Saturday, May 1, 2021

Game 26 - 2019 Topps Update #US82 Jose Alvarado

Phillies 2
, Mets 1
Game 26 - Friday Night, April 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 13-13, 1st Place, 1 game ahead of the Braves, Mets and Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  After the benches cleared, the Phillies held on to defeat the Mets, 2-1, having earlier scored both runs on a second inning passed ball by Mets catcher James McCann.

What It Means:  With excessive winds and starters Bryce Harper, Didi Gregorius, Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto all out of the line-up, and fifth starter Chase Anderson on the mound, the Phillies somehow pulled out a victory.

What Happened:  Anderson earned his first Phillies win, pitching five strong innings and allowing a run on five hits while striking out six.  The bullpen then took over, throwing four scoreless innings, culminating with Sam Coonrod securing his first save with the Phillies.  The offense managed only singles, but scored two gift runs when McCann couldn't handle a Marcus Stroman pitch in the second.  The ball bounced all the way to the backstop with both Brad Miller and Andrew Knapp scoring.

Featured Card:  It got a little tense in the eighth after Jose Alvarado struck out Dominic Smith to end the inning.  Alvarado celebrated the strikeout and then had a few thoughts to pass along to Smith, who didn't take kindly to the display.  Benches emptied and bullpens scurried towards the infield, but calm was restored.  Mets reliever Miguel Castro came way inside twice to Rhys Hoskins in the bottom of the ninth, causing benches to semi-empty again and I'm looking forward to watching these teams face off again tonight.

Alvarado has surprisingly few baseball cards, and hopefully he gets a few Phillies baseball cards soon.

Transactions:  Gregorius (ss) was placed on the Covid-protocol injured list with Rafael Marchan (c) getting recalled.

No comments: