Game 96 - Burnes Buries Phillies Offense in Shutout

1981 Fleer #527

Brewers 4, Phillies 0
Game 96 - Thursday Afternoon, July 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 52-44, Tied for 2nd Place, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Corbin Burnes made easy work of the Phillies line-up, as the Brewers shut out the Phillies, 4-0.

What It Means:  After dropping the series to the Brewers, the Phillies hit the road for a three-game series in Cleveland.  The Phillies are the last of 28 teams to face off against Cleveland since the team changed its name to the Guardians before the 2022 season.

What Happened:  Burnes allowed a pair of singles and a walk over eight innings of work while striking out 10.  Taijuan Walker had his winning streak snapped, as he received absolutely no offensive support.  Walker was charged with four runs on six hits in six innings.

Featured Card:  The Phillies gave me nothing to work with for this game, so here's a Brewers baseball card found in my 1981 Phillies binder.  On March 31, 1981, Dick Davis was traded from the Brewers to the Phillies for pitcher Randy Lerch.  Topps, Fleer and Donruss had already set their checklists for their respective sets, so Davis appears with the Brewers in all three issuances.  He'd get a Phillies card in the 1981 Topps Traded set and appear in all three sets with the Phillies in 1982.

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

Series Preview - Pirates at Phillies: July 3rd to July 6th

Monday 7:05, Tuesday 4:05, Wednesday 7:05 and Thursday 6:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  On Thursday night, fans will enjoy the first of two post-game fireworks shows scheduled.

1982 Topps #543

1982 Topps Traded #24T

1982 Topps #352

1982 Topps Traded #100T

1982 Topps Appreciation:  I like seeing the before and after cards of players appearing in the base Topps set and then later in the Traded series.  The two players featured above - Dick Davis and Bill Robinson - were traded for each other . . . technically speaking.

In a three-team trade on June 15, 1982, which was then the non-waiver trading deadline, the Phillies sent outfielder Dick Davis to the Blue Jays for Wayne Nordhagen.  The Phillies then turned around and immediately sent Nordhagen off to the Pirates for Bill Robinson.

As a postscript to the deal, a week later on June 22nd, the Pirates and Blue Jays again swapped Nordhagen and Davis.  Nordhagen appeared in just one game for the Pirates while Davis made it into three games with the Blue Jays.

Brewers at Phillies: July 23rd to July 25th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Monday and Tuesday 7:05, Wednesday 1:05

Brewers 44-50, 4th Place in the N.L. Central, 10 1/2 games behind the Reds
Phillies 42-54, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 14 games behind the Nationals

Brewers Probables:  Randy Wolf (3-6, 5.60), Zack Greinke (9-3, 3.57), Marco Estrada (0-4, 4.10)
Phillies Probables:  Roy Halladay (4-5, 3.96), Cliff Lee (1-6, 3.72), Vance Worley (5-6, 3.82)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is the team's annual Italian Heritage Celebration.  Coinciding with Christmas in July on Tuesday night, the Phillies are hosting a toy drive at all entrance gates.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Carlos Ruiz - .346

Runs:  Hunter Pence - 59

Home Runs:  Hunter Pence - 17

RBIs:  Hunter Pence - 57

Stolen Bases:  Juan Pierre and Shane Victorino - 21

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 11

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 3.23

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 131

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 21

1979 Topps #474 and #52

1979 Topps Flashback:  I don't think I ever realized until just now that Topps utilized the same purple-pink color scheme for the Phillies and Brewers within its 1979 set.  How did they come up with these color combinations back then?  The '70s were a strange time indeed.

Today's flashback features two players traded for each other on March 1, 1981.  Randy Lerch was drafted by the Phillies in 1973 and made his Major League debut at the end of the 1975 season.  Primarily a starter, Lerch's best season with the Phillies was 1978, when he hit career highs in wins (11) and strikeouts (96).  Lerch famously hit two home runs on September 30, 1978, in the division clinching game for the Phillies.  He had a decent season in 1979, going 10-13 with a 3.74 ERA in 214 innings pitched - a career high.  He was shipped to the Brewers after earning his World Series ring in 1980.  From 1981 to 1984, Lerch appeared pitched with the Brewers, Expos and Giants before making his way back to the Phillies system.  He appeared in 4 games with the 1986 Phillies before calling it a career.

Dick Davis was a light-hitting outfielder who found much more success in Japan than he did in the U.S.  Following four seasons with the Brewers, the Phillies picked him up to bolster their outfield for the 1981 season.  In his bench role, Davis hit .311 in 73 games with the Phils.  The Phillies traded him to the Blue Jays in June 1982 for Wayne Nordhagen and a week later, the Blue Jays shipped him to the Pirates for a player to be named later.  Ironically, the player to be named later was Nordhagen, whom the Phils had flipped to the Pirates for Bill Robinson.

Davis played four seasons (1984-1988) with the Kinetsu Buffaloes in Japan, with his best season coming in 1985 when he hit 40 home runs and had 109 RBIs.