Game 119 - Phils Walk It Off in 12th on Hill's Clutch Hit

2006 Chachi #59

2008 Chachi #20

2022 Chachi #33

2022 Chachi #50

Toronto Blue Jays	6
Philadelphia Phillies	7

12 Innings

Sunday Afternoon, August 9th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
63-56, 2nd Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies got a much-needed win when Derek Hill singled home J.T. Realmuto with the game's winning run in the 12th inning.

What It Means:  They avoided a Blue Jays sweep and next headed out on the road (and the corn fields) with stops in St. Louis, Dyersville and Minneapolis.

What Happened:  Jesus Luzardo was fantastic, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 12 over seven innings.  The Phillies led 5-2 upon Luzardo's exit, powered by a three-run home run from Kyle Schwarber in the third, a solo homer from Schwarber in the fifth and an RBI-single from Alec Bohm in the sixth.  Orion Kerkering blew it in the eighth, giving up three runs on four hits and allowing the Blue Jays to tie the game.  The Blue Jays took a brief lead in the top of the 12th, scoring off Caleb Kilian, but clutch RBI singles from Bryson Stott and Hill in the bottom of the 12th led to the win.

Featured Card:  In advance of the Field of Dreams game on Thursday, the Phillies did something really cool prior to this game by having four of their own "ghost players" throw out ceremonial first pitches.  Tim Granville (2006), Tim Lahey (2008), Jeff Singer (2022) and Will Toffey (2022) were all on the Phillies active roster briefly, but never appeared in a game with the club.  Of course, they all have their own Chachi cards, shown here.

Field Report:  Jenna and I attended the Twins-Brewers game at American Family Field in Milwaukee.  It was a gorgeous ballpark, and while a thunderstorm raged outside, we sat comfortably dry inside with the retractable roof closed.  The Brewers walked it off in the 10th on a Jake Bauers single.  Highlights from the game included Jacob Misiorowski's 200th strikeout of the season and a few leaping catches in right field by Luis Lara.

Transaction:  Alan Rangel (rhp) was recalled from Lehigh Valley and Chase Shugart (rhp) was optioned back down.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 76 - Phils Bat Sputter in Loss to Mets

2022 Chachi #64

Mets 4, Phillies 2
Game 76 - Saturday Afternoon, June 24th in Philadelphia
Record - 39-37, 3rd Place, 10 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies offense continues to sputter as the Mets took the lead in the 6th and hung on to win, 4-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies will attempt the series win on Sunday afternoon with Zack Wheeler on the mound.

What Happened:  From the Phillies' perspective, not a whole lot.  Nick Castellanos stayed hot, going 3 for 3 with a solo home run in the fourth.  Trea Turner produced a big two-out single in the fifth to score Brandon Marsh, who had doubled to lead off the inning.  Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm were a combined 0 for 14 with seven strikeouts.  Cristopher Sanchez took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in his five innings of work.  Yunior Marte allowed a runner inherited from Sanchez to score and then gave up a run of his own, increasing his ERA to 6.62.

Featured Card:  David Robertson recorded the final five outs of this game for the Mets, recording his 11th save.  Prior to the game, he took part in an on-field ceremony to receive his 2022 National League Champions ring.  It made me wonder why Vinny Nittoli wasn't invited to the ceremony too.  Nittoli, recalled by the Mets on Friday, appeared in two games for the Phillies last season, pitching two scoreless innings in early September.  His time with the club was very short, and the only Phillies baseball card he likely has to his name is the Chachi card shown here from last year's set.  Maybe since the majority of Phillies fans don't know who Nittoli is, they decided to exclude him from the on-field ceremony?

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

Looking Back on 2021-2022 Roster Moves

2022 Chachi Almost #2

2022 Chachi Almost #3

2022 Chachi Almost #5

2022 Chachi Almost #6

It's that time of year where I clear out my draft post folder and prepare for the upcoming season.  Looking at the list below, summarizing all the comings and goings of former and current Phillies between the end of the 2021 season and the end of the 2022 season, there's no way I would have predicted the moves made would have resulted in a World Series appearance.

The four cards above, created this time last year, became Chachi Almost cards as none of the players shown suited up for the club in 2022.

