Game 26 - Norwood, Knebel Implode in 9th

2021 Topps Big League #216

Mets 8, Phillies 7
Game 26 - Thursday Night, May 5th in Philadelphia
Record - 11-15, 4th Place, 7 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  With the Phillies leading 7-1 heading to the ninth inning, Phillies relievers James Norwood and Corey Knebel could not retire three batters before the Mets took the lead and ultimately won this game, 8-7.

What It Means:  Brutal.  I went to bed happy and secure in the knowledge the Phillies had won the first game of a relatively important four-game series.  I awoke to find that to have been wishful thinking.  This has only happened five times in franchise history and twice in my lifetime per the Tweet below from Sarah Langs.

What Happened:  Norwood and Knebel allowed seven runs on eight hits in a nightmare ninth inning.  Before that debacle, Aaron Nola had thrown seven strong innings, allowing a run on three hits while striking out seven.  Bryce Harper was 2 for 5 with an RBI-double and a solo home run.  Nick Castellanos had three RBIs, including a home run immediately following Harper's homer in the fourth.  Castellanos left the game in the sixth inning after being hit in the wrist with a fastball from Adonis Medina.

Featured Card:  Former Phillies top prospect Medina was the beneficiary of the win in this game, his first in the majors.  He actually has a recent Phillies baseball card in the just released 2021 Topps Big League set, which was delayed by nearly a year.

And I think I need a break from the Phillies.

This is the 5th time in Phillies franchise history they’ve lost when leading by 6+ in the 9th or later, along with:

5/10/1994 vs Braves
7/13/1937 vs Giants
5/07/1925 vs Giants
8/17/1896 vs Orioles

h/t @EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 6, 2022

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

2021 Chachi #62 Adonis Medina

#77
Adonis Medina
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  187
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  December 18, 1996, Santo Domingo, DR
How Obtained:  Signed as an amateur free agent, May 29, 2014
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2020

First Phillies Card:  2017 Bowman Prospects #BP104
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2021 Topps Gypsy Queen #11

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  2021

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

Complete Chachi Checklist
2020 Chachi #53

2021 Chachi #62

When Adonis Medina made his big league debut with the Phillies last September 20th, he became the first wearer of uniform #77 in team history.  Medina was recalled for just one game on August 14th and was optioned back to Lehigh Valley afterwards without getting to pitch.  Hopefully we'll see him actually pitch for the Phillies at some point in 2021.

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

2020 Chachi #53 Adonis Medina

#77
Adonis Medina
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  187
Opening Day Age:  23
Born:  December 18, 1996, Santo Domingo, DR
How Obtained:  Signed as an amateur free agent, May 29, 2014
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2020

First Phillies Card:  2017 Bowman Prospects #BP104
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2019 Bowman Heritage #53P-24

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

26 - Medina baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 9/24/20.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2020 Chachi #53

When Adonis Medina made his big league debut with the Phillies on September 20th, he became the first wearer of uniform #77 in team history.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 53 - 2019 Topps Pro Debut #33 Adonis Medina

Blue Jays 6, Phillies 3
Game 53 - Sunday Afternoon, September 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 27-26, 3rd Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Adonis Medina made his big league debut but was outdueled by Taijuan Walker as the Phillies dropped the series finale against the Blue Jays and couldn't complete the four-game sweep.

What It Means:  This was the last home game of the 2020 season and the Phillies will attempt to clinch a postseason spot with four games in Washington followed by three games in Tampa.

What Happened:  Medina was jittery in his debut and a costly balk in the first inning indirectly led to a pair of Blue Jays runs.  His final line shows that he calmed down somewhat after the first inning - 4 innings pitched, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts.  Heath Hembree continued to get hit hard, allowing four runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Phillies offense managed only six hits, going 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position.  Only Alec Bohm (2 for 4) and Didi Gregorius (RBI double) seem to be swinging the bat well, as everyone else in the Phillies line-up has slumped.  Bryce Harper went 0 for 4 and removed himself from the game with a stiff back.

Featured Card:  Unsurprisingly, I have quite a few Medina cards already in my collection given that he's been one of the team's top pitching prospects for the last several years.

