Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Game 132 - Another "Worst Loss" of the Season; Phils Add Bautista

2018 Topps Heritage #139
Nationals 5, Phillies 4
Game 132 - Wednesday Night, August 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 70-62, 2nd place, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola's Cy Young-worthy performance was wasted due to poor defense, bullpen issues and a horrendous baserunning blunder.

What It Means:  The Phillies have not been 4 1/2 games out of first place since June 19th when the bullpen duo of Tommy Hunter and Seranthony Dominguez coughed up five runs late to the Cardinals in one of the many heartbreaking losses of the season.  This team is hard to watch.

What Happened:  It seemed as if Nola would win in his battle against Max Scherzer, for the second time in a week.  Nola departed after 7 innings with a 3-2 lead, and the final run scored against him was unearned as a result of Carlos Santana's throwing error.

In the 9th, Tommy Hunter was brought back out to try to record his 4th out but he ended up walking Bryce Harper.  Pat Neshek entered the game and allowed a go-ahead 2-run home run to Anthony Rendon.  Another run scored on a Jorge Alfaro throwing error.  The Nationals led 5-3.

In the bottom of the 9th, Nick Williams doubled and Wilson Ramos doubled him home.  With a depleted bench (Roman Quinn had replaced Rhys Hoskins for defensive purposes in the top of the inning), Vince Velasquez ran for Ramos and was called out when he inexplicably tried to tag up on an Alfaro fly out to center.  Velasquez left too early, the Nationals tagged second and the game ended.

Featured Card/Transaction:  On Tuesday afternoon, the Phillies finalized their deal to acquire Jose Bautista and a player to be named later will eventual head to the Mets.  After a pinch-hit strikeout in this game, Bautista is hitting .196 with the Braves, Mets and now Phillies this season.  Mark Leiter, Jr. was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster and Andrew Knapp was optioned to the IronPigs.

Bautista has a ton of baseball card appearances, especially during his peak years with the Blue Jays between 2010 and 2015.  His 2018 baseball card appearance have been limited, and he appears in both the Topps flagship and Topps Heritage sets with the Blue Jays.  He has a few Topps Now cards featuring him with the Mets, but no baseball card appearances with the Braves.

Arrived During the 2018 Season
Trevor Plouffe (4/23/18) - Signed as a minor league free agent, formerly with the Texas Rangers organization.
Asdrubal Cabrera (7/27/18) - Acquired from the New York Mets for Franklyn Kilome.
Wilson Ramos (7/31/18) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later or cash.
Aaron Loup (7/31/18) - Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Jacob Waguespack.
Justin Bour (8/10/18) - Acquired with cash from the Miami Marlins for McKenzie Mills.
Luis Avilan (8/22/18) - Acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Felix Paulino.
Jose Bautista (8/28/18) - Acquired from the New York Mets for a player to be named later or cash.

Departed During the 2018 Season
Drew Hutchison (6/5/18) - Designated for assignment and elected free agency.
Hoby Milner (7/15/18) - Sold to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Zac Curtis (7/31/18) - Designated for assingnment and claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers, 8/7/18.
Jake Thompson (8/14/18) - Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash considerations.

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