	2021-2022 Offseason Departures	Date	Transaction
	Archie Bradley (rhp)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Angels, 3/18/22.
	Freddy Galvis (inf)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 12/16/21.
	Ian Kennedy (rhp)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3/16/22.
	Brad Miller (inf)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers, 3/17/22.
	Matt Moore (lhp)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers, 3/14/22.
	Hector Neris (rhp)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, signed with the Houston Astros, 11/30/21.
	Andrew McCutchen (of)	11/3/21	Club option declined, elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, 3/16/22.
	JD Hammer (rhp)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Colorado Rockies, 3/13/22.
	Travis Jankowski (of)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the New York Mets, 3/17/22.
	Andrew Knapp (c)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Cincinnati Reds, 12/1/21.
	Ramon Rosso (rhp)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Detroit Tigers, 3/14/22.
	Mauricio Llovera (rhp)	11/7/21	Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants, 12/3/21.
	David Paulino (rhp)	11/7/21	Elected free agency.
	Roman Quinn (of)	11/30/21	Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins, 3/12/22.
	Adonis Medina (rhp)	3/6/22	Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
	Luke Williams (of)	3/27/22	Traded to the San Francisco Giants for Will Toffey (inf) and cash.
	Adam Haseley (of)	3/29/22	Traded to the Chicago White Sox for McKinley Moore (rhp).
	Coming Back
	Jorge Bonifacio (of)	10/8/21	Released, re-signed with Phillies (3/30/22).
	Cam Bedrosian (rhp)	11/3/21	Elected free agency, re-signed with Phillies (12/1/21).
	Odubel Herrera (of)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, re-signed with Phillies (3/16/22).
	Ronald Torreyes (inf)	11/5/21	Outrighted, elected free agency, re-signed with Phillies (3/20/22).
	2021-2022 Offseason Additions
	Nick Nelson (rhp)	11/19/21	Acquired from the New York Yankees for Joel Valdez (lhp) and T.J. Rumfield (1b)
	Donny Sands (c)	11/19/21	--
	Garrett Stubbs (c)	11/19/21	Acquired from the Houston Astros for Logan Cerny (of)
	Corey Knebel (rhp)	12/1/21	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
	Johan Camargo (inf)	12/1/21	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Atlanta Braves.
	Jeurys Familia (rhp)	3/15/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
	Brad Hand (lhp)	3/15/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
	Kyle Schwarber (of)	3/20/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Boston Red Sox.
	Nick Castellanos (of)	3/22/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cincinnati Reds.

	Arrived During the 2022 Season	Date	Transaction
	Roman Quinn - of	4/9/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins.
	Michael Plassmeyer - lhp	6/8/22	Acquired from the San Francisco Giants for Austin Wynns.
	Oscar Mercado - of	6/27/22	Claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians.
	Edmundo Sosa - ss	7/30/22	Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for JoJo Romero.
	Brandon Marsh - of	8/2/22	Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for Logan O'Hoppe.
	David Robertson - rhp	8/2/22	Acquired from the Chicago Cubs for Ben Brown.
	Noah Syndergaard - rhp	8/2/22	Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for Mickey Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez.
	Bradley Zimmer - of	8/18/22	Claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
	Chris Devenski - rhp	8/29/22	Signed as a free agent formerly with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
	Vinny Nittoli - rhp	8/31/22	Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Karl Ellison.
	Departed During the 2022 Season
	Ronald Torreyes - inf	4/26/22	Released.
	Roman Quinn - of	6/5/22	Granted free agency, signed with the Kansas City Royals, 6/9/22.
	James Norwood - rhp	6/18/22	Traded to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations.
	Kyle Dohy - lhp	6/23/22	Released.
	Oscar Mercado - of	7/4/22	Claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Guardians.
	JoJo Romero - lhp	7/30/22	Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Edmundo Sosa.
	Mickey Moniak - of	8/2/22	Traded to the Los Angeles Angels with Jadiel Sanchez for Noah Syndergaard.
	Didi Gregorius - ss	8/4/22	Released.
	Odubel Herrera - of	8/6/22	Released.
	Jeurys Familia - rhp	8/6/22	Released, signed with the Boston Red Sox, 8/9/22.
	Cam Bedrosian - rhp	8/8/22	Released.
	Tyler Cyr - rhp	8/24/22	Claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics.
	Bradley Zimmer - of	8/29/22	Claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Spring Training Game 30 - Final Look at 2022 Chachi Set

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #33

Orioles 4, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 30 - Sunday Afternoon, March 26th in Sarasota
Record - 13-16-1

One Sentence Summary:  The bench squad made the trip to Sarasota and managed only four hits in this 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

What It Means:  There are two spring training games remaining, both against the Blue Jays.  Wednesday is a travel day and the Phillies open the 2023 season on Thursday afternoon in Arlington against the Rangers.

