When we demanded sports back I also didn’t think I’d be getting back the anger, depression and anxiety that came with it. I supose it’s like my father says, if theres a way to screw it up the Phillies will somehow find a way ! Before we dive in I’d love to thank Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice! He allowed me use of his stick figure art for this article so everyone say thank you Jimmy !
Let’s look at the good things that occured ! The offense continues to cook despite the 5 guys batting between 100-200. We scored 9 runs through ten innings on 9 hits! Bryce Harper, Did Gregorus, Jay Bruce and Jean Segura all homered. Not to mention McCutchen continued his turn around. So far through 3 games he’s 2-8 with 4 RBI’s. While it may not be stellar it’s a start. We also got continued improvement from Rhys Hoskins who went 2-6. However in the past 3 games he’s gone 5-11 with 1 walk and a strike out while batting .454. We also got a nice bounce back game from Jay Bruce ! Prior to this game he went 0-8 through 2 games. He went 3-5 in last night’s loss and was on base 4 times, including a error to reach base, a triple, a single and a home-run. He’s batting .273 on the season. We also got a little bit of offense from The Moose going 1-1 and is currently batting .500 on the season.
It’s one thing to lose a game because the other team is better. It’s another thing entirely to lose because of stupid mistakes. Roman Quinn had 2 of those mistakes. In a tied game that could have resulted in only a base hit Roman decided to dive for a ball he had no possible way of making the out. You have to be smarter in a situation such as that. You have to make the right call rather than trying to play hero ball. His poor judgement resulted in a 2 run inside the park home run. What’s worse? His hitting also may have cost the Phillies the game. With a man on second and third and the count 2 balls and no strikes Quinn made the choice to swing on a pitch that took the game to 2 outs. In what world did he think that was a good idea? You have a chance to possibly walk and load the bases. For a young player like Quinn who is trying to get consistent playing time you just have to be smarter. If i were Girardi i’d be a tad hesitant before i throw out Quinn again.
Jean @#$% Segura. This isn’t his first boneheaded play. Whether its not running out a ground ball or possibly getting Andrew McCutchen hurt it’s one thing or another with him. I had hoped that these type of screw ups were over. In the past 2 games he’s been 2-7 with 2 RBI’s, 3 walks and 2 strike outs. While he hadn’t been hitting like many hoped he had however been getting RBI’s and getting on base. His actions from the night before however are inexcusable.
A pop up to end the inning and head into the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game was taken away by his stupidity. Rhys Hoskins makes a call for the ball so clear and evident with no fans in the stands. Instead of letting Rhys get it he waited far too long, called it off and it resulted in 2 runs. This is inexcusable. You are a veteran and you need to be able to properly call this play. He was not needed for this play and there was no purpose for him to attempt to. It’s thins like this that will be keeping this team from the playoffs.
I thought Wheeler had a pretty solid game despite giving up 3 runs. The usual things just weren’t falling for him. A lot of easy ground outs were flopping out of the fielders gloves and into the outfield for base hits. All in all he had a okay game going 5.2 innings while allowing 8 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk and struck out 2 batters. More than enough to give any normal bullpen a chance to win this game. Adam Morgan came in soon after and actually pitched well striking out the lone batter he faced. Tommy Hunter sadly continued his wooful pitching attempts. He allowed 3 hits, 2 runs and struck out 1 batter. In the past 3 games Hunter has allowed 7 hits, 4 runs, and struck out 2 in 2.1 innings of work. Jose Alvarez continued his excellent pen work allowing only 1 hit in his 1 inning of work. We did however had a close call with a attempt to steal home but Alvarez bare handed the ball to Realmuto throwing him out. Should you run on J.T. Realmuto? The answer is no! The Orioles were 0-2 when attempting to run on J.T. Sadly Mr. reliable Hector Neris got into some trouble in the ninth. He walked 2, allowed 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 2. He is sadly charged with 2 runs due to the moronic fielding of Jean Segura. Deolios Guerra continues his saddening ways while allowing 1 hit and 1 run during his 1 inning of work. His ERA is at 10.80 and has allowed 7 runs so far. As usual, the bullpen is what’s keeping this team back. We can only hope the new additions help as The Sprint To The Finish rages on !
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