With the Houston Astros and then the Atlanta Braves in town, this has been a strange week at home for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Fresh off a series win in Kansas City, the Phillies took two of three from the Astros, their old World Series foe. The series win was somewhat dampened by Taijuan Walker’s disaster of a start in the finale. Combined with coming close to being no-hit in the 10-0 loss, the vibes at Citizens Bank Park were soured once again.
But Walker being relegated to the bullpen — finally — for the rest of the season isn’t the only news from this past week.
Phillies News: José Alvarado returns, Alec Bohm update, Trea Turner’s movie
One of the more shocking news items to come across social media was the sudden departure of reliever José Alvarado. He left the team on Monday for personal reasons and was placed on the restricted list. The Phillies had no idea when he would return, although they figured it would be before the postseason.
What initially began as what sounded like an extended absence turned out to be just a matter of days. The big lefty surprisingly returned to the team on Friday, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, and is expected to be activated on Sunday, according to reports.
So that’s good news for the Phillies and hopefully good news for Alvarado with whatever it was that he had to deal with in his personal life.
Alec Bohm dealing with a sore left hand, which is the best news possible
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm gave everyone a scare on Thursday night. During the Phillies' 5-4 comeback win in the series opener against the Braves, Bohm took a swing in the first inning and immediately winced on his follow-through.
Everyone’s initial fear was that he had broken his hamate bone, which would have ended his season. Luckily, after leaving the game after the second inning with what the Phillies called “left hand soreness,” X-rays on the hand came back negative.
Bohm was out of the lineup on Friday with inflammation and received treatment during the game, per MLB.com. There was even talk that he might possibly be available for pinch-hitting duties later in the game, but that never came to fruition.
We’ll have to wait and see if he's in the lineup on Saturday night or if he’ll get another day or two. The 28-year-old is hitting .270 with a .688 OPS in August but still has a .290 average and an .804 OPS on the season.
Trea Turner's standing ovation being featured on the big screen
When Phillies fans gave the struggling Trea Turner a standing ovation last August, it spurred a magical turnaround for the $300 million shortstop. That heartwarming moment has now been turned into a documentary spearheaded by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, according to Variety.
The documentary short, aptly titled "The Turnaround," is set to premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Sept. 1. It follows the story of Phillies fan Jon McCann, also known as The Philly Captain, who is credited with inspiring the idea of a standing ovation to support Turner with positive reinforcement.
The idea worked wonders for Turner, who did indeed turn his season around and went on to slash .337/.389/.668 with a 180 wRC+ the rest of the way.