What Happened:  Jake Cave had two more hits, including his fourth double of the spring.  Jim Haley hit an eighth inning home run for the Phillies.  On the mound, Matt Strahm, who will open the season as the team's fifth starter, pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks.

Featured Cards:  Preparing for the 2023 season and refreshing the various pages running along the top of this blog under the header image, I realized there were still several 2022 Chachi cards that hadn't made it out into the public yet.  The card shown above for Dickie Thon has absolutely nothing to do with the spring game played on Sunday afternoon.  It was created in case the Phillies needed to go back to San Diego for NLCS Game 6, as part of a Series Preview post.  But Bryce Harper negated the need for that trip, bedlam ensued, and the card was never needed.

The five cards shown below are the final five cards from my 36-card 2000 Topps Missing Links set, featuring the 36 players to have appeared with the Phillies in 2000, but not receive a Topps flagship card.  This was an ambitious project, and I'm happy with the way these cards turned out.

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #2

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #9

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #15

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #17

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #35

Camp Head Count:  44

Rolen Elected Into Hall of Fame

1996 Topps #434

1997 Topps #268

1998 Topps #25

1999 Topps #125

2000 Topps #328

2001 Topps #478

2002 Topps #610

2002 Topps #709

On Tuesday evening, and with 76.3% of the votes, Scott Rolen squeaked into the Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 23.  It was Rolen's fifth year on the ballot, and he saw a steady ascent since receiving just 10.2% of the votes during his initial year of 2018, when the ballot had been much more crowded.  He's a Hall of Famer on the strength of his combined offensive and defensive output, and his induction hopefully builds the case for Dick Allen, Dale Murphy and eventually Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.

Rolen was drafted by the Phillies in the 2nd round of the June 1993 amateur player draft, and he'd make his big league debut on August 1, 1996, getting the call after third baseman Todd Zeile was dealt to the Orioles at the trade deadline.  Rolen was the team's opening day third baseman in 1997, ultimately winning the Rookie of the Year in the National League, after batting .283 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs.  He'd win his first of eight Gold Gloves the following year in 1998.  Rolen was the Phillies' opening day and regular third baseman between 1997 and mid-2002, during some pretty lean years.  Not looking to sign a contract extension, and wanting to play for a winning team, he was dealt to the Cardinals on July 29, 2002 with Doug Nickle and cash for Placido Polanco, Bud Smith and Mike Timlin.

I was disappointed and upset with Rolen when the trade was announced, and I've since gotten over that.

In his seven seasons with the club, he appeared in 884 games, nearly 200 more than he appeared with the Cardinals.  Rolen batted .282 with 150 home runs and 559 RBIs with the Phillies, again surpassing his totals with the Cardinals.  He's not yet decided which hat his plaque will show when he's inducted, and while a Cardinals hat probably makes the most sense, I'm hoping he wears a Phillies hat.  Rolen also seems a natural candidate to be the team's Wall of Fame Inductee in 2023, but no official announcement has been made.

Happy Birthday Doug!

Our oldest son Doug turns 16 today, and he's had himself quite the year.  He's at the top of his high school class academically, he's excelling at baseball and he's recently started competing in the pole vault (!) for his winter track team.  Doug's year included a starring role in his friend's quinceañera court, a trip to Europe and witnessing his first (of many) Phillies World Series games.  He continues to be a leader on his baseball teams and most importantly, he's having fun playing the game.  Doug's South Jersey Rams travel team joined the Combat affiliation this past season, and he led his team in stolen bases while finishing in the top three of nearly every major offensive category.  He was one of the team's most effective pitchers, getting better and stronger as the season progressed.  Doug has a good heart, a healthy sense of humor and his future holds limitless possibilities.

We're so proud of this kid.

