Phillies news
The Philadelphia Phillies finished a frustrating series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a horrific loss. The Phillies jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the second inning for Aaron Nola to pitch and the team led for seven innings. The Dodgers chipped away from that point in the game and eventually found themselves with a tie game of 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and Max Muncy at the plate. He crushed a first-pitch Craig Kimbrel fastball for a walk-off grand slam and a sweep for the Dodgers over the Phillies.
The Phillies have a travel day and are off. The team is returning east for a three-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox. At the same time across the street at the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia 76ers face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals during Friday and Sunday’s games. The expected starter for Philadelphia is Zack Wheeler (3-1, 3.86 ERA) and for Boston, it is Chris Sale (2-2, 6.75 ERA).
Other Phillies News
- In other Phillies news, we have an injury update on a handful of players. Ranger Suarez headlines the update, with his next rehab start coming on Sunday for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Pitchers Taijuan Walker, Andrew Bellati, and Nick Nelson were featured in the piece and are working their way to full health.
- Bryce Harper’s second game back for the Phillies is the day he put the league on notice that he’s returned from this injury locked in and on a mission. Phillies’ beat writer Scott Lauber details Harper’s glorious day at the plate on Wednesday against the Dodgers.
- It’s early yet for the Phillies’ Opening Day starter but so far we all have witnessed the negative part of the ‘Aaron Nola experience,' the starts where he’s given a lead and then proceeds to give it up by allowing a string of hits. Yesterday’s start was closer to the negative spectrum of the experience. It wasn’t all bad as Nola achieved this milestone.
MLB News
- In MLB news, the Oakland Athletics have been in the headlines for stories this season for the wrong reasons. From the general lack of attempt to reflect the perception that the current regime is trying to build a respectable organization and all the way to the large shadow that the team has one foot out of Oakland with plans to move to Las Vegas. The attendance at the Oakland Coliseum is a mirror image of the state of the team, which is sad.
- MLB has made radical changes this year with the implication of many new rules. That has been an overall storyline to keep in mind and will continue to be throughout this season at least. Major League Baseball enacted these rules to improve the game’s speed and hopefully gain some more viewers. League expansion could happen relatively soon. It is always a good way to improve fandom and revenue, something that has been a topic for a number of years now.