Game 66 - Sanchez Masters Jays in Series-Opening Win

Philadelphia Phillies	5
Toronto Blue Jays	2

2026 Philadelphia Phillies Photocards

Monday Night, June 8th

Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario
36-30, 2nd Place, 9 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Cristopher Sanchez surprisingly gave up a pair of runs but struck out 10 on the way to his eighth win of the year.

What It Means:  We watched all of these games throughout the week, but a busy work schedule, a bad ear infection and a peaceful Saturday morning means I'm reliving them all after the fact.

What Happened:  Sanchez looked just slightly human, allowing two runs, including a solo home run to Ernie Clement in the fifth.  Brad Keller and Jhoan Duran locked it down, with Duran earning his 16th save.  Adolis Garcia hit a two-run home run in the first.  Sadly, just as the slugger seemed to be turning things around, he'd have his season likely ended with an injury suffered in Wednesday night's game.  Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto added two runs on RBI singles in the third.

Featured Card:  Sanchez would have gotten the card here without the benefit of hindsight, but since I might not get a chance to post any more Garcia cards this year, here's his recently released, team-issued photo card.  In 67 games, Garcia batted .195 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs, and three of those home runs had come in June.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 62 - Phillies Complete Season Sweep of Padres

San Diego Padres	4
Philadelphia Phillies	6

2026 Philadelphia Phillies
Kids Club / Club 215

Thursday Afternoon, June 4th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
33-29, 2nd Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Keeping pace with Cristopher Sanchez's dominance, Zack Wheeler threw a gem of his own and was supported with some actual clutch hits in this 6-4 win over the Padres.

What It Means:  The Phillies completed the season sweep of the Padres, winning all six games against them.  The surprising White Sox come to town next for a weekend series, although their slugging rookie star Munetaka Murakami has landed on the injured list.

What Happened:  Wheeler went seven strong, improving to 5-1 and striking out eight.  His one mistake was allowing a two-run home run in the seventh to Manny Machado.  Bryson Stott had an RBI single in the fourth, Adolis Garcia hit a solo home run (5) to lead off the fifth and Justin Crawford scored on a throwing error from the pitcher later in the inning.  The Phillies went nuts and scored three times in the seventh, with Trea Turner and Alec Bohm contributing RBI singles.  Jose Alvarado gave up a two-run home run in the ninth to Jackson Merrill before recording the final out.

Featured Card:  I'm pulling for Garcia to turn things around, and he collected three hits in this series, including his fifth inning home run.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 37 - Sosa's Clutch Hit in 8th Leads to Comeback Win

Athletics	3
Philadelphia Phillies	6

2019 Topps Heritage #286

Wednesday Night, May 6th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
17-20, Tied for 2nd Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  A four-run eighth inning capped by a go-ahead, two-run single from Edmundo Sosa, led to a 6-3 win over the Athletics.

What It Means:  The Phillies would go for the series sweep on Thursday night, but they'd fall quite a bit short.

What Happened:  Zack Wheeler made his first home start since August 2, 2025, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four.  Brad Keller walked a tight-rope (again) in the ninth, loading the bases, before securing his third save.  The Phillies trailed 3-2 after six innings, following a solo home run from Adolis Garcia.  In the eighth, the Phillies loaded the bases on a Kyle Schwarber walk, a costly error from Jeff McNeil to put Bryce Harper aboard, and a Garcia single.  Sosa fell behind 0-2 and then fouled off four straight pitches before singling to center to score Schwarber and Harper.  Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford brought two more runs home later in the inning.

Featured Card:  I've been waiting to feature this card, and the starring roles played by Garcia and Sosa in this win was a good reason.  Both players came up through the Cardinals' system and they were reunited with the Phillies when Garcia signed with the club in the offseason.

Field Report:  Jenna and I enjoyed this game from Section 315, in front of a group of rowdy nurses, after enjoying a pre-game meal from Pass and Stow.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Spring Training Game 24 - St. Patrick's Day Shutout; 2026 Chachi Set Preview

2026 Chachi Preview #2

Minnesota Twins	0
Philadelphia Phillies	2

Spring Training Game 24

Tuesday Afternoon, March 17th

BayCare Ballpark - Clearwater, FL

Record - 9-14-1

One Sentence Summary:  Jesus Luzardo dealt over five shutout innings against the Twins, while Adolis Garcia drove in both Phillies runs while going 4 for 4 in this 2-0 win.

