The Phillies Room

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Game 86 - 2021 Topps #160 Brandon Workman

Red Sox 11, Phillies 5
Game 86 - Friday Night, July 9th in Boston
Record - 42-44, 3rd Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Vince Velasquez was hit often and early, leading to a large hole the Phillies couldn't dig out from, in this 11-5 series opening loss to the Red Sox.

What It Means: This was Velasquez's shortest start of the season, and by far his worst. After showing flashes of brilliance in his June 29th start against the Marlins, he's fallen back into his old ineffective ways in his last two starts. In 14 starts this season, Velasquez is now 3-4 with a 5.24 ERA.

What Happened: The Phillies trailed 9-3 after three innings and the game was pretty much over at that point. J.D. Martinez went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, including a three-run home run in the second. Infielder Ronald Torreyes pitched a perfect eighth inning, retiring the Red Sox on five pitches.

Featured Card: Brandon Workman pitched the ninth inning for the Red Sox, striking out Alec Bohm and Travis Jankowski. Workman is back with the Red Sox after the Phillies acquired him this time last year in one of franchise's worst trades in recent memory. Workman was atrocious with the Phillies, ending his short time with the club with a 1-4 record in 14 games, a 6.92 ERA and with batters hitting .377 against him. He cost the Phillies a top pitching prospect (Connor Seabold) and Nick Pivetta, who the Phillies will face on Sunday. I was honestly offended to find Topps had given Workman a Phillies card in their series one offering earlier this year.

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

Friday, July 9, 2021

Series Preview - Phillies at Red Sox: July 9th to July 11th

2021 Chachi 1986 Topps Missing Links #13

1986 Topps #633

Friday 7:10, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 1:10
Fenway Park - Boston, MA

At the Ballpark: It's hard to believe this is the final series before the 2021 All-Star break, marking the end of the first half of the season. On Friday night, fans will receive a Red Sox water tumbler.

Phillies 42-43
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Vince Velasquez (3-3, 4.50)
Matt Moore (0-1, 5.60)
Aaron Nola (6-5, 4.53)

Phillies Leaders
Average: Bryce Harper - .281
Runs: Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen - 46
Home Runs: Rhys Hoskins - 20
RBIs: Rhys Hoskins - 53
Stolen Bases: Bryce Harper - 7

Wins: Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler - 6
ERA: Zack Wheeler - 2.26
Strikeouts: Zack Wheeler - 145
Saves: Hector Neris - 11

Red Sox 54-34
1st Place in the A.L. East, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Rays

Red Sox Probables
Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.88)
Martin Perez (7-4, 3.89)
Nick Pivetta (7-3, 4.09)

Red Sox Leaders
Average: Xander Bogaerts - .323
Runs: J.D. Martinez - 59
Home Runs: Rafael Devers - 21
RBIs: Rafael Devers - 71
Stolen Bases: Christian Vazquez - 8

Wins: Nathan Eovaldi - 9
ERA: Nathan Eovaldi - 3.66

Strikeouts: Nick Pivetta - 109
Saves: Matt Barnes - 19

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Game 85 - 2021 Topps Now #448 Brad Miller

Phillies 8, Cubs 0
Game 85 - Thursday Night, July 8th in Chicago
Record - 42-43, 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Brad Miller, getting the start at first base over the hot Rhys Hoskins, launched three home runs and drove in five runs in this 8-0 win over the Cubs.

What It Means: Miller became the first Phillies player with three home runs in a game since Jayson Werth did it against the Blue Jays in 2008.

What Happened: Did Gregorius also had a nice night at the plate, going 3 for 5 with a two-run home run in the seventh. Zach Eflin battled through six scoreless innings of work, allowing only five hits, to earn the win. Archie Bradley, Hector Neris and Ranger Suarez kept the Cubs off the scoreboard for the final three innings.

Featured Card: To date, Miller has only two Phillies baseball cards - a Topps Now card from 2019 and another Topps Now released a week ago to celebrate his walk-off hit against the Padres. Hopefully he ends up with a more mainstream Phillies baseball card before the year is done.

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

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Game 84 - 2021 Topps #431 Andrew McCutchen

Cubs 8, Phillies 3
Game 84 - Wednesday Night, July 7th in Philadelphia
Record - 41-43, Tied for 3rd Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Thanks in part to a costly error from Didi Gregorius and a relatively shaky outing from Zack Wheeler, the Cubs snapped their 11-game losing streak with this 8-3 win.

What It Means: The Phillies will go for the series win tonight behind Zach Eflin.

What Happened: The Cubs took a 3-0 lead in the first when Gregorius couldn't cleanly field a ground ball. The Cubs offense followed with four singles (three of them not even hit that hard) as they nearly batted around. Two more Cubs runs followed in the fifth, but the Phillies were able to improve the score to 5-3 with an RBI double from Bryce Harper and a two-run home run from Andrew McCutchen in the sixth. They could have possibly scored more, but Alec Bohm was caught over sliding second base, resulting in the final out of the inning. Wheeler and reliever Connor Brogdon failed to have a shut-down inning in the bottom of the sixth and the Cubs scored three more runs.

