Diamondbacks at Phillies - June 21st to June 23rd

2012 Topps Archives #182

1984 Topps #101

Friday 6:40, Saturday 4:05, Sunday 11:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is Cole Hamels Retirement Night, and the former Phillies great will officially retire as a member of the Phillies.  There's a pregame ceremony planned and all fans will receive a 2009 National League Champions replica ring.  Tomorrow, there's a Riley Green postgame concert following the ballgame.  And on Sunday, it's Father's Appreciation Day with all men 15 and over receiving a Phillies hat.

Arizona Diamondbacks 37-38
Tied for 2nd Place in the N.L. West, 9 games behind the Dodgers

Diamondbacks Probables
Jordan Montgomery (5-4, 6.00)
Tommy Henry (2-2, 6.23)
Slade Cecconi (2-5, 5.90)

Diamondbacks Leaders
Average:  Ketel Marte - .280
Runs:  Ketel Marte - 50
Home Runs:  Christian Walker - 17
RBIs:  Christian Walker - 50
Stolen Bases:  Corbin Carroll - 13

Wins:  Four tied with - 5
ERA:  Brandon Pfaadt - 4.37
Strikeouts:  Brandon Pfaadt - 84
Saves:  Paul Sewald - 8

Philadelphia Phillies 49-25
1st Place in the N.L. East, 7 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables
Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.33)
Zack Wheeler (8-4, 2.84)
Cristopher Sanchez (4-3, 2.91)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .306
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 53
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber - 17
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 60
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 18

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 10
ERA:  Ranger Suarez - 1.75
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 99
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 12

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

Phillies at Padres: September 4th to September 6th

1965 Topps #225

2014 Topps Heritage #193

Monday 6:40, Tuesday 9:40 and Wednesday 4:10
Petco Park - San Diego, CA

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday, the first 40,000 fans through the gates at Petco Park will receive a Fernando Tatis, Jr. bobblehead.

Phillies 75-61
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 15 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Taijuan Walker (14-5, 4.05)
Michael Lorenzen (3-1, 4.22)
Zack Wheeler (10-6, 3.62)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .298
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 87
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 39
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 88
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott and Trea Turner - 25

Wins:  Taijuan Walker - 14
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.62

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 185
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 22

Padres 65-73
4th Place in the N.L. West, 20 games behind the Dodgers

Padres Probables
Rich Hill (0-3, 8.50)
Pedro Avila (0-2, 2.67)
Michael Wacha (11-2, 2.85)

Padres Leaders
Average:  Ha-Seong Kim .275
Runs:  Ha-Seong Kim and Fernando Tatis - 77
Home Runs:  Juan Soto - 28
RBIs:  Juan Soto - 84
Stolen Bases:  Ha-Seong Kim - 31

Wins:  Blake Snell - 12
ERA:  Blake Snell - 2.50
Strikeouts:  Blake Snell - 201
Saves:  Josh Hader - 28

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

Game 155 - Collapse Seems Imminent

2022 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

Cubs 2, Phillies 0
Game 155 - Thursday Afternoon, September 29th in Chicago
Record - 83-72, 3rd Place, 14 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  A lifeless Phillies team was easily defeated by Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad and two relievers in this 2-0 loss on a gloomy Thursday afternoon.

What It Means:  The Phillies have lost five in a row.  If not for the Marlins pulling out a late inning rally against the Brewers, courtesy of an Avisail Garcia grand slam, the Brewers and Phillies would be tied.  At the end of the night, the Brewers were just a half game behind the Phillies and the Phillies' magic number dropped to 6.

What Happened:  From the Phillies' perspective, absolutely nothing.  Ranger Suarez allowed a pair of runs in his six inning outing, striking out five.  The Phillies offense had six singles, leaving nine runners stranded.  This game put me, and many Phillies fans like me, in a foul mood.

Featured Card:  But as bad as this game was, the situation is much worse in Florida as Hurricane Ian made landfall and caused devastation throughout the state.  It's hard to get too upset over a baseball game when so many people had their lives upended over the course of a few days.

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

Game 136 - 2012 Topps Heritage #7 N.L. Pitching Leaders

Phillies 4, Marlins 3 (10 Innings)
Game 136 - Sunday Afternoon, September 5th in Miami
Record - 70-66, 2nd Place, 2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies escaped Miami with a win, needing 10 innings and a clutch performance by the entire bullpen in the process.

What It Means:  The first place Brewers are up next with a three-game set in Milwaukee.  The Brewers hold a comfortable lead in the N.L. Central and are coming off a two-game winning streak.

What Happened:  This was a bullpen game as designed by manager Joe Girardi, and Sam Coonrod served as the opener.  Coonrod and Bailey Falter each allowed a run and a hit and the Marlins were held scoreless until a costly Brad Miller error in the sixth led to an unearned run, tying the score at 3-3.  The Phillies scored their first three runs via a solo home run from Bryce Harper in the fourth (his 27th) followed shortly by a two-run home run from Freddy Galvis.

In the 10th, and with two outs, Odubel Herrera singled home ghost-runner Galvis with the ultimate winning run.

