Phillies News
The Philadelphia Phillies recorded a comeback win on Friday night night. It was much needed after the club suffered a loss in a lackluster performance the previous evening. It was not an easy win, but the Phillies showed resilience and battled back to erase a 3-0 deficit.
The Phillies found themselves down three runs early after Aaron Nola surrendered a three-run home run to Colorado Rockies' third baseman Ryan McMahon. Fortunately for the Phillies these would be the only runs the pitching staff allowed. Nola went on to pitch 7 innings. He was followed in relief by Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado— both of whom pitched scoreless innings. Domínguez recorded the win and Alvarado recorded his third save of the season.
The offense was a bit slow to start. The club mustered a few hits early on but could not drive them in to score. The Phillies were finally able to plate two runs in the fourth inning as Nick Castellanos scored on a balk by Rockies' starter Noah Davis. Castellanos was distracting Davis on the third baseline when the pitcher recorded the balk. Jake Cave then singled to score Brandon Marsh for the second run of the inning.
Whatever it takes to get a run across the board, shoutout to Nick Castellanos. pic.twitter.com/nXUITXtD2A
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 22, 2023
Later on in the seventh inning, Kyle Schwarber stepped to the plate and hit a home run to right field tying the game. To pitch the eighth inning, the Rockies brought in former Phillies reliever Brad Hand. Hand promptly surrendered a double to J.T. Realmuto. Realmuto stole third base and was subsequently driven home by an Edmundo Sosa single to left field giving the Phillies the lead which they would not relinquish.
Other Phillies news
The Phillies announced that Saturday's start time against the Colorado Rockies will be moved up from 4:05 first pitch to 3:05 due to potential rain. The Phillies will use a sixth starter— Cristopher Sánchez— because of the double header earlier in the week.
According to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, Bryce Harper could return to the field in just two weeks time. Harper has been recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery at an unprecedented rate. Getting Harper back in the lineup would be a huge boost for an offense that has been inconsistent thus far. He would likely start as a designated hitter, then potentially progress to playing first base as his elbow continues to heal.
MLB News
Chicago Cubs' starting pticher, Drew Smyly, took a perfect game into the eighth inning on Friday. The perfect game bid was ended on a bizarre play when Smyly and his catcher collided attempting to field a dribbler down the third base line. Smyly went on to pitch 7 2/3 innings and struck out ten batters allowing just the one hit.
THIS is how Drew Smyly's perfect game bid ends??? pic.twitter.com/AHaiPZ0pA7
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 21, 2023
Los Angeles Angels multifaceted pitcher Shohei Ohtani continued to dazzle as he pitched a scoreless seven innings while striking out 11 batters on Friday. Ohtani has once again been dominant to this point in the season. Through five starts Ohtani has a 0.64 ERA and 38 strike outs in 28 innings pitched. On the offensive side of the dish, Ohtani has an .823 OPS and four home runs on the season. He is a generational talent and is in line for a big pay day this coming offseason.