Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Game 76 - 1981 Topps #719 Sparky Lyle

Yankees 4, Phillies 2
Game 76 - Monday Night, June 25th in Philadelphia
Record - 41-35, 2nd place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies were baffled by Yankees starter Jonathan Loaisiga and Aaron Judge hit his 20th home run in this 4-2 loss.

What It Means:  If the Phillies want to consider themselves a playoff contender, they'll need to perform better against the elite teams in the league.

What Happened:  Rhys Hoskins lost his cool and bickered with a fan behind the dugout after striking out in the 6th inning.  The offense had three hits, one of which was a solo home run (10) from Maikel Franco with two outs in the 9th.  Vince Velasquez pitched well, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven in his six innings of work.

Featured Card:  I've always thought Sparky Lyle's baseball cards were cool.  I featured the 1977 Cy Young Award Winner's 1978 Topps card within the series preview post, but here's one of his cards from his time with the Phillies from 1980 to 1982.

Transactions:  Prior to the game, Jesmuel Valentin was activated from the paternity list and Mitch Walding was optioned to the IronPigs.  Reliever Edubray Ramos was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury and Hector Neris returned from his brief exile to Lehigh Valley.

1 comment:

Jim from Downingtown said...

This is Lyle's first card as a Phillie. He joined the team too late in 1980 even to be included in the update set.

Lyle made his major-league debut with the Red Sox in July 1967, and pitched for them for the remainder of '67 and all of '68, but his rookie card did not appear until the 1969 set.