What It Means:  The Phillies no longer get to wear green jerseys and hats on St. Patrick's Day, thanks to a weird rule from Nike limiting them to only four jersey combinations per year.  Instead, they wore a black hat with a green P and a shamrock patch on the side.  Not even close to being as cool as the full green jerseys.

What Happened:  Luzardo allowed five hits and struck out five in his outing, turning it over the bullpen quartet of Jonathan Bowlan, Trevor Banks, Kyle Backhus and Trevor Richards, who all preserved the shutout.  Garcia hit a solo home run in the fourth and singled home J.T. Realmuto in the sixth for the game's only runs.

Featured Card:  Here's a preview of the 2026 Chachi set, using the 2006 Topps design from 20 (!) years ago.  It's amazing to me how I'm suddenly nostalgic about the 2000s, but here we are.  Our first son was born in 2006, so this year holds special meaning to me.  Along with using this design for the 2026 Chachi set, now in it's 22nd year, I'll feature cards from the 2006 Topps set in my series preview posts.

Camp Head Count:  47

The Phillies Room: Holiday Notes

2025 Topps Holiday #H61

2024 Topps #140

2025 Topps Holiday #H71

2024 Topps #399

2022 Topps #108

I'm writing this on the other side of Christmas, now looking forward to the sounds of spring training that will be here before we know it.  After an unceremonious (and painful) end to the 2025 season, I knew I'd need a break from the Phillies, and this is only my fourth real post since Game 4 of the NLDS. 

December 16 - El Bombi Signs:  It's funny how often one of our favorite non-Phillies ends up on the Phillies.  Most recently, Whit Merrifield comes to mind, and hopefully Adolis Garcia (of) fares better in pinstripes than Merrifield did.  The Phillies signed Garcia to a one-year, $10 million contract, with Dave Dombrowski confirming Garcia is slated to be the team's everyday right fielder.  Garcia is a two-time All-Star and was the ALCS MVP in 2023 with the Rangers, winning a Gold Glove that same year.

He hit .245 that season, reaching career highs in home runs (39) and RBIs (107), and has fallen off each of the past two seasons.  In 135 games with the Rangers last year, Garcia batted .227 with 19 home runs and 75 RBIs, and the Phillies are hoping 2026 is a huge bounce-back season for him.

December 18 - Phils Land Keller:  Brad Keller (rhp), one of the top relievers in baseball that I'm admittedly not really familiar with, was signed by the Phillies to a two-year, $22 million deal.  Keller is a veteran of eight seasons, pitching with the Royals (2018-23), White Sox (2024), Red Sox (2024) and Cubs (2025).  He was 4-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 68 appearances and 69 2/3 innings pitched last season.  As is the fate of many effective middle relievers, Keller didn't appear on a single baseball card in 2025.

December 19 - Strahm Sent to Royals:  In what was deemed to be maneuvering for payroll space, or a way to move a pitcher who had criticized the Phillies' coaching following the NLDS exit, All-Star reliever Matt Strahm (rhp) was traded to the Royals for reliever Jonathan Bowlan (rhp).  When Strahm was good for the Phillies, he was really good, but I have too many memories of him blowing leads in critical games, including last year's NLDS Game 1.  In three seasons with the Phillies, he was 17-10 with a 2.71 ERA in 188 games and 212 2/3 innings pitched.

Bowlan pitched in 34 games last year for the Royals, earning a 3.86 ERA in 44 1/3 innings pitched.  Similar to Keller, he had no baseball card appearances in 2025.

December 19 - Trade with Diamondbacks:  After the Strahm deal, the Phillies acquired Kyle Backhus (lhp) from the Diamondbacks for minor leaguer Avery Owusu-Asiedu (of).  Backhus made his big league debut in 2025, appearing in 32 games for Arizona and going 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA in 25 1/3 innings pitched.  Backhus has had no major baseball card appearances yet, only appearing in four minor league team sets.

December 22 - Phils Add Pop:  In what may be the last roster move of the year (?), the Phillies signed Zach Pop (rhp) to a major league deal.  Pop spent most of 2025 in the minors, appearing in a combined five games in the majors with the Mariners and Mets.  In parts of five big league seasons, he's 8-6 with a 4.88 ERA in 163 games, all in relief.  Pop's last mainstream baseball card appearance was way back in 2022.

The's Phillies' 40-man roster now has 39 players on it.

There have been a few other minor league signings announced through unofficial channels, and I'll hold off on posting about those new potential Phillies until the team makes official announcements or reveals its list of spring training non-roster invitees.