Thursday, September 21, 2017

2017 Topps Phillies #PHI-17 Aaron Altherr

Phillies 4Dodgers 3
Game 150 - Monday Night, September 18th in Philadelphia
Record - 59-91, 5th place, 31 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Altherr hit the first career grand slam allowed by Clayton Kershaw and Nick Pivetta settled in after a rough first inning as the Phillies stunned the first place Dodgers in this 4-3 win.

What It Means:  The Phillies are doing whatever they can to prevent the Dodgers from clinching the division while in Philadelphia.  This loss was Kershaw's first at Citizens Bank Park since May 12, 2009.

What Happened:  Altherr's slam came in the sixth inning with the Phillies trailing 2-0.  Pivetta had allowed back-to-back home runs to start the game - an inside-the-park home run to Chris Taylor and a solo shot to Justin Turner.  He calmed down to pitch five scoreless innings after that.

Chase Utley returned to Philadelphia for the second time since his trade to the Dodgers and received a standing ovation before his at-bat in the second.

Featured Card:  I've lamented the excess Roman Quinn and Jorge Alfaro cards found within 2017 Topps products before, and I now I realize those extra cards were at the expense of cards for Altherr. Altherr's sole mainstream baseball card so far this year can be found in the Topps flagship set.  This is his card from the Phillies retail team set which mirrors his flagship card with the exception of the non-glossy Topps logo.

No comments: