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Tag: Rob Thomson

  • Phillies quick hits: Homestand begins with series win over Cardinals

    Phillies quick hits: Homestand begins with series win over Cardinals

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    Over the course of an 162-game regular season, even the greatest baseball teams experience adversity at some point. For the 2024 Phillies, riding high through 50 games or so, that adversity finally struck when the team struggled in a six-game west coast road trip, winning only two out of their six games against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.

    The team returned home for a six-game homestand before it departs for a two-game set against the New York Mets in London, and got right back to their winning ways. Here is what jumped out from their three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals:

    Back of bullpen flexes muscles in series opener

    The Phillies have had one or two weak links in their bullpen at most points of this season — which is the case for just about all clubs every season — but what is much more important than who a manager’s least-trusted bullpen weapons are is who their most reliable options are. Phillies manager Rob Thomson has the remarkable luxury of utilizing three different relief pitchers who would be the no-doubt-about-it closer for the majority of major-league teams.

    That was never more evident than during Friday night’s 4-2 victory over St. Louis. Aaron Nola threw 6.1 innings of two-run ball, only allowing three hits. Nola was at 96 pitches and could have tried to complete the seventh inning, but because Thomson has three horses, he decided to not take any chances. Thomson needed eight outs from his three highest-leverage relievers, and they did the job without allowing a single runner to reach base.

    First was Matt Strahm, who in 2024 — his first full season as a relief pitcher after being forced into an unplanned starting role at the beginning of 2023 — has been the best left-handed reliever in baseball by just about any metric. Despite not having a triple-digit fastball in his back pocket, Strahm has become a master at striking out hitters, and he has done so with impeccable command. He constantly pounds the strike zone and 

    Up next was José Alvarado, who went from being demoted to Triple-A to the most dominant left-handed reliever in just a few months during 2022 and has since established himself as a mainstay at the back of Thomson’s bullpen. The hard-throwing southpaw had a disastrous Opening Day in 2024, allowing five earned runs in 0.2 innings pitched. But since then he has been lights out.

    While Alvarado’s strikeout numbers have normalized a bit in 2024 — for the prior year and a half or so, they were outrageous; this season they are simply very good — the flamethrower has still done an outstanding job pitching in almost exclusively high-leverage situations. Alvarado has kept right-handed hitters in check, while left-handed hitters are essentially automatic outs against him right now.

    Alvarado went onto make a true web gem Sunday night:

    The ninth inning belonged to Jeff Hoffman. In 2022, the Phillies’ front office and pitching coaches found a diamond in the rough in Andrew Bellatti, who gave them solid innings as a middle reliever and occasional setup man. Last season, as Bellatti’s production waned, an even more impressive scouting success became apparent in the signing of Hoffman. Initially signed to a minor league deal, Hoffman became Thomson’s most relied-upon right-handed reliever by the time the 2023 Postseason was underway — and the former first-round pick, just a handful of months away from hitting free agency as a coveted arm, has gotten even better in 2024.

    In addition to the best starting pitching rotation in the majors, the Phillies have the best bullpen trio in baseball with Strahm, Alvarado and Hoffman. It is a recipe for success all summer long, and it is certainly a recipe for success in October.

    Edmundo Sosa’s revenge

    When Edmundo Sosa caught the final out of the 2022 National League Wild Card Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Phillies poured out of their dugout and rejoiced a playoff series victory. But it had to have been a bit sweeter for Sosa, who had been traded by the Cardinals to the Phillies just a few months earlier. Sosa fell out of favor in St. Louis, was shipped to Philadelphia and instantly became a key bench contributor for Thomson’s club.

    Since Trea Turner went on the Injured List, Sosa has not just been a viable replacement: he has been so good that the team may consider moving him to the outfield — where he has very rarely played during his professional career — once Turner returns from injury just to keep his bat in the lineup.

    On the first pitch of his first at-bat of the series, Sosa demolished a slider that Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas left over the middle of the plate. It landed onto Ashburn Alley, a true rarity these days. Sosa absolutely obliterated this ball, the longest home run of his major-league career:

    When the Phillies acquired Sosa back in 2022, it seemed like a minor move. But he kept finding ways to help the team through its playoff run. Now, someone once believed to have the ceiling of a platoon player is making a strong case that he needs to play on an everyday basis.