Memory Lane
2006 to 2008 - Pre-The Phillies Room years
2009 - Doug turns 3
2010 - Took the year off . . . bad father!
2011 - A Shane Victorino card for Doug
2012 - Doug with the Phanatic, turns 6
2013 - Doug on the Braves, turns 7
2014 - Doug on the Marlins, turns 8
2015 - Doug on the Diamondbacks, turns 9
2016 - Doug and Pete Mackanin
2017 - Warming up with the Braves
2018 - On the mound for the Phillies

2019 - With All-Star Baseball and White Sox

2020 - Pandemic era baseball action

2021 - So much baseball . . . Dodgers, All-Star, Rams

2022 - Combat!

Philly Baseball Card Show Report - 1965 Topps Set COMPLETED

On Saturday morning, Doug and I made the hour-plus drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks for our first baseball card show since March.  The Philly Show, known formally as the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, moved from the Valley Forge Casino Resort to the facility at Oaks presumably to accommodate more dealers and more people.  The place was packed, and by the time we departed around 2pm, it was difficult to navigate our way to the exit.

We arrived in a steady rain right after doors opened at 9am, secured our autograph tickets and started walking the floor prior to the arrival of most of the crowd.  My goal for the show was simple:  Find the last four cards needed to complete our 1965 Topps set.  That goal was achieved and then some, as summarized below.

• The first two cards needed to complete our set took a while to find, but I eventually added the Orlando Cepeda and Gordy Coleman cards within the first hour of walking around.  I still have no idea why the Coleman card proved to be so elusive.  Spying a great looking 1969 Topps Roberto Clemente card at the same table I found the Coleman card, I swung a deal to add that card as well.  I told the dealer the Clemente card marked by first big purchase for our new 1969 Topps set, which seemed to genuinely make his day.

• We made a brief pitstop to the autograph section to secure signatures from Phillies outfielder Matt Vierling.  We were told no photos by Vierling's handler.  Photos were taken anyway.

• With Cepeda and Coleman out of the way, I turned my attention to the Tony Perez rookie card and the BIG final card needed for our set - Mickey Mantle.  Perez came quickly, as I found a gorgeous version of the card for sale from dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.  Again looking to bundle that card with another card needed for our 1969 Topps set, I set my sights on the Reggie Jackson rookie card.  What followed was my first of two successful negotiation sessions of the day, as I was able to add both cards for what I deemed to be extremely reasonable (and fair) price.  The Jackson card will find its way under the Christmas tree for Doug, so please keep that one quiet for now.

• The Mantle card finally entered our collection and completed our 1965 Topps set relatively quickly and somewhat surprising.  Most of the vintage Mantle cards these days appear to be graded, with very few available "raw" as the dealers termed cards not yet slabbed.  After walking most of the floor, I had made notes on the locations of five non-graded Mantle cards, with prices ranging from the ridiculous ($2,000) to the reasonable (less than $500).  I found a nearly perfect raw Mantle card from Sports Card Plus from Cooper City, Florida, but the price was way too high.  Next to the 1965 Topps Mantle was am equally pristine 1969 Topps Mantle.  I'm sure I'll embellish this story upon retellings for years to come, but to cut to the chase, the dealer and I started negotiating what he'd sell both cards for in a combined packaged deal.  We landed on a combined price somewhat easily, and both cards were ours.  Our 1965 Topps set was complete and a huge chunk for our 1969 Topps set was also out of the way.  Typing this now, this is still hard to believe and somewhat shocking.

There was a little more added after those big hauls, as we were looking to kill time until it was time to obtain autographs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott.  I'll be sure to cover those purchases on both my Diamond Stars blog and my newly launched 1969 Topps blog.  We added autographs from Schwarber and Stott before making our escape from the over-crowded show.  Schwarber was especially friendly, shaking both our hands and telling us the Phillies would be returning to the World Series in 2023.

Doug made out extremely well too.  He did a lot of free-style picking, as he likes to call it, adding a great assortment of autograph and relic cards from this year's N.L. Champions, particularly cards of Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola.  He was extremely pleased with the autograph from Schwarber, with the slugger adding "2022 N.L. Champs" under his signature.  We also picked up quite a few supplies from the Ultra Pro table as he looks to work on displaying his growing and impressive autograph collection.

