most elusive win. Justin Verlander, too. A fired-up Harper and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Zack Wheeler, stepping onto baseball’s biggest platform for the first time.

    Yo! The Philadelphia Phillies, of all teams, are headed to the World Series. Against those back-for-more Houston Astros, y’all.

    A pretty tasty matchup starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park, a Fall Classic full of vibrant sights, scents and sounds.

    Think cheesesteaks, hoagies and water ice vs. BBQ brisket, Tex-Mex and Blue Bell ice cream.

    The Phanatic and Phils fans need a late rally at Citizens Bank Park? Dial up something from “Rocky.” Want to party in Houston? Sing and clap along with mascot Orbit to Moe Bandy’s bouncy “Deep in the Heart of Texas” during the seventh-inning stretch.

    Harper already has hit five home runs this postseason. In the signature swing of his career, his eighth-inning drive against San Diego on Sunday in Game 5 sent the Phillies into the World Series for the first time since 2009 and earned him the NL Championship Series MVP.

    The Astros are 7-0 this postseason after finishing off a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Alex Bregman’s go-ahead single keyed a 6-5 win Sunday night.

    After losing the World Series last year, Houston opened as a solid favorite to win the title this year, according to FanDuel.

    Odds are, crowd might witness a Schwar-bomb or the Chas Chomp along the way.

    But no possibility of seeing a sibling rivalry. Astros reliever Phil Maton broke a finger on his pitching hand when he punched his locker after a shaky performance in the regular-season finale, an outing that included giving up a hit to his younger brother, Phils utilityman Nick Maton.

    City of Brotherly Love, not so much. But a nice treat for fans in both cities: The Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL’s only unbeaten team, visit the Houston Texans on the travel day between Games 5 and 6, if those are needed.

    Weather won’t be an issue with the retractable roof in Houston. No telling what the elements will be with the open air in Philly.

    With the likes of Jose Altuve, ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm, this World Series is a best-of-seven matchup representing some of the game’s best present and future. Plus a good piece of the past — remember, these teams have played each other nearly 600 times.

    There was the thrilling 1980 NL Championship Series, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton and the Fightin’ Phils outlasted Nolan Ryan at the Astrodome on the way to their first World Series title.

    Years later, closers Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Mitch Williams and Ken Giles spent time with both clubs. So did future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Robin Roberts.

    And this neat piece of history — the Phillies were the first team to ever beat Houston, back in 1962 when the expansion Colt .45s lost at Connie Mack Stadium.

    Funny, the Phillies are also the most recent team to beat the Astros. Way back on Oct. 3, Philadelphia opened the final series of the regular season with a 3-0 win at Houston, with Schwarber homering twice as Aaron Nola outpitched Lance McCullers Jr.

    The Astros then closed out an AL-best 106-56 record by winning the next two behind Verlander and Framber Valdez — Philadelphia still leads 297-283 in their head-to-head matchups, mostly all before Houston moved from the National League to the American League in 2013.

    Houston then swept Seattle in the AL Division Series and the Yankees in the ALCS featuring its winning formula of imposing starting pitching, a dominant bullpen and a lineup full of home run hitters such as Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.

    This marks the Astros’ fourth trip to the World Series in six years and their only title in 2017 was tainted by an illegal sign-stealing scandal. Last season, they lost to Freddie Freeman and the underdog Atlanta Braves in six games.

    At 73 and in his 25th season as a manager, Baker is looking for a crown to cap his ample resume.

    “I mean, victories drive me. And I’ll get it,” he said during the ALCS. “You can’t rush it before it gets here because it ain’t here yet. So you just got to put yourself in a position to do it.”

    Verlander, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner after bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, is hoping to improve his 0-6 mark in seven career World Series starts.

    The Phillies, meanwhile, looked like a big zero this year before getting to this point in October.

    Stuck at 21-29 going into June, they fired manager Joe Girardi a few days later and put the interim tag on bench coach Rob Thomson. Then suddenly, the Phillies took off.

    They overcame Harper’s broken thumb, sidelining the two-time NL MVP for two months, beat out Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in going 87-75, and quickly topped NL Central champion St. Louis in the wild-card round. Philadelphia eliminated defending World Series champ Atlanta in the NLDS and topped San Diego in the NLCS.

    Now, with Thomson having been rewarded with a two-year contract, the Phillies are the first third-place team in baseball history to reach the World Series.

    Philadelphia lost to the Yankees in its last trip this far. A year earlier in 2008, Lidge capped off his remarkable year of going 48 for 48 in save chances to close out the Phillies’ second title as a team led by Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard beat Tampa Bay in five games.

    Spurred by their rollicking home crowd, Harper and this bunch of Phils hope to add another banner.

    Thomson is trying to join Jack McKeon (Marlins, 2003) and Bob Lemon (Yankees, 1978) as the only managers hired in midseason to win the title. To the 59-year-old Thomson, it’s not such a surprise his team is in this position.

    “Coming out of spring training … we knew we had a good ballclub. We knew our bullpen was good, rotation was good, we had great offense,” he said earlier in the playoffs. “We just got off to a little bit of a slow start and kind of spiraled.”

    “And we had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does. But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again. And we did,” he said.

    —————

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