Featured Card:  Ian Kennedy picked up the win with two scoreless (and perfect) innings that included four strikeouts.  His recent baseball card appearances are somewhat rare, although he did appear in the first series Topps flagship release from earlier this year.  The first cards of his in my Phillies collection came way back in 2012 when he shared a few League Leaders cards with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the 2012 Topps and 2012 Topps Heritage sets.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

2021 Chachi #60 Ian Kennedy

#31
Ian Patrick Kennedy
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  210
Opening Day Age:  36
Born:  December 19, 1984, Huntington Beach, CA
How Obtained:  Acquired from the Texas Rangers with Hans Crouse and Kyle Gibson for Josh Gessner, Kevin Gowdy and Spencer Howard, July 30, 2021
Contract Status:  Signed through 2021
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 2007-2009; Arizona Diamondbacks 2010-2013; San Diego Padres 2013-2015; Kansas City Royals 2016-2020; Texas Rangers 2021; Philadelphia Phillies 2021

First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Minor League Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2021 Topps #236

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  2010-2021

3 - Kennedy baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 8/16/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2021 Chachi #60

Ian Kennedy has appeared in every Topps flagship set release (either base or Update) since 2010, which I find incredibly impressive. He was a 21-game winner for the Diamondbacks in 2011, and after converting to a closer he saved a career-high 30 games for the Royals in 2019.  Kennedy will get most of the Phillies' save opportunities down the stretch run.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Phillies Trade Deadline Round-Up (Hooray?)

On Friday afternoon, the Phillies pulled the trigger on a trio of trades that will hopefully make them a better team for the rest of this season and potentially beyond.  I don't know enough about the prospects dealt or most of the players received to compose an in-depth analysis, so this post will focus on the baseball cards of the players leaving the organization and the new players who we'll get to know better in the coming months.

2021 Indianapolis Indians Team Issue

2019 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #8

Trade #1 - Warming Up

Phillies acquire Braeden Ogle (lhp) from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Abrahan Gutierrez (c)

This doesn't help the team immediately, but Braeden Ogle is a highly-rated pitching prospect who had yet to appear in the majors with the Pirates.  Drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Ogle had a 3.13 ERA over 31 2/3 innings pitched this season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.  To date he's appeared on some pre-rookie cards with Leaf and a few Pirates' minor league team sets.

Abrahan Gutierrez was supposed to head to the Pirates in the aborted Tyler Anderson deal.  He was batting .288 with the Low-A Clearwater Threshers, and I have two of his baseball cards in my collection, both from 2019 Lakewood BlueClaws team sets.

2021 Topps Heritage #224

2020 Topps Heritage #213

2020 Bowman Prospects #BP-119

2021 Topps Gypsy Queen #231

2019 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #7

Trade #2 - The Big One

Phillies acquire Kyle Gibson (rhp), Ian Kennedy (rhp), Hans Crouse (rhp) and cash for Spencer Howard (rhp), Kevin Gowdy (rhp) and Josh Gessner (rhp).

Kyle Gibson was an All-Star this year with the Rangers and in 19 starts he's 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA.  He came up with the Twins in 2013, where he spent the first seven seasons of his career.  Gibson has appeared in six Topps flagship sets beginning in 2013, and then between 2015 and 2020.  He's in the 2021 Topps Heritage set, and I imagine he'll receive an All-Star card in the 2021 Topps Update set.

Veteran Kennedy is in his 15th big league season and in 32 games with the Rangers this year he has a 2.51 ERA with 16 saves.  Kennedy was a 21-game winner with the Diamondbacks in 2011, and he converted to a closer in 2019, saving 30 games for the Royals.  He's appeared in Topps flagship sets most years dating back to 2010, and he appears with the Royals in this year's flagship set.  He could assume the closer role with Ranger Suarez potentially returning to the starting rotation.

Crouse is interesting here, as he's apparently one of the Rangers' top pitching prospects.  His most readily available cards can be found in the 2020 Bowman set.

I'm genuinely sad to see Spencer Howard go, and it's tough to accept he went from the team's top pitching prospect to a complete question mark in such a short span of time.  I have 36 of his cards in my Phillies collection to date, and I'll continue to root for him even if he's wearing a Rangers uniform.  Kevin Gowdy was the Phillies' second round pick (after Mickey Moniak) back in 2016 and Josh Gessner was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Australia.  Gowdy has appeared on a few Bowman and minor league team set cards, and Gessner doesn't have any baseball card appearances yet.

2021 Topps #274

2019 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #3

Trade #3 - The Reunion

Phillies acquired Freddy Galvis (ss) and cash from the Baltimore Orioles for Tyler Burch (rhp)

The popular Freddy Galvis returns to his original team, where he was the everyday shortstop for three seasons between 2015 and 2017.  Galvis is expected to provide a defensive upgrade to the team's poorly fielding infield.  He's in the 2021 Topps flagships set as well as this year's Topps Heritage set, with the Reds.  I currently have 49 Galvis cards in my Phillies collection and I'm looking forward to adding a few more.  Tyler Burch is a 23-year-old reliever who has played in the Phillies system since 2019.  I have one card of his in my collection from the 2019 Williamsport Crosscutters team set.