Padres at Phillies: May 17th to May 19th

2000 Topps #255

2000 Topps Traded #T104

Tuesday and Wednesday 6:45, Thursday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies are hosting a few theme nights during this series with Youth Baseball and Softball Celebration I on Wednesday and Weather Education Day on Thursday.

Padres 22-13
2nd Place in the N.L. West, 1/2 game behind the Dodgers

Padres Probables
Mike Clevinger (0-0, 5.00)
Blake Snell (0-0, 0.00)
Yu Darvish (3-1, 4.62)

Padres Leaders
Average:  Manny Machado - .359
Runs:  Manny Machado - 27
Home Runs:  Manny Machado - 7
RBIs:  Eric Hosmer - 24
Stolen Bases:  Manny Machado - 6

Wins:  Joe Musgrove - 4
ERA:  Joe Musgrove - 2.20
Strikeouts:  Sean Manaea - 50
Saves:  Taylor Rogers - 13

Phillies 17-18
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 5 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zach Eflin (1-2, 4.50)
Zack Wheeler (1-3, 4.26)
Kyle Gibson (3-1, 4.10)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .315
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 29
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber - 9
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 27
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 6

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 4
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 3.64

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 55
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 7

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 162 - Fan Appreciation Day; Long Offseason Begins

Marlins 4, Phillies 3
Game 162 - Sunday Afternoon, September 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 81-81, 4th place, 16 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies missed out on their first winning season since 2011, dropping the 2019 season finale by a 4-3 score to the last place Marlins.

What It Means:  Was this manager Gabe Kapler's final Phillies game at the helm?

What Happened:  With Maikel Franco representing the tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Knapp struck out swinging on a ball out of the zone to end the game and the Phillies extremely disappointing season.  Bryce Harper and Adam Haseley had a pair of hits.  The offense went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, leaving 13 men on base.  A bullpen game from the start, the Marlins jumped on starting pitcher Blake Parker for three runs early.

Featured Card:  Brad Miller hit two more home runs (13) and went 4 for 5 overall with three RBIs.  Matt Breen Tweeted Miller is the first player in Phillies history with three multi-home run games in a nine-game span and Corey Seidman added Miller's 12 home runs and 16 extra-base hits were both the most by any Phillies player ever with 130 or fewer plate appearances in a  season.

Field Report:  My family arrived to the ballpark early, as we've now made it a tradition to attend the final game of the year and enjoy Fan Appreciation Day.  While Jenna, Ben and I decided to eat first (Jenna and Ben at Pass and Stow and me at Bull's BBQ), Doug took off as soon as the gates opened for a prime spot down the first base line to hopefully add a few last autographs to his collection.  Fellow collector Rick kept him company and both were featured in the Phillies' Instagram story of the day.

Doug added autographs from Miller, Jared Eickhoff, Zach Eflin and Scott Kingery and Rick passed along a Phil Gosselin Chachi Photo Card he had signed for us.  Doug was bummed Bryce Harper didn't make his way over to the waiting crowd to sign any autographs.  In between eating his pizza, Ben and I got pictures with Jared Hughes and Edgar Garcia, and we caught part of the broadcast team - Larry Andersen, Scott Franzke, Ben Davis and Gregg Murphy as they were leaving the Diamond Club entrance lobby.

Once at our seats, we noticed Aaron Nola talking to a small group of people and the ace of the staff posed for a quick picture with Ben.  We didn't come away with any prizes or other souvenirs, but we had a great day and we're already anxious for Opening Day 2020.

Memory Lane - Game 162
This is my 11th season of posting on this blog and I truly enjoy and appreciate the outlet this has provided for me to share my love of baseball, baseball cards and (occasionally) the Phillies.  Unlike some of the Phillies current coaching staff, I'll be back in 2020 and I sincerely thank you for following along, commenting and sharing your Phillies stories.

