Series Preview - Cardinals at Phillies: April 16th to April 18th

1986 Topps #178

1986 Topps #39

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05, Sunday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  All fans attending tonight's game will receive an Andrew McCutchen Philadelphia Stars t-shirt, paying tribute to the former Negro League team.  The Cardinals and Phillies will also all wear #42 as part of Major League Baseball's Jackie Robinson Salute.  On Sunday, the Phanatic celebrates his birthday with all fans receiving a Phillie Phanatic knit hat.

Cardinals 6-6
3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 1 game behind the Brewers and Reds

Cardinals Probables
Carlos Martinez (0-2, 6.30)
Kwang-Hyun Kim (0-0, 0.00)
John Gant (0-1, 3.00)

Cardinals Leaders
Average:  Yadier Molina - .342
Runs:  Paul DeJong - 9
Home Runs:  Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carson - 3
RBIs:  Dylan Carson - 9
Stolen Bases:  Tommy Edman - 3

Wins:  Jack Flaherty and Giovanny Gallegos - 2
ERA:  Jack Flaherty - 4.11
Strikeouts:  Jack Flaherty - 16
Saves:  Alex Reyes - 3

Phillies 6-6
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1 game behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zach Eflin (0-0, 3.46)
Matt Moore (0-0, 7.56)
Aaron Nola (0-1, 3.45)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  J.T. Realmuto - .324
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 8
Home Runs:  3 tied with - 2
RBIs:  Didi Gregorius - 9
Stolen Bases:  Alec Bohm and Roman Quinn - 2

Wins:  Connor Brogdon - 3
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.00
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 20
Saves:  Hector Neris - 2

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

1985 Game 22 - 1985 Donruss #503 Luis Aguayo

Phillies 7, Astros 5 (13 Innings)
Game 22 - Saturday Night, May 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 10-12, Tied for 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs and Expos

One Sentence Summary:  Luis Aguayo, an unlikely hero, had a four-hit game and hit a two-run home run in the 13th to give the Phillies a 7-5 walk-off win.

What It Means:  This was the high-water mark for the 1985 Phillies.  They would get to within two games of .500 just one more time in the season, at the beginning of September, but by then they were 18 games out of first place.  On this night, featuring a dramatic win, the Phillies still had hope.

What Happened:  John Denny pitched into the ninth inning for the Phillies, allowing five runs (four earned) on 12 hits while striking out six.  Manager John Felske probably should have lifted Denny after eight innings - see below.  Dave Rucker made his Phillies debut pitching a perfect 12th and 13th innings, and earning the win.

Ozzie Virgil continued to swing a hot bat, hitting a three-run home run in the fourth that put the Phillies ahead 4-2.  Aguayo's first home run of the game in the sixth made it 5-2.  That was the score when Denny allowed a ninth inning, three-run home run to pinch-hitter Harry Spilman to tie the game up.  A costly Juan Samuel error at the start of the inning prolonged the game and led to Spilman's big hit.

Aguayo's walk-off blast came off Astros reliever Bill Dawley with one out and Virgil on first base.

Featured Card:  Aguayo was starting at third base to give the struggling Mike Schmidt a night off, and his big night led to a second start at third the following night.  Through the first 21 games of the season, Schmidt was hitting only .211.  He did get into this game in the ninth, delivering a pinch-hit single but then promptly getting lifted for pinch-runner Kiko Garcia.

This was to be the only four-hit game of Aguayo's career.

Transaction:  Prior to the game, Jerry Koosman landed on the disabled list with an inflamed left knee and Rucker was recalled from Portland.  Rucker had been acquired on April 6th, right before the start of the season, from the Cardinals for reliever Bill Campbell and shortstop Ivan DeJesus.  DeJesus had lost his starting shortstop job to Steve Jeltz and was expendable.

1985 Donruss #260

1985 Donruss #204

1985 Donruss #163

Cardinals at Phillies: June 19th to June 21st

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

Cardinals 43-23, 1st Place in the N.L. Central, 4 games ahead of the Pirates
Phillies 23-45, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 13 games behind the Mets

Cardinals Probables:  Tyler Lyons (1-0, 5.00), John Lackey (5-4, 3.59), Michael Wacha (9-2, 2.48)
Phillies Probables:  Phillippe Aumont (0-0, 0.00), Aaron Harang (4-8, 3.24), Adam Morgan (0-0, 0.00)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is 1960s Retro Night with both teams taking the field in throwback uniforms from the 1960s.  There's much more information about this theme night here.  On Sunday, all men 15 and over will receive a 1960s Phillies hat as part of the Father's Day celebration.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Ben Revere - .280
Runs:  Ben Revere - 32
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 12
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 30
Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 17

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 5
ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.96
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 103
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 13

1985 Topps Traded #30T

1985 Topps #421

1985 Topps Traded #98T

1985 Topps #791

1985 Topps Appreciation:  If you want to trace the legacy of the dreadful trade that sent Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs in January 1982, it gets even more depressing.  As all Phillies (and Cubs) fans know, Sandberg and Larry Bowa were traded to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus.  Over three years later, on April 6, 1985, DeJesus and reliever Bill Campbell were traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dave Rucker.  The four Topps baseball cards featured above present the before and after results of this Phillies-Cardinals trade.  (I featured Campbell's 1985 Topps card in the Red Sox series preview that opened the season.)

Over the course of three years and three months, the Phils gave up Sandberg, Bowa, DeJesus and Campbell . . . for Rucker.  The southpaw spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies, going 3-4 with a 4.66 ERA and a WHIP of 1.639 over 104 1/3 innings pitched.

1986 Topps #39 Dave Rucker

Mets 7, Phillies 1
Game 106 - Monday Night, July 28th in Flushing
Record - 46-60, 5th Place, 12 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Another Why Even Bother Post-Vacation Massive Catch-Up, Part 3 of 8

One Sentence Summary:  In what could potentially be his final start with the Phillies (it wasn't), A.J. Burnett got lit up early and the Mets went on to win this ballgame easily, 7-1.

What It Means:  It seems as if everyone the Phillies are trying to trade right now is struggling.  (These posts are running late, but I'm actually composing them shortly after the games are finished.)

What Happened:  Burnett allowed four first inning runs and was chased after just five innings.  His final line wasn't pretty - seven runs on eight hits and one three-run home run to former Phillies prospect Travis d'Arnaud.  Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz both had four hits in this game, but it was all for naught.

Featured Card:  I was going to feature a d'Arnaud card from his time in the Phillies system, but I've previously posted the three cards of his in my collection.  Instead, here's the Dave Rucker card that my oldest son Doug pulled from a pack of 1986 Topps purchased from the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk for a dollar.  (He threw out the gum.)

There's a gift shop on the Ocean City boardwalk that sells Star Wars men and baseball cards, among other things.  It's an annual stop of ours whenever we walk the boards and this year Doug spent his money on packs of junk wax era cards.  He came away with packs of 1988 and 1991 Score, 1986 Topps and 1991 Fleer.  He spent the evening sorting and studying these cards and asking when we could go back for more packs of 1988 Score - his favorite of the bunch.