    Finally, some right-handers

    Because of the makeup of the Phillies’ lineup and roster, there is a certain way opposing teams are going to attack them: showing them as many left-handed pitchers as humanly possible. With Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper entrenched in the top three of the order and Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh in the middle of it — with right-handed alternatives like Whit Merrifield and Cristian Pache largely struggling at the plate this season — it makes sense to challenge them in that way.

    Entering Saturday, the Phillies had 784 plate appearances against left-handed pitching in 2024 — the second-highest total belonged to the Miami Marlins at just 722. Some of it is bad luck, but some of it can certainly be attributed to teams identifying their best chance of limiting Thomson’s high-powered lineup.

    In the Giants series, southpaws started all three games for San Francisco. But, in a change of pace that the Phillies surely welcomed, they faced three right-handed starters in the series against the Cardinals: the struggling Mikolas, a star in Sonny Gray and grizzled veteran Lance Lynn. They are expected to face right-handers in at least the first two games of their upcoming series against the Milwaukee Brewers, if not all three.

    The biggest winner here is Marsh, who may have speculated struggles at times due to a lack of consistent at-bats. Marsh’s production against left-handers has gone from bad in 2022 and 2023 to worse in 2024, and Thomson has frequently opted to play Merrifield or Pache in left field when his team is facing a lefty. 

    While the cries for Marsh to see more consistent playing time have some merit, it is awfully difficult to blame Thomson for not wanting to start the fan favorite outfielder against southpaws. In 46 plate appearances against left-handed starting pitchers in 2024, Marsh is slashing .129/.196/.175, striking out 20 times and drawing just four walks. 

    In any case, truly playing on an everyday basis — even for just one homestand — could be quite helpful for Marsh. However, the 26 year-old outfielder left Sunday’s game after suffering a right hamstring strain rounding second base.

    Taijuan Walker hit hard again

    Since returning from the Injured List and making his 2024 regular season debut on April 28, Walker has been the lone weak link of the Phillies’ starting rotation. The veteran right-hander’s ERA was 5.51 entering his second start on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” this season, and it only grew in the series finale. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol’s lineup was aggressive, and were rewarded with plenty of hard-hit balls.

    In the first inning, Walker allowed three balls to be put in play, and all three of them were hit at an exit velocity of at least 103 miles per hour — including a two-run home run by Cardinals slugger Nolan Gorman that came off the bat at 108.6 MPH. In the third inning, Walker put the Cardinals’ leadoff man on with a walk before allowing another two-run shot — this one hit by Alec Burleson at 105 MPH. In addition to allowing plenty of hard contract Sunday night, Walker also struggled with command. 

    Walker’s final line Sunday: 5.0 innings, five hits, four runs (all earned), five strikeouts and three walks on 93 pitches (56 strikes). As has often been the case during his Phillies tenure, he received good run support, ultimately receiving a no decision. With seven starts and 37.2 innings now in the books, Walker’s ERA is now 5.73. 

    As Burleson rounded the bases following his no-doubt homer, a noteworthy portion of the crowd began chanting “we want Turnbull,” in reference to Spencer Turnbull, who dazzled as the team’s fifth starter for the first month of the season in Walker’s absence before being moved to the bullpen once the veteran was activated.

    After Ranger Suárez was forced to exit Saturday’s game after just two innings, Thomson turned to Turnbull for bulk innings. The 31 year-old right-hander, who initially struggled in his transition to a relief role — Turnbull had never appeared in a major-league game out of the bullpen before 2024 — threw three lights-out innings, allowing no runs, hits or walks while striking out six. 

    It remains to be seen if the Phillies will be willing to pull the plug on Walker in the starting rotation — it would be difficult to do in the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract. All evidence that exists to date suggests Turnbull is this team’s fifth-best starting pitcher.

    The big questions remains: how long is Walker’s leash going to be?

    Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam

    Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Is Kody Clemens Here to Stay for the Phillies? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Is Kody Clemens Here to Stay for the Phillies? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    If you haven’t heard, Roger Clemens’ son has been playing a key role for the Phillies since Trea Turner was placed on the Injured List.
    The son of the 11-time All-Star and 7-time Cy Young award winner is on a pretty nice heater right now and is making a name for himself independently of his father.

    In 10 games this season with the Phillies, Kody Clemens is batting over .300, slugging .826, and has an OPS of 1.159, all while providing some flexibility all over the infield. Clemens’ highlight of the season and perhaps his career came last night when he hit a game-tying home run against the Nationals with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Phillies would go on to win the game in the 10th on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper, something that would’ve never happened if Clemens didn’t bat in the ninth.

    The 28-year-old utility man came over in the Gregory Soto deal going into 2023 and has floated between Triple-A and the majors with the Tigers and now with the Phillies. Clemens came very close to making the Opening Day roster this year after a hot spring training but ultimately was sent down late in the Spring.

    Clemens seems like he could be a nice spark off the bench if a situation presents itself late in games.

    After Saturday night’s heroics, he is almost certainly gaining popularity among the fan base, but Turner is not going to be out forever.

    Clemens has a spot on the team right now because Edmundo Sosa has gotten the bulk of the time at shortstop after Turner went on the IL.

    The lefty is basically filling the utility infield spot that was Sosa’s.

    It’s going to be interesting to see what the Phillies decide to do when Turner returns, but what Clemens is doing should absolutely not be overlooked.

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    Evan Carroll

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  • Is Jose Alvarado the Closer? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Is Jose Alvarado the Closer? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    It’s been quite an April for the Phillies who vowed to get off to a hot start. The team is keeping that promise, they are 9 games above .500, a milestone that they did not reach until the month of July last season. 

    One thing that has been noteworthy is that Jose Alvarado seems to be getting the opportunity to close games on a pretty consistent basis. Outside of the first game of the season against the Braves, Alvarado has been outstanding this year. The Phillies have been very clear dating back to the Gabe Kapler era that a solidified closer is not necessarily something that they believe in and Rob Thomson specifically has made mention on more than one occasion that the 9th inning will largely be left up to matchups, but it doesn’t seem that way right now. 

    The Phillies flame-throwing lefty notched his fifth save of the season this afternoon in San Diego. Alvarado has previously been used as the team’s “fireman”, coming into games in big spots and stomping out the fire, something he did very well at. The emergence of Gregory Soto and Matt Strahm pitching in high-leverage spots have obviously given the Phillies confidence that they could save Alvarado, who is perhaps their best arm in the pen, for the ninth.

    It’s very unlikely that the Phillies will ever have a set closer perse, even someone with as much experience as Craig Kimbrel fell victim to circumstances where he would not get the final three outs last season. However, Alvarado has gotten the bulk of the opportunities (5) and has made the most of it thus far. Only Jeff Hoffman has more than one (3) in the rest of the Phillies pen. 

    It’s assumed that Orion Kierkering could work his way into some save opportunities this season and could serve as the closer of the future but with the job that Alvarado has done this year, that could now be up for discussion.

    Photo via Photo by Todd Kirkland of Getty Images

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    Evan Carroll

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  • The Tables Have Turnbulled – Should Spencer Turnbull Remain a Part of the Rotation into the Summer? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    The Tables Have Turnbulled – Should Spencer Turnbull Remain a Part of the Rotation into the Summer? – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    We’re just 16 games into Major League Baseball’s 2024 regular season, and the Philadelphia Phillies, currently 8-8, are in a state of flux.
    Like most other teams in baseball, the Phillies are still figuring things out–Johan Rojas maintains a tenuous hold over center field, the bullpen runs hot and cold, the offense has been spotty, and the starting rotation has been surprisingly bolstered by the back end.

    Aside from Bryce Harper’s revelatory performance at first base, the defense has been atrocious, Kyle Schwarber has been uncharacteristically contact-happy (12 out of his 15 hits have been singles), and the officiating has been subpar, to say the least. At home, fans are ranting and raving at the television with each game, still seemingly unaware that 147 of them remain to be played. It’s April. We’re all still figuring this out. 

