Game 107 - Phils Go Quietly to Giants; Dickerson Acquired at Deadline

2019 Phillies Team Issue 2 #30

Giants 5, Phillies 1
Game 107 - Wednesday Night, July 31st in Philadelphia
Record - 56-51, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  A quiet offense and a nightmare sixth inning by Vince Velasquez and Adam Morgan combined to cause this 5-1 Phillies loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies could have overtaken the Nationals for second place in the division with a win, but it was not to be.

What Happened:  Velasquez was absolutely cruising until the sixth inning when he allowed a lead-off walk and a Buster Posey home run.  Adam Morgan entered and surrendered two more home runs to give the Giants a 5-1 lead.  In that one inning, Morgan's ERA jumped from 3.07 to 3.94.

The offense managed five hits off Jeff Samardzija and three Giants relievers.

Featured Card:  The loss was bad, but the news that David Robertson wouldn't return in 2019 was even worse.  Robertson was limited to only seven games for the Phillies this season and it was announced on Wednesday he'd need season ending elbow surgery.  He could eventually need Tommy John surgery that could put his 2020 season (and his career) in jeopardy.  The three veteran relievers who were supposed to bolster the Phillies bullpen this season - Robertson, Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek - have pitched in a combined 30 innings this season as all lost significant time due to injuries.

2019 Topps Heritage #188

Transactions:  Right before the 4pm trade deadline, the Phillies acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Pirates for a player to be named later and international bonus money.  Dickerson was an All-Star with the Rays in 2017 and won a Gold Glove last season.  So far this year, he's batting .315 with four home runs and 25 RBIs over 44 games.  He's got baseball cards in all the major Topps releases so far this year.  Dylan Cozens was designated for assignment to make room for Dickerson on the 40-man roster.  Cozens joins Mitch Walding and Yacksel Rios in recent DFA limbo.

Arrived During the 2019 Season

• Jay Bruce - of (6/2/19) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with cash considerations for Jake Scheiner.
• Brad Miller - inf (6/13/19) - Purchased from the New York Yankees.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (6/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.
• Mike Morin - rhp (7/20/19) - Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (7/21/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (7/29/19) - Acquired with cash from the New York Mets for Austin Bossart.
• Blake Parker - rhp (7/30/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Corey Dickerson - of (7/31/19) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and international bonus money.

Departed During the 2019 Season

• Aaron Altherr - of (5/12/19) - Selected off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.