Memory Lane

Valley Forge 1 - September 2010 - Thinking of my Dad
Valley Forge 2 - October 2012 - Doug's first baseball card show
Valley Forge 3 - September 2014 - Meeting Darren Daulton
Oaks 1 - October 2015 - Meeting Pete Rose and Steve Carlton
Valley Forge 4 - September 2016 - Phillies acquisitions and 4 Phillies Legends
Valley Forge 5 - December 2016 - Meeting Don Money
Valley Forge 6 - September 2017 - Doug's big day
Valley Forge 7 - December 2017 - Ben's first baseball card show with Mike Schmidt and Rhys Hoskins!
Oaks 2 - December 2018 - Meeting Matt Stairs and Cole Hamels
Valley Forge 8 - March 2019 - 5 Phillies Autographs and Vintage Phillies Additions
Valley Forge 9 - September 2019 - Closing in on 1971 Topps set and Andrew McCutchen
Valley Forge 10 - December 2019 - Finishing 1971 Topps set, Starting 1965 Topps set, adding key autographs from Ryan Howard and Brad Lidge
Valley Forge 11 - February 2020 - More 1965 Topps cards, Jimmy Rollins, Mike Lieberthal and Jim Kaat

Valley Forge 12 - December 2021 - Huge haul of 1965 Topps, Jim Thome

Valley Forge 13 - March 2022 - Easy like Sunday morning, close to completing 1965 Topps

Oaks 3 - December 2022 - 1965 Topps set completed, dent made in 1969 Topps, Schwarber, Vierling and Stott

World Series Game 6 - Phils' Bats Go Quiet as Astros Win World Series

Astros 4, Phillies 1
World Series Game 6 - Saturday Night, November 5th in Houston
Astros win series, 4-2

One Sentence Summary:  For the third consecutive game, the Phillies offense was almost completely quiet and a three-run home run off the bat of Yordan Alvarez in the sixth proved to be the back-breaker in this 4-1 loss to the Astros.

What It Means:  It's Saturday night for a few more minutes and I'm going to power through this game summary post.  I'm sure in time I'll appreciate the October/early November run the 2022 Phillies just gave us way more than I do right now, but I'm still reeling from the little mistakes and missed opportunities that ultimately sunk the team after they held what appeared to be a commanding 2-1 advantage in the World Series.  There were too many strikeouts, too many runners left on base, too many defensive miscues and one huge questionable decision by manager Rob Thomson to bring in Jose Alvarado in this game with Zack Wheeler seemingly cruising.

Still, there's no way I ever imagined I'd be typing up a World Series Game 6 summary back in late May when the team was 22-29, costing Joe Girardi his job.  There's no way I could have predicted back in late June after the Phils lost Bryce Harper with a broken hand that I'd take my family to an NLDS game and watch Rhys Hoskins spike his bat following a dramatic home run.  And I certainly didn't foresee Harper going nuclear in the NLCS and delivering a World Series berth following a game-winning home run against the Padres.

I described losses back in September with words and phrases such as "'Pen implodes," "Phils fall again," "Phils still flat," and "Collapse seems imminent."  And then a little over a month later, I got to take my family to World Series games, temporarily losing my hearing following a Game 3 home run barrage.  I will remember some of these moments forever - the ninth inning comeback in the Wild Card series against the Cardinals, the clinching game of the NLDS against the Braves, buying postseason merchandise for every series, Doug devouring his standard Bull's BBQ order every night we went, Ben proudly waving his red rally towel, my whole family together, cheering the Phillies, and the five home runs on Tuesday night.  I wanted two more wins, and I wanted a few more memories, but the wins we did get and the memories I made will have to be enough for now.

What Happened / Featured Card:  Wheeler and Astros' starting pitcher Framber Valdez were locked in a pitcher's duel through the first five frames, putting zeroes on the board each half-inning.  In the top of the sixth, Kyle Schwarber drilled a lead-off, line drive home run to right field to give the Phillies a slim 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the sixth, needing just 12 more outs to send the series to a Game 7, Wheeler hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch, with Maldonado clearly leaning over the plate.  Jose Altuve grounded into a fielder's choice, and Jeremy Pena followed with a single to put runners on the corners with one out.

With just 70 pitches thrown and seemingly in a groove, Wheeler was removed by manager Thomson in favor of Alvarado.  The decision immediately backfired when Alvarez hit his three-run home run, an absolute bomb over the center field batter's eye, to give the Astros a 3-1 lead.  Another Astros run would score, but honestly it didn't really matter.  Save a ninth inning single from J.T. Realmuto, the Phillies went down quietly over the final three innings, with Nick Castellanos popping out in foul territory to right fielder Kyle Tucker to end the game, and the Phillies' season.

