Game 7 - 2020 Topps Utz #23 J.T. Realmuto

Phillies 5, Yankees 4
Game 7 - Thursday Night, August 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 3-4, Tied for 3rd Place, 3 games behind the Marlins

One Sentence Summary:  Zach Eflin, J.T. Realmuto and Hector Neris starred in this tense 5-4 Phillies win over the Yankees.

What It Means:  With the Phandemic Krew yelling and blowing air horns beyond the center field gate in Ashburn Alley, the Phillies managed to split the four-game series with the Yankees.  The Braves visit next for a four-game set starting tonight.

What Happened:  Eflin only went four innings, and both runs he allowed were unearned.  He scattered four hits and struck out five, including Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez twice each.  The bullpen entered in the fifth and other than a two-run home run surrendered by Nick Pivetta to Sanchez, did a decent job.  Neris was needed for four outs and while he made things interesting, he got Luke Voit on a long fly ball to center to end the game.

Realmuto's three-run home run in the first put the Phillies up for good and he threw out a runner (Brett Gardner) in the fourth trying to steal second.  Phil Gosselin, batting fifth and DH'ing, gave the Phillies a 5-2 lead with a two-run double in the third.  He finished the game with an impressive .600 average.

Featured Card:  For the second year in a row, Topps partnered with Utz to produce a set of baseball cards to be included in packages of Utz potato chips.  They went the extra mile this year and created a new design that I actually like more than the 2020 Topps flagship design.  There are 100 cards in the set, with four Phillies including this Realmuto card.

Transactions:  Roster sizes decreased from 30 to 28 on Thursday, with Kyle Garlick (of) and Enyel De Los Santos (rhp) both optioned to the Lehigh Valley alternate training site.  Also, Reggie McClain (rhp) was moved from the paternity list to the injured list, retroactive to August 3rd, with a right shoulder impingement.

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