Twins at Phillies: August 11th to August 13th

2014 Topps Heritage #89

2023 Chachi 1965 Topps Missing Links #11

Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's one of the best (if not the best) weekends of the season at the ballpark, as dozens of Phillies alumni will return for the annual Alumni Weekend celebrations.  Tonight, Jim Kaat will throw out the first pitch to Bob Boone.  On Saturday, the Phillies will honor two of their three Wall of Fame inductees - former general managers John Quinn and Ruly Carpenter.  On Sunday, the Phillies will salute the 1983 and 1993 National League Championship teams, with a pregame ceremony honoring all alumni on hand.  Larry Andersen will throw out a ceremonial first pitch to catcher Ozzie Virgil.

Twins 60-57
1st Place in the A.L. Central, 3 1/2 games ahead of the Guardians

Twins Probables
Dallas Keuchel (0-0, 1.80)
Pablo Lopez (7-6, 3.81)
Sonny Gray (5-5, 3.18)

Twins Leaders
Average:  Carlos Correa - .227
Runs:  Byron Buxton - 49
Home Runs:  Joey Gallo and Max Kepler - 18
RBIs:  Carlos Correa - 53
Stolen Bases:  Willi Castro - 29

Wins:  Joe Ryan - 9
ERA:  Sonny Gray - 3.18
Strikeouts:  Pablo Lopez - 173
Saves:  Jhoan Duran - 20

Phillies 64-52
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 9 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Cristopher Sanchez (0-3, 3.44)
Taijuan Walker (13-4, 3.98)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryson Stott - .300
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 68
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 30
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 73
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott and Trea Turner - 22

Wins:  Taijuan Walker - 13
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.74

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 155
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 19

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 127 - Gibson, Realmuto Shut Down Bucs

2022 Topps #57

Phillies 6, Pirates 0
Game 127 - Saturday Night, August 27th in Philadelphia
Record - 72-55, 3rd Place, 9 1/2 games behind the Mets

Post-Vacation Catch-Up II, Post 7 of 11

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies scored early and often to support starter Kyle Gibson's effort in this 6-0 win over the Pirates.

What It Means:  The Phillies are keeping pace with the Mets in the division and positioning themselves for one of the three Wild Card spots up for grabs in the National League.

What Happened:  J.T. Realmuto gave Gibson all the run-support he'd need with a bases clearing, three-run double in the first inning.  Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm would drive in two more runs in the second, and Nick Castellanos hit a solo home run, his 13th of the year, in the third.  Gibson was stellar, pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing six hits and striking out nine.  Sam Coonrod and Nick Nelson pitched the final two innings to preserve the shutout.

Featured Card:  Gibson's Phillies cards can be found this year in the Topps flagship and Topps Heritage sets, and this is his card from Topps Series One, released way back in February.

Transaction:  Brandon Marsh (of) was activated from the injured list and Bradley Zimmer (of) was designated for assignment.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 85 - Gibson Nearly Unhittable in Win

2022 Phillies Photo Cards #44

Phillies 1, Cardinals 0
Game 85 - Saturday Afternoon, July 9th in St. Louis
Record - 46-39, 3rd Place, 7 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies defeated the Cardinals, 1-0, in a playoff-like atmosphere dominated by pitching.

What It Means:  The Phillies were a season high seven games over .500 following this narrow victory.

What Happened:  Kyle Gibson pitched like Bob Gibson, giving up only two hits in his seven innings of work before yielding to the bullpen.  Jose Alvarado and Corey Knebel pitched the final two scoreless innings, with Knebel earning his 12th save.  With neither team scoring anything through the first eight innings, Darick Hall led off the top of the ninth with a double to right.  Pinch-runner Mickey Moniak entered for Hall and he moved to third on a bunt single by Didi Gregorius.  Alec Bohm then brought home Moniak with a sacrifice fly to right, meaning Bohm drove home all three runs scored in the first two games of this series.