    Fortunately for the Phillies, the schedule makers have given them some cushioning to ease their early-season growing pains. On Monday night, they open a three-game set against Colorado, currently 4-12, followed by another three against the lowly White Sox, currently 2-13. Both series will be played at home. Their schedule becomes marginally more difficult as they make their way West, first with a four-game series in Cincinnati before landing in California to face the Padres and ending the month in L.A. against the Angels. 

    As it turns out, one of the more pleasant surprises of this young season is also one of the more immediate challenges that the team faces regarding roster construction. 31-year-old right hander Spencer Turnbull has filled in admirably for an injured Taijuan Walker, his performance impressive enough that some are calling for him to replace Walker in the rotation upon Walker’s return to the big league roster in the next few weeks. In just three starts, Turnbull has injected a shot of energy into the Phillies’ rotation–posting a 1-0 record and 1.80 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 15 innings. This past week, Turnbull contributed to a dominant stretch by the bottom three pitchers of the starting rotation, in which Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and himself compiled 23 strikeouts in 22 cumulative innings across four starts with a combined 1.63 ERA. 

    Three of the groups’ four allowed runs, however, came in Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh. Although the Phillies saved face with a strong 4-3 comeback win, Turnbull had his first down start of the year, allowing three earned runs on four hits and four walks in just four innings. Throughout the start, Turnbull struggled to find the zone, and without command of his six-pitch arsenal, he was largely ineffective. 

    So what does this mean? Should the Phillies give up hope on Turnbull?

    Or is the wily right-hander still a long-term option at the back end of the rotation? 

    The answer is somewhere in the middle. Thus far, Turnbull has been a great little surprise and everything that a team could want out of a number five starter: someone who can give them a strong, solid 5-6 innings every fifth day. But Turnbull is not Taijuan Walker. There are a few important distinctions to be made. 

    One, Taijuan Walker is in the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract. With a higher paycheck comes increased expectations. Walker is meant to be a number four pitcher and not the fifth starter in a five-man rotation, a solid innings eater with the upside of something greater. Something akin to what the Phillies wanted Zach Eflin to be if they thought he could stay healthy for a full season. 

    There is also the issue of arm health. Although Walker has been sidelined with a shoulder issue and has another three to four starts left in his rehab, he did throw 172.2 innings last year. Turnbull, who has struggled mightily with arm injuries in the past five years, threw just 31 innings in 2023. As a general rule of thumb, pitchers aren’t recommended to increase their inning total from more than 30-40 per year, thus capping Turnbull’s potential innings at around 100. 

    The possibility of keeping both Turnbull and Walker in a six-man rotation upon Walker’s return is enticing but not likely this early in the season. Although ostensibly the idea makes perfect sense–limiting the innings on all of the pitchers early on should make things easier–the team found out last year that it wasn’t necessarily conducive to success: Zack Wheeler pitched remarkably better on four or five days rest compared to six. 

    Turnbull’s mere presence as a positive starting option, however, is perhaps the best kind of problem that the Phillies could have. The season is a long one, and one of the starting pitchers, invariably, will go down with an injury at some point in 2024. Having Turnbull as a replacement option or even as the sixth man in an extended rotation in, say, July or August could be invaluable. Even as the long man out of the ‘pen, Turnbull could prove his worth. 

    Walker will get the nod when he returns from rehab, and he should. After not making an appearance in last year’s postseason, one would imagine that he has something to prove. The Phillies are paying him to be a long-term, viable starter, and they have to see if he can do just that. However, if Walker struggles for an extended period of time–his velocity never picks up, he’s not consistently pitching past the fifth inning, etc.–then the leash should not be long.

    Because $74 million or not, only one thing matters to the Phillies at the end of the day: who gives them the best chance to win.
    That should be the deciding factor in who takes the mound every fifth day. 

