This Phillies season is Doing It’s very best to test my merits as a man and as a fan. Matt Klentak should be ashamed of himself for how he’s put this bullpen together. The only good thing that could come from this is another high draft pick. Kumar Rocker would be a dream come true. Enough with the future, let’s focus on the now!
Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto are doing their damnedest to keep the Phillies in this season. The pair went 4-8 with RBI’s and two home runs. Bryce is leading the league in OPS, while Realmuto is leading the league in Slugging. They combine to make up 40 percent of the Phillies RBI’s. The pair had 4 of the Phillies 8 hits, with the others coming from Segura, Bohm, Quinn, and Didi. In other words, sign J.T. Realmuto. One encouraging notion? We got to witness the first hit from one of the Phillies’ top prospects in Alec Bohm. Have to wonder what Bohm can contribute at the Major League level. Can’t be any worse than what Scott Kingery has given us, can it?
One thing I have learned from this series is that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. It was like being in a real-life version of the movie Summer Catch. The movie is about a bunch of players in a summer league attempting to get scouted and be discovered by a minor league system. The movie’s star is a character named Ryan Dunn, a pitcher played by Freddie Prince Jr. We get to see him show off his talent before he eventually self destructs. There is a literal scene in the movie where his brother asks what inning it will happen so he can be there to witness it. Nothing could be more accurate than that of the Phillies vs. the Orioles. For them, it was all going smoothly until that one moment of implosion. Arietta was a perfect example of that. In 4 innings of work, Arietta allowed three hits, struck out three batters, and threw around 50 pitches. Much like Ryan Dunn, he imploded. In one inning of work, he allowed four runs, four hits, one walk, struck out one batter, and threw 30 pitches. As much as Arietta struggled in this game, he’s far from the problem. That would be the bullpen.
Jose Alvarez was one of the few bright spots, giving up only two hits in his lone inning of work. The pairing of Vince Velasquez, Austin Davis, and Connor Brogdon allowed seven runs, six hits, three walks, and two strikeouts. The most embarrassing thing to come out of this game was Neil Walker. Yes, you heard that right, the back up first basemen was pitching. He allowed no hits, no runs, and walked only one in his 0.2 innings of work. Some might have an issue with Girardi doing this.I’m not one of them. You could’ve told me Captain Kangaroo choose to put Walker in, yet I’d still support it. The game was out of reach, no point in wasting the pen when we’re playing the Mets next.
Out of the trio of pitchers, the one I’m least worried about is Brogdon. He’s young, talented, and has time to improve. He gave up a three-run homer but then eventually settled down and struck out two batters. Never forget Ken Giles gave up a home-run on his first pitch as well, eventually becoming a pretty good reliever. One can only hope that Brogdon becomes a staple for the future of the Phillies. I suppose we’ll find out as The Sprint To The Finish wages on!
The Philly Blitz 