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

2022 Chachi #87 World Series Game 5 / 2022 Chachi #89 J.T. Realmuto HL - Gold Glove

Phillies at Astros: November 5th to November 6th

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #37

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #38

Saturday and Sunday 8:03
Minute Maid Park - Houston, TX

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies need two more wins to earn their third World Championship title in franchise history.

Phillies 2-3
Defeated Padres in NLCS, 4-1

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (1-2, 2.67)
Ranger Suarez (2-0, 1.23)

Phillies Postseason Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .373
Runs:  Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber - 12
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins - 6
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 13
Stolen Bases:  Kyle Schwarber - 3

Wins:  Four tied with - 2
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.67

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 28
Saves:  Five tied with - 1

Astros 3-2
Defeated Yankees in ALCS, 4-0

Astros Probables
Framber Valdez (2-0, 1.42)
TBD

Astros Postseason Leaders
Average:  Yuli Gurriel - .347
Runs:  Jeremy Pena - 11
Home Runs:  Jeremy Pena - 4
RBIs:  Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman - 11
Stolen Bases:  Yuli Gurriel - 2

Wins:  Four tied with - 2
ERA:  Cristian Javier - 0.71

Strikeouts:  Justin Verlander - 25
Saves:  Ryan Pressly - 5

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

World Series Game 5 - Phils Can't Push Across Runs

Astros 3, Phillies 2
World Series Game 5 - Thursday Night, November 3rd in Philadelphia
Astros lead series, 3-2

One Sentence Summary:  A few misplays in the field and the lack of clutch hitting downed the Phillies in this 3-2 loss, as the World Series heads back to Houston for a do or die Game 6.

What It Means:  I still believe.

What Happened / Featured Card:  Two Astros runs scored as a result of fielding issues by the Phillies.  In the first, Jose Altuve doubled and then went to third when center fielder Brandon Marsh misplayed the ball.  Altuve would easily score on a Jeremy Pena single, with Noah Syndergaard striking out the next two batters and J.T. Realmuto gunning down Pena at second on an attempted steal.  Syndergaard allowed a solo home run to Pena in the fourth before departing.  In the eighth, the Astros scored the eventual winning run when Rhys Hoskins couldn't cleanly field a ground ball hit by Yordan Alvarez, allowing Altuve to score.  Had Hoskins come up with the ball and thrown home, Altuve almost certainly would have been out.

Not to be overlooked here, Connor Brogdon did an amazing job out of the bullpen for two innings, allowing a hit and striking out five.

The Phillies offense had their chances between a lead-off home run from Kyle Schwarber in the first and an RBI single from Jean Segura in the eighth.  They loaded the bases in the second, with Hoskins striking out  to end the inning.  They had a runner in scoring position again in the third, fifth, sixth, eighth innings and went 1 for 7 overall in those clutch spots, with 12 runners stranded on base throughout the game.  In the ninth, Realmuto launched what should have been at least a double to deep center field, with Chas McCormick making a leaping catch to stun Realmuto and the crowd of nearly 46,000.  Following a Bryce Harper hit by pitch, Nick Castellanos grounded out weakly to shortstop to end the game.

Field Report:  Doug and I were back again, for the fourth night in a row, watching this game from the back of Section 105 in right field.  Also for the fourth night in a row, Doug had his standard Bull's BBQ order - pulled pork platter with slaw on top, corn bread and baked beans for sides.  We spent most of our time pregame standing in the front of our section hoping for a stray baseball from one of the Astros shagging batting practice fly balls.  Doug, much like the Phillies in this game, came away empty.

The crowd was much more into this game then they were Wednesday night for Game 4.  We rarely sat and from our vantage point, it seemed as if Realmuto's ninth inning fly ball had gone out.  We departed the ballpark after the Castellanos ground out to end the game, thankful for the opportunity to witness Phillies postseason baseball, but hoping for two more wins in Houston.

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

2022 Chachi #86 World Series Game 4 / 2022 Chachi #88 World Series Game 6

World Series Game 4 - Astros Even Series with Shutout

Astros 5, Phillies 0
World Series Game 4 - Wednesday Night, November 2nd in Philadelphia
Series tied, 2-2

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola and Jose Alvarado suffered one bad, five-run fifth inning and the Phillies offense went quietly in this 5-0 loss.

