Sunday, July 29, 2018

Game 104 - 2018 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #29 Mitch Walding

Reds 6, Phillies 2
Game 104 - Saturday Night, July 28th in Cincinnati
Record - 58-46, 1st place,  2 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Matt Harvey and the Reds bullpen held the Phillies to just four hits in this 6-2 loss.

What It Means:  Fortunately, the Braves keep losing too.

What Happened:  Rhys Hoskins provided the only offense with a two-run home run (21) in the 4th.  Asdrubal Cabrera made his Phillies debut, playing shortstop and batting 5th, and went 0 for 4 at the plate.

Featured Card:  Let's take a minute to appreciate Mitch Walding.  The third baseman has been on the Phillies active roster for 15 games this season and so far he's gone 0 for 14 with 10 strikeouts.  But then on Saturday night, during an IronPigs double header, Walding exploded for three, three-run home runs and finished the night having gone 5 for 7 with 10 total RBIs.  The timing of his explosion is a bit of cruel irony given the big club's current lethargy at the plate.

Transaction:  With Cabrera added to the active roster, infielder Jesmuel Valentin was optioned to Lehigh Valley.  Of interest to a few of us, assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, Jr. gave his #13 to Cabrera and switched to #88.

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