Featured Card:  Gibson got a no-decision in this game, but perhaps he'll take some solace with the knowledge he earned the featured card for this game summary post that nearly 20 or so people will see.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2022 Chachi #15 Kyle Gibson

#44
Kyle Benjamin Gibson
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'6"  Weight:  215
Opening Day Age:  34
Born:  October 23, 1987, Greenfield, IN
How Obtained:  Acquired from the Texas Rangers with Hans Crouse and Ian Kennedy for Josh Gessner, Kevin Gowdy and Spencer Howard, July 30, 2021
Contract Status:  Signed through 2022
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 2013-2019; Texas Rangers 2020-2021; Philadelphia Phillies 2021-

First Phillies Card:  2022 Topps #57
Newest Card Added:  2022 Topps Phillies #PHI-9
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  2013, 2015-2016, 2018-2022

4 - Gibson baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/1/22.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2021 Chachi #59
2022 Chachi #15

2013 Topps Update #US154

2015 Topps #632

2019 Topps #597

2020 Topps Update #US-26

2022 Topps #57

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2022 Chachi #14 Simon Muzziotti / 2022 Chachi #16 Zach Eflin

Game 2 - Gibson K's 10, Harper Receives MVP

2022 Topps Heritage #486

Phillies 4, Athletics 2
Game 2 - Saturday Afternoon, April 9th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-0, 2nd Place, 1/2 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Gibson struck out 10 and Nick Castellanos hit his first home run for the Phillies in this 4-2 win over the Athletics.

What It Means:  The team will go for the series sweep this afternoon against the Athletics with Zach Eflin on the mound.

What Happened:  Castellanos got the Phillies on the scoreboard early, homering in the first inning off former Phillie Cole Irvin after Bryce Harper had been hit by a pitch.  In the sixth, Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura hit back-to-back home runs to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead.  Hoskins, Segura and Alec Bohm, getting the start at third base, all had multi-hit days.

Jose Alvarado allowed a run in the eighth and Corey Knebel gave up an unearned run in the ninth to earn his first Phillies save.

Featured Card:  Gibson fell one strikeout short of tying his career high of 11.  Relying on an impressive curve, Gibson pitched seven innings, allowing only two hits and walking none.  He's only appeared on two Phillies baseball cards to date, with appearances in the 2022 Topps flagship set and the 2022 Topps Heritage set. 

Field Report:  For the second game in a row, Doug was there, but this time he took his Mom, his grandfather (celebrating his birthday) and his Uncle Drew.  Doug tells me he can highly recommend the new burnt tips cheesesteak from Bull's BBQ.  The four of them enjoyed the pre-game ceremony during which Harper received his 2021 National League MVP award.  Following the game, Doug's grandfather John met up with Athletics' pitcher Lou Trivino who he used to umpire when Trivino was in high school.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2021 Chachi #59 Kyle Gibson

#44
Kyle Benjamin Gibson
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'6"  Weight:  215
Opening Day Age:  33
Born:  October 23, 1987, Greenfield, IN
How Obtained:  Acquired from the Texas Rangers with Hans Crouse and Ian Kennedy for Josh Gessner, Kevin Gowdy and Spencer Howard, July 30, 2021
Contract Status:  Signed through 2022
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 2013-2019; Texas Rangers 202-2021; Philadelphia Phillies 2021

First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Minor League Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2021 Topps Heritage #224

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  2013, 2015-2016, 2018-2020

1 - Gibson baseball card in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 8/16/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2021 Chachi #59

Kyle Gibson will hopefully solidify the Phillies starting pitching rotation for the remainder of the 2021 season and for all of 2022.  He's won at least 10 games in five different seasons with the Twins and Rangers, and Gibson was named to his first All-Star team this year.  He assumed his usual uniform number (#44) upon joining the Phillies and if outfielder Matt Vierling comes back up from the IronPigs this season, he'll need a new number.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 105 - 2020 Topps Heritage #593 Kyle Gibson

Phillies 15, Pirates 4
Game 105 - Sunday Afternoon, August 1st in Pittsburgh
Record - 52-53, 2nd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Gibson picked up the win in his Phillies debut and the offense banged out 20 hits in this 15-4 drubbing of the Pirates.

What It Means:  Finally, the offense exploded and this would mark the start of the team's eight game winning streak.  By the following week, the Phillies would have swept the Nationals and Mets and found themselves in first place.  (Spoiler alert, I guess?)

We listened to this game from somewhere around Trenton in between our oldest son Doug's baseball tournament games.  Both he and his team did well over the weekend, and it was nice to drive home with wins from both our favorite teams - Doug's team and the Phillies.