October 4, 2009 - Catcher Paul Hoover singled in the winning run in the 10th in a 7-6 win over the Marlins.
October 3, 2010 - The Phillies lost 8-7 to the Braves in their final tune-up before facing the Reds in the NLDS.
September 28, 2011 - The Phillies closed out the 2011 regular season with a 13-inning victory against the Braves, setting a franchise record with their 102nd regular season win.
October 3, 2012 - The Phillies closed out their 2012 season with a lethargic 5-1 loss to the N.L. East Champion Nationals.
September 29, 2013 - Zach Miner got the ball for the Phillies and lasted 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Braves.
September 28, 2014 - Cole Hamels pitched another fine game and suffered through another outing with minimal run support.
October 4, 2015 - Phillies avoid 100 losses and Ichiro makes his pitching debut in a 7-2 victory.
October 2, 2016 - Phillies bid an emotional farewell to franchise icon Ryan Howard.
October 1, 2017 - Phils clobber Mets in Pete Mackanin's final game as manager.
September 30, 2018 - Lame duck Phillies win season finale in Gabe Kapler's frustrating debut season.
September 29, 2019 - Phillies miss postseason for 8th year in a row, Brad Miller finishes the season red hot.

Want to revisit every game of the 2019 season?  My handy game summary index can be found here.

Highlights from the 2019 Phillies Phestival (Part 2) #StrikeOutALS

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #20

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #24

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #25

Yesterday, I include a summary of our time at this year's Phillies Phestival benefitting the ALS Association.  The first half of the cards I created to commemorate our day were included in that post, and this post gathers the remaining cards.

We're already anxiously awaiting next year's event!

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #17

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #18

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #22

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #23

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2

2019 Part 1 and Part 2

Trio of Kevins Joins Broadcast Booth

1994 Fleer #601

2001 Topps #172

2012 Choice International League All-Stars #19

During the Phillies Broadcaster Golden Age between 1977 and 1997, the core broadcasting team consisted of Harry Kalas, Richie Ashburn, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler.  There were some supporting players that came and went during that time, but the core four were the primary voices of the Phillies.  I miss listening to Harry and Whitey call a game, and no one will ever replace them (in my opinion).

In recent years, I've thoroughly enjoyed the radio broadcast tandem of Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen and those two have worked together since 2006.  My wife Jenna fully supports the nightly ritual of me muting the TV and turning up the radio so that we can listen to Franzke and L.A. call the game.  With Andersen announcing he'll no longer travel for road games in 2018, a replacement was needed to give Franzke a new partner.  The Phillies will fill Andersen's void with three former players - Kevin Frandsen, Kevin Jordan and Kevin Stocker - and I can't help but feel the broadcast booth is getting way too crowded at this point.

If you're keeping score at home, here's the Phillies broadcasters' line-up for the 2018 season that now includes 11 (!) voices.

Television
Play-by-play - Tom McCarthy
Color commentary - Ben Davis and John Kruk (although not always together)
Color commentary, home weekends - Mike Schmidt
Roving reporter/occasional fill-in for play-by-play - Gregg Murphy

Radio
Play-by-play - Scott Franzke
Play-by-play, middle innings - Jim Jackson
Color commentary, home games - Larry Andersen
Color commentary, road games - Kevin Frandsen, Kevin Jordan and Kevin Stocker

2017 Phillies Team Issue - Broadcasters

2016 Phillies Team Issue 2 - Phillies Broadcasters

Braves 12, Phillies 2
Game 158 - Wednesday Night, September 28th in Atlanta
Record - 70-88, 4th place, 22 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  In his final start of the season, Adam Morgan was hit hard and the Phillies dropped another laugher, 12-2.

What It Means:  Ryan Howard and A.J. Ellis called a players only meeting following this latest loss, discussing the need to finish strong over the final four games.

What Happened:  Morgan finished the 2016 season with a 2-11 record and a 6.04 ERA.  In five innings, he allowed nine runs on 10 hits.  Phil Klein entered the game in the sixth and by keeping the Braves off the scoreboard for that one inning, he became the first Phillies reliever in 11 appearances to not allow a run.

Featured Card:  This is as good a time as any for my annual show of appreciation towards the Phillies primary radio broadcasters - Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen.  I've mentioned before how my preferred method of enjoying a Phillies game is with the television muted and the radio broadcast synced up to the video.  Franzke and Andersen are a fantastic team and they've made the last few weeks of dreadful Phillies baseball almost bearable.

