Apparently the All-Star break came a day early for the Phillies.
They were undefeated in 15 consecutive home series and the visiting Athletics entered the weekend with 25 losses in their last 29 road games, but anything can happen on a big league field and the A’s beat them on Sunday, Homered eight times to win 18 games. -Claim 3 more series.
The game and first half for the Phillies ended with catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound.
Manager Rob Thomson said, “It’s not the way you want to end, but hey, we had a great first half.” “We still had a 4-2 homestand. You will have such games. Still, the first part is really good.”
The Phils had soundly defeated the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park, their first series loss since the first three days of April against the Reds. They’re 62-34 and still entering the All-Star break in great shape, having no less than an 8½-game division lead over the Braves and 5½ over the Dodgers for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. -The game is on edge. ,
Although they are a much better team than Oakland, the Phillies knew Sunday would be a challenge. They were without their designated starter and three key relievers.
Zack Wheeler was originally scheduled to start, but left Tuesday’s win due to back spasms and was ruled out through the All-Star break. Both he and Ranger Suarez are set to start in the Phillies’ second-half series at Minnesota.
Without Wheeler, the Phillies used Orion Kerkering as the opener and Michael Mercado as the bulk pitcher behind him. Kerkering went 1-2-3 in the first inning and Mercado had no losses in the second and third innings, but the A’s crushed four of his balls in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, three of which yielded two runs. Left the park for. Homer.
Potential Phillies trade target Brent Rucker hit two homers, both 450 and 452 feet, over the ivy wall in center. He made a big impression this weekend, going 7 for 12 with three homers, a double and seven RBI.
Jose Alvarado and Jeff Hoffman were used three times in four days and Gregory Soto pitched on Friday and Saturday, so all three were unavailable on Sunday. The Phillies hoped to get Mercado past the sixth inning by using Jose Ruiz, Matt Strahm, and Seranthony Dominguez to end the game, but by the time Mercado finished the afternoon the A’s had a five-run lead and Dominguez had two outs. The bar itself was taken to the deep end.
The A’s hit three homers off Mercado, two against Dominguez, two against Jose Ruiz and one homer off Stubbs.
“I think there’s a bigger picture there,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Obviously today and not getting off on the right foot will probably carry over for a little while, but the overall picture is that we have put ourselves in a really good position.”
Mercado pitched well in his first major league start at Wrigley Field on July 2, holding the Cubs to one run on two hits in five innings. The last two have been tough. He allowed five runs and put eight men on base without getting out of the second inning last Sunday in Atlanta, then caught too many barrels against Oakland. Even in the top of the third Sunday when the A’s sent only three men to the plate, two of them threw balls that left fielder Brandon Marsh scrambling to catch.
Tyler Phillips has moved ahead of Mercado on the starting pitching depth chart with four solid innings of relief in Atlanta and six innings in the win on Saturday. The Phillies’ first series after the postseason break is set to begin at Pittsburgh on Saturday or Sunday.
It’s unclear what they will do with Mercado. The Phillies could send him back to Triple A to continue making starts and call up another pitcher like lefty Colby Allard, who has a 3.09 ERA with 33 strikeouts and seven walks over his last 32 innings.
The starting pitching situation is worse now than it has been all season, with Wheeler and Suarez dealing with minor back injuries, Taijuan Walker sidelined with a blister and Spencer Turnbull out until at least August with a lat strain. went. However, they are all making progress.
As is often the case in the first two weeks of July, Trea Turner opened the scoring with a home run. Oakland right-hander Joey Estes threw him a slider on the sixth pitch that didn’t go low enough or far enough, and Turner took the same short, simple, low-effort swing he has taken repeatedly this month.
Turner has hit 11 home runs on the year with eight HR and 20 RBI in his last 13 games. The Phillies had NL Player of the Month in Bryce Harper in May and again in June, and even with July halfway through, Turner certainly looks to be in the lead.
Turner is one of six Phillies who won’t get a full break as he will fly to Texas to participate in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Suárez and Wheeler were also selected, but will not travel as they are recovering from their injuries.
The end of the first half was rough, but it’s hard to play better than that overall as the Phillies went into the break at a 105-57 lead in 96 games. They were one win away from equaling the National League record before the break, and their eight All-Stars equaled a major league record. They have been the best and deepest team in baseball, just not this weekend.
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