Phillies News: Taijuan Walker gets rocked, Bryce Harper set to make 2023 debut

Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers / Katelyn Mulcahy/GettyImages

Phillies news

The Philadelphia Phillies opened up their three-game set in Los Angeles in ugly fashion. The Dodgers performed an offensive onslaught by tallying 13 runs. Taijuan Walker did not settle any fan’s nerves with a shaky start like this coming off of his last start where he left it due to an injury precaution. Walker pitched 3.1innings while allowing eight runs on eight hits, walking three, and giving up three home runs. The Phillies dropped the series opener by the score of 13-4. The loss drops the Phillies back down to .500 with a record of 15-15. Tuesday night’s probable starters feature two exciting left-handers in Matt Strahm (2-2, 2.31 ERA) for Philly and Julio Urias (3-3, 4.41 ERA). 

More Phillies News

  • Last night’s drubbing that the Phillies’ received featured the classic position player coming in as a pitcher to save one of the pitcher’s arms in the bullpen. Corey Seidman playfully points out Kody Clemens’ long road to matching his father’s pitching prowess.
  • Speaking of Matt Strahm, he has been an incredibly positive surprise for the pitching staff in the first month of the year. Strahm’s statistical start was detailed further in this article.
  • Phillies superstar and the seemingly superhuman Bryce Harper is scheduled to be returning to the Phillies lineup on Tuesday night. Harper’s recovery time is impressive. A great Twitter thread I found chronicles Harper’s near-year-long struggle with his UCL injury.
  • Of course, Bryce Harper will be celebrated and is a large facelift to the entire team. The slight problem for the Phillies will be finding the player that loses their roster spot in favor of Harper re-joining the team.
  • Outfielder Cristian Pache is a lightning rod topic of discussion on Phillies’ Twitter, Reddit, podcasts, and sports radio shows. Pache is hitting for a .360 on the small number of 25 at-bats and his defense is second to none. There is an update on his recent injury. 

MLB News

  • Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. had himself an illustrious day yesterday against the New York Mets in Citi Field. Acuna absolutely crushed a baseball. You’ll never believe where it landed. Also, Acuna’s day ended badly as he was hit by a Tyler McGill fastball. Acuna will likely be back before we know it.
  • The New York Yankees are currently struggling after Monday’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The team is on a four-game losing streak and has lost seven of their last ten. The 3-2 loss dropped them to last place in the AL East and adds insult to injury for the struggling club. The 3-2 loss dropped them to last place in the AL East and adds insult to injury for the struggling club.
  • Last week I brought up the MLB and New Era policing the headwear of the Atlanta Braves. Well, fresh off their series win in Mexico over division-rival San Francisco Giants. The vibes are positive and the Padres brought a good luck charm from Mexico back to the States.