What Happened:  J.T. Realmuto led the way, going 5 for 6 with a pair of doubles, three runs scored and four RBIs.  The Phillies had nine doubles overall with three of them coming from Bryce Harper, who continued to heat up.  Didi Gregorius had a much-needed three-hit afternoon as well.

Featured Card:  I'll need to go back into Gibson's baseball card archives until he receives his first Phillies baseball card.  The new addition to the starting pitching rotation was impressive, allowing two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out five.

August 1, 2021 - Warming up in East Windsor, NJ

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Phillies Trade Deadline Round-Up (Hooray?)

On Friday afternoon, the Phillies pulled the trigger on a trio of trades that will hopefully make them a better team for the rest of this season and potentially beyond.  I don't know enough about the prospects dealt or most of the players received to compose an in-depth analysis, so this post will focus on the baseball cards of the players leaving the organization and the new players who we'll get to know better in the coming months.

2021 Indianapolis Indians Team Issue

2019 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #8

Trade #1 - Warming Up

Phillies acquire Braeden Ogle (lhp) from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Abrahan Gutierrez (c)

This doesn't help the team immediately, but Braeden Ogle is a highly-rated pitching prospect who had yet to appear in the majors with the Pirates.  Drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Ogle had a 3.13 ERA over 31 2/3 innings pitched this season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.  To date he's appeared on some pre-rookie cards with Leaf and a few Pirates' minor league team sets.

Abrahan Gutierrez was supposed to head to the Pirates in the aborted Tyler Anderson deal.  He was batting .288 with the Low-A Clearwater Threshers, and I have two of his baseball cards in my collection, both from 2019 Lakewood BlueClaws team sets.

2021 Topps Heritage #224

2020 Topps Heritage #213

2020 Bowman Prospects #BP-119

2021 Topps Gypsy Queen #231

2019 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #7

Trade #2 - The Big One

Phillies acquire Kyle Gibson (rhp), Ian Kennedy (rhp), Hans Crouse (rhp) and cash for Spencer Howard (rhp), Kevin Gowdy (rhp) and Josh Gessner (rhp).

Kyle Gibson was an All-Star this year with the Rangers and in 19 starts he's 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA.  He came up with the Twins in 2013, where he spent the first seven seasons of his career.  Gibson has appeared in six Topps flagship sets beginning in 2013, and then between 2015 and 2020.  He's in the 2021 Topps Heritage set, and I imagine he'll receive an All-Star card in the 2021 Topps Update set.

Veteran Kennedy is in his 15th big league season and in 32 games with the Rangers this year he has a 2.51 ERA with 16 saves.  Kennedy was a 21-game winner with the Diamondbacks in 2011, and he converted to a closer in 2019, saving 30 games for the Royals.  He's appeared in Topps flagship sets most years dating back to 2010, and he appears with the Royals in this year's flagship set.  He could assume the closer role with Ranger Suarez potentially returning to the starting rotation.

Crouse is interesting here, as he's apparently one of the Rangers' top pitching prospects.  His most readily available cards can be found in the 2020 Bowman set.

I'm genuinely sad to see Spencer Howard go, and it's tough to accept he went from the team's top pitching prospect to a complete question mark in such a short span of time.  I have 36 of his cards in my Phillies collection to date, and I'll continue to root for him even if he's wearing a Rangers uniform.  Kevin Gowdy was the Phillies' second round pick (after Mickey Moniak) back in 2016 and Josh Gessner was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Australia.  Gowdy has appeared on a few Bowman and minor league team set cards, and Gessner doesn't have any baseball card appearances yet.

2021 Topps #274

2019 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #3

Trade #3 - The Reunion

Phillies acquired Freddy Galvis (ss) and cash from the Baltimore Orioles for Tyler Burch (rhp)

The popular Freddy Galvis returns to his original team, where he was the everyday shortstop for three seasons between 2015 and 2017.  Galvis is expected to provide a defensive upgrade to the team's poorly fielding infield.  He's in the 2021 Topps flagships set as well as this year's Topps Heritage set, with the Reds.  I currently have 49 Galvis cards in my Phillies collection and I'm looking forward to adding a few more.  Tyler Burch is a 23-year-old reliever who has played in the Phillies system since 2019.  I have one card of his in my collection from the 2019 Williamsport Crosscutters team set.