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    Dylan Campbell

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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

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    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

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

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

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

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    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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  • Phillies lose 5th straight, Cubs sweep season series 6-0

    Phillies lose 5th straight, Cubs sweep season series 6-0

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    CHICAGO — The Phillies lost their fifth straight game and dropped into a tie for the National League’s final wild card berth as the Chicago Cubs swept the season series from Philadelphia with a 2-0 victory on Thursday.

    Philadelphia was tied with Milwaukee at 83-72, pending the Brewers’ game against Miami later Thursday in the opener of a four-game series.

    Seeking their first playoff berth since 2011, the Phillies have lost the first three games of a season-ending 10-game trip and 10 of 13 overall since peaking at a season-best 80-62. Philadelphia has scored three runs or fewer in nine of those 13 games.

    “We’ve got to swing the bats a little bit better than we did, especially with runners in scoring position,” onterim manager Rob Thomson said, “But yeah, we’ve got to turn around here pretty quick. We’re getting good pitching. We’ve just got to string some hits together and we’ll be fine.”

    The Phillies were 22-29 on June 3 when Thomson replaced Joe Girardi as manager.

    Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker against Milwaukee, winning the season series 4-2. The Phillies go to major league-worst Washington for four games, then close with three at AL-best Houston. The Brewers finish with three games at home against Arizona.

    Bryce Harper had three of six hits for the Phillies, who are 1 for their last 21 with runners in scoring position. J.T. Realmuto went 0 for 4 and struck out twice in his 1,000th game.

    Philadelphia had not been swept in a season series of five or more games since Milwaukee went 7-0 in 2015.

    “We’re still in it,” said Harper, the reigning NL MVP. “We have seven games left. We’ve got a road ahead us, but we’ve got to keep playing, got to keep going, not having a mindset about losing and thinking about that.

    Harper said the team assembled by President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski was postseason caliber.

    “We’ve got a great team here,” Harper said. ”We’ve got a lot of great players. Dombrowksi put this team together to win games and get into the playoffs. You know, we need to do that.”

    Rookie Javier Assad (2-2) allowed five hits in five innings as he rebounded from pair of rough outings when he allowed eight runs in six innings. Keegan Thompson gave up one hit over three innings for his second big league save and first this year.

    Patrick Wisdom doubled twice and drove in a run and Seiya Suzuki was 2 for 3 as the Cubs completed a three-game sweep in which they limited the Phillies to three runs. Chicago has won eight of nine overall and swept the Mets in New York two weeks ago.

    “It’s fun to play well. It’s fun to win,” said Ian Happ, who drove in Chicago’s second run. “But those are the little things that motivate you as you kind of come down the stretch and being able to compete against good teams that are in playoff position.”

    Ranger Suárez (10-6) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings. He had been 4-0 in 12 starts since a June 29 defeat to Atlanta.

    Three of Chicago’s first four batters reached. Wisdom’s first double drove in a run in what would have been a bigger rally had Willson Contreras not been out at home on Happ’s chopper to Suárez,

    Suzuki tripled with two outs in the fifth when center fielder Brandon Marsh lost his deep fly in the sun and the ball dropped in front of him, inches from his glove. Suzuki scored on Happ’s single.

    Happ made a nifty sliding catch of Marsh’s fly at the left side wall for the first out of the ninth.

    SUZUKI RETURNS

    Suzuki played his first game after returning from paternity leave in Japan.

    LOSING COUNT

    After singling in these second, Jean Segura was tagged out by Assad to end the inning after he wandered off first after losing track of the count to batter Nick Maton. The count was 3-1, but Wrigley’s antique center-field scoreboard showed ball four. Segura pointed the scoreboard, to no avail.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Phillies: OF Nick Castellanos was held out the starting lineup for a rest day, but pinch hit in the ninth and got an infield single. He returned Tuesday after missing three weeks with right oblique strain.

    UP NEXT:

    Phillies: LHP Bailey Falter (5-4, 4.21) and RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-10, 4.12) will start in a day-night doubleheader Friday. Both were sent to the team’s hotel in Washington in advance.

    Cubs: Adrian Sampson (3-5, 3.23) faces Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft (5-4, 4-18) on Friday as Chicago opens its final home series.

    ———

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

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