Game 63 - Bullpen Falters in Loss to Bucs

Philadelphia Phillies	4
Pittsburgh Pirates	5

2025 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #38

Friday Night, June 6th

PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA
37-26, 2nd Place, 2 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The offense continued to look for clutch hits and Jordan Romano once again failed to pitch a clean ninth inning in this series-opening 5-4 loss to the last place Pirates.

What It Means:  The bullpen is a huge problem, and Romano is not the answer as the team's closer.  The Phillies have lost three in a row.

What Happened:  A bullpen game from the outset with Zack Wheeler out on paternity leave, Joe Ross and four relievers did their best to hold the Pirates at bay in what was a back and forth game from the first inning onwards.  In each top of the inning where the Phillies scored, taking a lead, the Pirates would tie the game in the bottom of the inning.  This happened in the first, third and fourth innings, with the Pirates breaking through for the winning, walk-off run off Romano in the ninth.  

Trea Turner had a big day at the plate, going 3 for 5 with a double and two RBIs.  Bailey Falter started for the Pirates and was chased from the game in the fourth inning.

Featured Card:  Alan Rangel made his big league debut, pitching three innings in relief and allowing a two-run home run to Henry Davis in the fourth.  Rangel had spent 9 1/2 seasons in the minors before getting the call from the Phillies, and he has a card in this year's IronPigs team set.

Transaction:  In need of bullpen reinforcements, Rangel (rhp) was recalled from Lehigh Valley and Seth Johnson (rhp) was optioned back down.  Additionally, the Phillies resigned Jose Rodriguez (inf) to a minor league contract after he had been activated from the restricted list and non-tendered a few days ago.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

2024-25 Offseason Begins - Early November Notes (Part 2)

2024 Topps Heritage #242

2024 Topps #571

2024 Choice Rocket City Trash Pandas #13

Once I started summarizing the player moves over the first week of the offseason, I realized I needed to break everything into two posts given the flurry of activity on Monday, November 4th.  (Part 1 of these Early November Notes can be found here.)

Devin Sweet (rhp) was acquired from the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations and added to the 40-man roster.  Sweet has pitched in seven big-league games, all in 2023, with the Mariners and Athletics.

John McMillon (rhp) was claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.  He's appeared in 14 games with the Royals and Marlins over the past two seasons, and was the winning pitcher in the Marlins game against the Phillies on September 7th.

Alan Rangel (rhp) who appeared in 10 games for the IronPigs in 2024, and who had pitched in seven seasons in the Braves' minor league system, was added to the 40-man roster.

Clearing space on the 40-man roster, the Phillies outrighted Yunior Marte (rhp), Luis F. Ortiz (rhp), Freddy Tarnok (rhp), Kolby Allard (lhp) and Rodolfo Castro (inf), with all clearing waivers and becoming free agents.  Marte relieved in 63 games for the Phillies over the past two seasons, and was 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 65 1/3 innings pitched.  Ortiz appeared in 15 games for the Phillies, with just one game this past season, and had a 4.12 ERA in 19 2/3 innings pitched.  He spent the bulk of 2024 on the injured list.

Tarnok never pitched for the Phillies.  Allard was a somewhat reliable emergency fifth starter for the club, going 2-0 with a 5.00 ERA, finding his most success in two starts in August.  Added to the NLDS roster, he didn't appear in any of the four games.  Like Ortiz, Castro was injured for a lot of 2024, and never got the call back to the majors.  In 14 games with the Phillies in 2023, he batted .100 (3 for 30).  Marte, Ortiz and Castro have their only Phillies cardboard appearances in the somewhat rare 2024 team-issued photo cards, shown below.