Franzke and L.A. are flanking former big leaguer Ben Davis on this year's broadcaster card found within the series two team-issued photo card set.

Want to revisit every game of the 2016 season?  My handy game summary index can be found here.

Fun at the @Phillies Photo Day! (Part Three)

2016 Chachi Photo Day #26

Marlins 3, Phillies 2 (11)
Game 94 - Monday Night, July 18th in Philadelphia
Record - 43-51, 4th place, 13 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola's six scoreless innings were wasted when Jeanmar Gomez couldn't convert the save and the Marlins eventually won the game in 11.

What It Means:  The extra inning loss was especially tough to take, given that the Phillies were able to score twice off Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez.  Fernandez struck out 14 and notched his 500th career strike out in this game.

What Happened:  The Phils got their runs on a Maikel Franco ground out in the first and a Tommy Joseph solo home run (12) in the seventh.  Nola lasted six innings, giving up only two hits and striking out five.  Gomez blew his third save of the season and Brett Oberholtzer surrendered a lead-off home run to Martin Prado in the 11th.

Featured Cards:  This is the last round of Phillies Photo Day custom cards in the very limited 2016 Chachi Photo Day insert set.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised at how accommodating and gracious most of the Phillies players, coaches and broadcasters were as they took the time to pose for photos with our sons.  The only player not walking around pre-game was Jared Eickhoff, who was that day's starting pitcher.  Every other player, coach and broadcaster (including veterans Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard) spent more than a half hour on the field posing for photos with the fans.

Kudos to the Phillies for a very enjoyable, fan-friendly experience!

Be sure to check out the 2016 Season Summary page with game results and links to game summary posts.

2016 Chachi Photo Day #23

2016 Chachi Photo Day #24

2016 Chachi Photo Day #27

2016 Chachi Photo Day #28

2016 Chachi Photo Day #29

2016 Chachi Photo Day #30

2016 Chachi Photo Day #31

2016 Chachi Photo Day #32

2016 Chachi Photo Day #33

2016 Chachi Photo Day #34

2016 Chachi Photo Day #36

2016 Chachi Photo Day #37

Ben & Doug's Amazing Autograph Adventure at the @Phillies Game

Pre-game preparations

Eickhoff signing for Doug & Ben

Braves 7, Phillies 1
Game 42 - Friday Night, May 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 24-18, 2nd place, 2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Bad defense and a quiet offense led to an easy 7-1 win for the Braves over the Phillies.

What It Means:  The Phils were so close to first place and now, thanks in part to the red hot Nationals, they're still in second place, two games back.

What Happened:  The Braves hit three two-run home runs (two from Freddie Freeman) and Maikel Franco committed two big errors.  The offense managed six hits and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Nola pitched seven innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits.


Featured Cards/Field Report:  We decided to splurge last night and get four tickets in Section 115, five rows from the field, right behind first base and just off the corner of the Phillies dugout.  It was Bark in the Park night, so while 360 dogs paraded around the warning track, our boys Doug and Ben positioned themselves at the edge of the Phillies dugout with their new (more on that later) photo card sets and two Sharpies.

After about 25 minutes of waiting, the Phillies young players did not disappoint these two eager autograph seekers.  Jared Eickhoff was the first to acknowledge them, followed by Adam Morgan, Odubel Herrera, David Lough and Tommy Joseph.  Joseph was omitted from the second team-issued photo card set, so the boys had to get creative.  Doug had Joseph sign his hat (after receiving a "What's up, bro" from Joseph) and Ben had him sign his Phillie Phanatic card.


The boys capped their autograph seeking with a final autograph from Phillies broadcaster Gregg Murphy.  The game itself was lousy, but Jenna and both boys found themselves on Phanavision during one of the between innings breaks, which absolutely thrilled our youngest son Ben.  We got to see the Phanatic dance on the dugout and we wisely left the game right before Brett Oberholtzer served up Freeman's second home run.

It was a great night, and one I won't soon forget.  The players who signed for our boys gained lifelong fans, and what's best is that both our boys have already asked when we can all go back again.

Joseph signing Doug's hat

Recently added to The Phillies Room - 2016 Season Summary page with game results and links to game summary posts.