Transaction:  Medina (rhp) was recalled and Mickey Moniak (of) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.  Additionally, the Phillies acquired Joel Cesar (rhp) from the Pirates to complete the Austin Davis trade and sent Cesar to Lehigh Valley.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Grapefruit Game 16 - Quartet of Pitching Prospects

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #14

2020 Chachi New Additions #4

2020 Chachi New Additions #5

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #21

Phillies 10, Red Sox 2
Spring Training Game 16 - Saturday Afternoon, March 7th in Clearwater
Record - 11-4-1

One Sentence Summary:  Offense, pitching, defense and baserunning all looked good in this 10-2 win over the Red Sox.

What It Means:  This is the final match-up between these two teams until the 2021 World Series.  The Red Sox are re-building this year so I figure they'll be in the 2021 World Series when the Phillies are going for their second title in a row.

What Happened:  The keys to the Phillies offense all doubled - Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins.  Harper stole a pair of bases for good measure.  Ranger Suarez allowed two runs in his three innings of work and pitching prospect Jeff Singer impressed with a perfect inning, striking out the side.

Featured Cards:  Featuring a quartet of pitching prospects today - Singer for his awesome performance in this game and Adonis Medina, JoJo Romero and Cristopher Sanchez for the note below.

Camp Head Count:  70 - 6 = 64.  In the first headcount cut of the spring, Romero and Medina were optioned to Lehigh Valley while Sanchez was optioned to Reading.  Pitchers Kyle Dohy, Damon Jones and Zach Warren were reassigned to minor league camp.

3 Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster

2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-AG

2016 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #7

2017 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #CPA-AME

On Tuesday, the Phillies added three prospects to their 40-man roster, protecting them from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.  Right-handed pitchers Edgar Garcia (22) and Adonis Medina (21), along with shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa (21) joined the roster, bringing the current count to 38.

Todd Zolecki gave a nice overview of the three players here, but I wanted to summarize their baseball card appearances to date.

Of the three, Medina is the most represented in my Phillies collection as I've somehow managed to already accumulate 16 of his cards.  He first appeared in the 2016 Williamsport Crosscutters set and he was all over the 2017 Bowman releases.  Most recently, I have card of his from the 2018 Bowman Prospects insert set.  Medina represented the Phillies at the All-Star Futures Game in July, and he's only pitched as high as High-A Clearwater.

Garcia shows up in my Phillies collection five times, all within 2016, 2017 and 2018 Phillies minor league team sets.  Garcia appeared in 47 games for Double-A Reading and 5 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2018.  He was one of the BlueClaws players who signed for Doug back in the summer of 2016, so he already has his first Chachi card.

Gamboa was a teammate of Medina's in Clearwater last season.  He showed up in the 2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs team set as well as four minor league team sets between 2016 and 2018.

Listed below are the prospects added to the 40-man roster in advance of each Rule 5 draft dating back to 2009, and most of these guys would eventually play in the Majors.

Memory Lane

2009 Additions - Quintin Berry, Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus
2011 Additions - Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Tyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach Collier, Ethan Martin, Trevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron Altherr, Kelly Dugan, Tommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Nefi Ogando
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects
2017 Additions - Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ranger Suarez, Jose Taveras, Engelb Vielma
2018 Additions - Arquimedes Gamboa, Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina

Game 95 - 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League #21 Adonis Medina

Marlins 10, Phillies 5
Game 95 - Sunday Afternoon, July 15th in Miami
Record - 53-42, 1st place, 1/2 game ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  An overall sloppy game from the Phillies, and an eight-run 5th inning, gave the Marlins a 10-5 win in this official end to the first half.

What It Means:  This game was bad, but if I had told you in March that the Phillies would be in first place at the All-Star break would you have believed me?

What Happened:  Enyel De Los Santos received his second starting nod of the season, lasting 4 1/3 innings and allowing five runs.  A questionable ball call on reliever Edubray Ramos and Carlos Santana forgetting the number of outs in the fifth helped lead to three more Marlins runs.

Featured Card:  With De Los Santos pitching in Miami for the Phillies, pitcher Adonis Medina was the franchise's sole representative at the annual Futures Game.  It didn't go well for the young pitcher.  Medina entered the game for the World Team in the seventh inning with the score tied at 6.  He allowed a double to Jo Adell, and Adell scored the eventual winning run on a wild pitch.  Peter Alonso then hit a 2-run home run off Medina and the pitcher was removed from the game, saddled with the loss.

Transaction:  De Los Santos took Zach Eflin's spot on the roster as Eflin landed on the disabled list with a blister.