Now THAT is how you finish a sweep Phillies. Down 5-1 and looking increasingly like our heroes would succumb to one of “those” games where we never really had a chance (in large part due to Topper putting the defensively challenged Kyle Schwarber in left), Bryson Stott hit a 3 run dinger, Trea Turner was electric, and Brandon Marsh set the tone in extras. Jesus Luzardo had his second straight start without his best stuff, but battled into the 6th anyway. He has been a gift.
The Series as a whole was a pleasure. At least 7 runs in each game, the first two weren’t exactly tension filled, Cristopher Sanchez exacts revenge against Curtis Mead (his forever imaginary rival1), and we have now won NINE IN A ROW AGAINST TAMPA, one of the vilest cities of the World.2
Next up is the Cleveland Guardians. What an oddly named sports city. The Browns, the Cavaliers, and now the Guardians. Talk about a lazy job, guarding the city of Cleveland. That’s like me claiming I’m guarding my virginity in high school. It wasn’t exactly under assault. Anyway…
Phillies at Cleveland
The Guardians share the same 22-15 record as the Phillies but have done so scoring 24 less runs and giving up 10 more. Basically, they play worse than their record. However, they are 11-5 at home and have won 8 of 10 overall. It hasn’t been against the best competition, but still.
The lineup is lead by Steven Kwan, one of the best hitters in baseball. He is great from either side of the plate but especially devastating against righties. It’s my dream for him and his .300+ average to one day play left field for the Phillies. It is not my dream to have Carlos Santana back in a Phillies uniform. Yes, he is still playing. At 39 years old, he is 8 years past smashing TVs in the Philly clubhouse and still a solid bat against righties. Expect him to hit one off Nola. Bet on this. The team is lead by Jose Ramirez, who is one of the most likeable players in the sport. He tears up left handed pitching but is just around league average otherwise.
May 9 at 7:10p: Aaron Nola v. Gavin Williams (R):
Williams followed up a promising rookie season with a less than stellar next two so far. This season he is getting destroyed by righties; a 1.000+ OPS kind of destroyed. He walks a ton of hitters and has not gone longer than the 4th his last 2 outings. His ERA is 5+ and there is a real chance he runs into a buzzsaw tonight against a hot Phillies lineup. We just have to avoid the dreaded Aaron Nola inning. Please do not start Brandon Marsh tonight Phillies. I know he had a big hit last night, but don’t do it.
May 10 at 6:10p: Ranger Suarez v. Tanner Bibee (R):
Statistically, Bibee is having his worst season in the majors, but his 4+ ERA is really just 2 bad outings stinking up a solid season. He gave up 6+ in each of those and less than 2 in the rest. Both outings were against bad teams, but came on the road. His home ERA is 1.53 but his walks and strikeouts are about the same. Progressive Field just gives up less homers I guess (no guess, it does. I checked).
May 11 at 7:00p: Zack Wheeler v. Luis Ortiz (R):
The story for Ortiz is walks. He doesn’t give up a ton of hits, but he has walked at least 3 in 4 of 7 starts. 2 of his last 3 starts have been stinkers. Teams aren’t crushing him from either side of the plate, but he just keeps letting runners on. His 5+ ERA is a great matchup for the Phillies with Zack Wheeler on the other side. Zack hasn’t been his traditionally dominant self, but he still goes roughly 7 and gives up about 2 runs every 5 days. The math is on our side in the series finale.
On Deck: Home against St. Louis
May 12 at 6:45p: Cristopher Sanchez v. Matt Liberatore (L)
May 13 at 6:45p: Jesus Luzardo v. Sonny Gray (R)
May 14 at 1:05p: Aaron Nola v. Eric Fedde (L)
Picture: Carlos Santana
The year was 2018 and the Phillies had dreams of contending. The one place they had no need of help was first base with young stud Rhys Hoskins bursting onto the scene the previous year. So what did the Phillies do before the advent of the full time DH? They gave 3/$60m to first baseman Carlos Santana. Hoskins took to left field almost as well as Santana took to his teammates, smashing a television when they were playing video games after losing a game. In the offseason, he was dealt to Seattle along with JP Crawford for Jean Segura. What the hell was the team thinking signing him?
We would have also accepted Ben Lively who is still in the league with the Guardians and not half bad. Who would have thought it?
Philly Front Office 
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