What It Means:  With the series now tied at two games a piece, a Game 6 in Houston is guaranteed and the Phillies will attempt to win one last home game in 2022 tonight, behind starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

What Happened / Featured Card:  From a Phillies fan's perspective, the best part of this night was the pregame ceremony, featuring ceremonial first pitches thrown out by future Wall of Famers Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.

The Astros had runners in scoring position in the second and fourth innings, but Nola worked out of those jams both times.  He wasn't as lucky in the fifth.  After allowing three straight singles to Chas McCormick, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena to open the inning, Nola yielded to Jose Alvarado who promptly drilled Yordan Alvarez in the back, scoring the first run of the game.  Alex Bregman followed with a two-run double, Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly to center and Yuli Gurriel capped the scoring with an RBI-single.

Astros' starting pitcher Cristian Javier was unhittable, striking out nine and allowing a pair of walks in his six innings of work.  Relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly threw the final three shutout innings with the Phillies managing only a walk off Pressly in the ninth.

 

Field Report:  All four of us went to the game, sitting high above center field in row two of Section 201.  It took me a little getting used to the elevation and the lack of a high railing in front of the first row, but it was less daunting as more fans filled the section.  We loved the pre-game people-watching from above Ashburn Alley and we had an excellent view of the Fox pre-game show with David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez.  It was cool to see the blue 2022 flag now flying above the ballpark, and I'm a little surprised the flag went up with absolutely no fanfare.

We weren't immune to the dread that filled the ballpark as the Astros inched closer to victory each inning, and I'm looking forward to watching the Phillies turn it back around tonight.

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2022 Chachi #85 World Series Game 3 / 2022 Chachi #87 World Series Game 5

World Series Game 3 - Five Home Runs Shake the Bank

Phillies 7, Astros 0
World Series Game 3 - Tuesday Night, November 1st in Philadelphia
Phillies lead series, 2-1

One Sentence Summary:  Led by Bryce Harper's first inning two-run home run, the Phillies offense collected a World Series record-tying five home runs overall in this exuberant 7-0 win over the Astros.

What It Means:  The Phillies fans promised a loud and raucous atmosphere for the first home World Series game since 2009, and nearly 46,000 of us delivered.  From the first pitch of the game when Jose Altuve lined out to a diving Nick Castellanos, to the final pitch, when Andrew Bellatti struck out Chas McCormick looking, the ballpark shook and we rarely sat.

What Happened / Featured Card:  The home runs made headlines, but Ranger Suarez quietly threw five shutout innings, striking out four and allowing three hits and a walk.  He turned the game over to Connor Brogdon, Kyle Gibson, Nick Nelson and Bellatti, who made quick work of the Astros' offense over the final four innings, allowing just two more hits.

Harper started the scoring (and upped the noise level) with his blast in the first, scoring Kyle Schwarber who had walked to start the inning.  Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh added two more home runs in the second, with Bohm's shot an absolute laser over the left field wall and Marsh's shot standing following an umpire review.  In the fifth, Schwarver and Hoskins went back-to-back, giving the Phillies their 7-0 lead and allowing a few of the low leverage relievers to get some work.

Field Report:  Following the rain-out on Monday night, Doug and I returned on Tuesday, with Doug once again opting for Bull's BBQ and with me mixing things up with Chickie's and Pete's.  We returned one last time to Section 113 for this game, rarely actually using our seats.  It was Doug's first ever World Series game, and only my second, as Jenna and I attended Game 3 of the 2008 World Series, waiting out the lengthy rain delay and staying until nearly two in the morning when Carlos Ruiz dribbled a ball to third, scoring Eric Bruntlett with the winning run.  And speaking of the 2008 club, most of the key players from that team were in attendance at this game, with Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino catching ceremonial first pitches from Mike Schmidt, Bernie Parent, Dr. J and Brandon Graham.

Somewhat lost in the excitement was the awarding of a Gold Glove to catcher J.T. Realmuto before the game.  It's Realmuto's second Gold Glove win, joining the one he earned in 2019.

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2022 Chachi #84 World Series Game 2 / 2022 Chachi #86 World Series Game 4

2022 Chachi #88 World Series Game 6