Thursday, June 24, 2021

Game 70 - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Sticky Fingers #SF2 Chase Utley

Nationals 3
, Phillies 2
Game 70 - Tuesday Night, June 22nd in Philadelphia
Record - 34-36, Tied for 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't complete their comeback against Max Scherzer and the Nationals, losing this game, 3-2.

What It Means:  Zack Wheeler picked a bad night to be off, as the presumed All-Star lasted only three innings and threw 106 pitches.  He allowed all three Nationals runs on six hits.

What Happened:  The Phillies scoring came on solo home runs from Bryce Harper in the second and Rhys Hoskins in the eighth.  The offense went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.  A positive from this game was the six innings of scoreless relief thrown by the bullpen, led by 1 2/3 innings from Ranger Suarez as he lowered his ERA to 0.67.

Featured Card:  In accordance with Major League Baseball's new kind of silly policy to check pitchers for foreign substances as they're leaving the field each half inning, this game suffered from the distraction of pitchers having to partially disrobe after every three outs.  Phillies manager Joe Girardi noticed Scherzer running his pitching hand excessively through his hair in the fifth inning and he requested the umpires check him out.  Finding nothing, Scherzer retired the side and stared down Girardi as he walked back to the dugout.  Girardi challenged Scherzer to a fight on the field and was quickly ejected.  The whole thing was ridiculous.

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