Featured Card: After a dreadful start, McCutchen has his season average up to .233. He's second on the team with 48 RBIs and he's tied for second on the team with 15 home runs.

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Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Game 83 - 2019 Topps #446 Philly Special

Phillies 15, Cubs 10
Game 83 - Tuesday Night, July 6th in Chicago
Record - 41-42, 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: The Phillies greeted former teammate Jake Arrieta with extreme rudeness, chasing the Cubs starter in the second inning and going on to a 15-10 win.

What It Means: Per this Todd Zolecki Tweet, this is the first time the Phillies have scored 13+ runs in consecutive games since April 26-27, 2009.

What Happened: Aaron Nola was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, and he went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out eight. Andrew McCutchen hit a first inning grand slam off Arrieta, and both Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper would homer later in the game. Harper went 5 for 6 with four RBIs, with Hoskins going 3 for 5 with four RBIs of his own. Jean Segura enjoyed a four-hit night to raise his season average to .330.

Featured Card: This game is a good excuse to feature this card, especially with both Harper and Hoskins heating up at the same time.

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2021 Chachi #53 Neftali Feliz

#96
Neftali Feliz
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height: 6'3" Weight:  235
Opening Day Age: 32
Born:  May 2, 1988, Azua, Dominican Republic
How Obtained:  Signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent, January 4, 2021
Major League Teams: Texas Rangers 2009-2015; Detroit Tigers 2015; Pittsburgh Pirates 2016; Milwaukee Brewers 2017; Kansas City Royals 2017; Philadelphia Phillies 2021

First Phillies Card: N/A
First Phillies Minor League Card: 2021 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #11
First Phillies Team Issued Card: N/A

Newest Card Added: 2021 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #11

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 2009-2017

1 - Feliz baseball card in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 7/6/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2021 Chachi #53

As I'm writing this, Feliz has alrady departed from the Phillies organization, designated for assignment on July 1st and declared a free agent on July 3rd after passing through waivers and declining his assignment back to Lehigh Valley. The former A.L. Rookie of the Year appeared in two games for the Phillies getting hit hard in both, and earning an 0-1 record and a 36.00 ERA with the club. I have one card of his in my Phillies collection, from the recently released IronPigs team set.

Feliz reportedly signed a minor league deal yesterday with the Dodgers, which means he's just about destined to be one of the league's most dominant relievers in the second half of the 2021 season.

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

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Game 81 - 2019 Topps Update #US58 J.T. Realmuto

Padres 11, Phillies 1
Game 81 - Sunday Afternoon, July 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 39-42, 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: The Phillies were never really in this game, trailing 5-1 heading to the ninth, but a nightmare outing from Hector Neris made it a blow-out 11-1 loss to the Padres.

What It Means: Neris had struck out the first two batters he faced in the ninth on six pitches and appeared to be one strike away from an immaculate inning (nine pitches, three strikeouts) when home plate umpire Alan Porter called a clear strike a ball. Neris fell apart. Six runs would cross the plate on two walks and four hits before back-up catcher Andrew Knapp was brought in to record the final out.

What Happened: Other than that, not much happened for the Phillies. J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run in the sixth. Vince Velasquez pitched six innings and allowed all five early Padres runs. Both teams wore red holiday hats.

Featured Card: On Sunday late afternoon, Realmuto and Zack Wheeler were named to the National League All-Star team. It will be Realmuto's third appearance at the Mid-Summer Classic and Wheeler's first. This is the first All-Star Game since 2013 that the Phillies will have two players representing the club. That year, both Cliff Lee and Domonic Brown were on the squad.

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

Game 80 - 2021 Topps 1951 Topps Blake Jamieson #44 Bryce Harper

Phillies 4, Padres 2
Game 80 - Saturday Afternoon, July 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 39-41, Tied for 3rd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins paced the offense as Zach Eflin pitched six strong innings in this 4-2 rainy day win over the Padres.

What It Means: It rained pretty much the entire day as we braved Epcot in the morning and retreated to our room in the afternoon. It was also raining in Philly as we were able to watch almost the entirety of this game through its multiple rain delays.

What Happened: Eflin lasted six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, including a first inning bomb of a home run to Manny Machado. Harper and Hoskins both hit solo home runs in the second to tie the game at 2-2. They came through again in the sixth with Harper driving in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and Hoskins doubling to left to score Andrew McCutchen with an insurance run.

New closer Ranger Suarez pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his first career save.

Featured Card: This card is from an online set released before the start of the season, with artist Blake Jamieson paying tribute to the original 1951 Topps sets. With Harper and Hoskins both hopefully heating up, I'm fine with posting as many cards of those two sluggers as I can.

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

Game 79 - 2021 Topps #561 Didi Gregorius

Phillies 4, Padres 3 (10 Innings)
Game 79 - Friday Night, July 2nd in Philadelphia
Record - 38-41, 4th Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Brad Miller bailed out the beleaguered bullpen with a walk-off double in the 10th to score Andrew McCutchen and give the Phillies a 4-3 win over the Padres.

What It Means: One out away from a win, Ranger Suarez couldn't escape the mess created by Jose Alvarado, and the Phillies had their eighth blown save in nine games.

What Happened: Zack Wheeler was once again fantastic, pitching 7 2/3 innings and allowing four runs while striking out nine. He departed in the eighth with his team leading 3-0 and needing four outs. Alvarado had other plans, allowing a lead-off walk in the ninth followed by a Fernando Tatis, Jr. double and another walk. With runners at first and second, Suarez allowed a two-run double to Jurickson Profar to tie the game. Fortunately, Suarez calmed down and retired the Padres in order in the top of the 10th.

Pinch-hitting for Suarez, Miller's ball appeared to clear the fence at first, but it was later ruled a double, scoring ghost runner McCutchen easily.

Featured Card: With the return of Didi Gregorius, this marked the first game since Mother's Day in which the entire regular starting line-up was healthy and playing. Gregorius homered in his second at-bat of the game.

As an added bonus, here's a limited edition Chachi card featuring our favorite Country Bear, Big Al, who photo bombed us earlier in the day at the Magic Kingdom.

Transaction: On Thursday, Brandon Kintzler (rhp) was activated from the injured list and Neftali Feliz (rhp) was designated for assignment. Like David Hale before him, Feliz declined the assignment to Lehigh Valley and became a free agent. Before this game, Gregorius (ss) was activated from the injured list and Nick Maton (ss) was sent back to Lehigh Valley.

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

Game 78 - 2021 Bowman Prospects #BP-17 Bryson Stott

Marlins 11, Phillies 6
Game 78 - Wednesday Night, June 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-41, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Aaron Nola's struggles continued and the bullpen threw gasoline on the fire as the Marlins easily defeated the Phillies, 11-6.

What It Means: This game would mark the quick end of Neftali Feliz's Phillies career, as he was brought into the game (for some reason) with the score tied at 5-5 in the fifth. He allowed a single and a double, ultimately giving the Marlins an 8-5 lead. They didn't look back after that, and Feliz would be designated for assignment on Thursday.

What Happened: Nola struck out 11, but his final line (4 2/3 innings, 9 hits, 7 runs) was brutal. The Marlins clubbed nine more hits off five different Phillies relievers. Bryce Harper went 3 for 5 with two solo home runs in the losing effort.

Featured Card: Harper's spring training roommate, top prospect Bryson Stott, was named to MLB's Futures Game on this day and he'll be the sole Phillies representative at this year's exhibition the Sunday before the All-Star Game. Stott has already appeared on quite a few Bowman and Topps releases dating back to last year.

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

Game 77 - 2021 Topps #653 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 4, Marlins 3
Game 77 - Tuesday Night, June 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-40, 3rd Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Vince Velasquez threw seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits, as the bullpen barely held on to preserve this 4-3 Phillies victory.

What It Means: Velasquez was fantastic, throwing 97 pitches in his outing and striking out seven. It was a much-needed performance after the prior day's bashing.

What Happened: The Phillies scored their runs on an RBI-single from Andrew McCutchen in the first, a solo home run from Rhys Hoskins in the sixth and an RBI-double from Odubel Herrera in the seventh. Herrera scored the team's fourth run on a wild pitch. Newly (and briefly) appointed closer Jose Alvarado entered the game with two outs in the eighth to attempt a four-out save. His eighth inning sequence wasn't pretty - walk, wild pitch to score a run, ground out. He started the ninth with a single and two-run home run to Adam Duvall before finally settling in and retiring the side.

Featured Card: Velasquez has been frustratingly inconsistent since 2016, but when he's on, like he was in this game, it's a thing of beauty.

Transaction: Jean Segura (2b) was activated from the injured list and Spencer Howard (rhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.

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

Game 76 - 2010 Topps #235 Neftali Feliz

Reds 12, Phillies 4
Game 76 - Monday Night, June 28th in Cincinnati
Record - 36-40, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: A late-inning bullpen implosion resulted in ten Reds runs scored in the seventh and eighth innings as the Phillies fell dramatically, 12-4.

What It Means: After enjoying our first day in the Magic Kingdom during our vacation, I was treated to this Tweet from Matt Gelb, summarizing the game as follows: "In a season of gruesome losses, it was one of the most disgusting yet."

What Happened: Bailey Falter entered the game in the third, after starter Spencer Howard lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up a pair of runs. Falter pitched four solid innings, allowing a run while striking out six. The Phillies held a 4-2 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh, with Alec Bohm and Ronald Torreyes each driving in two runs, but then the wheels came off.

Neftali Feliz, the 2010 A.L. Rookie of the Year, entered the game, making his first big league appearance since August 13, 2017 when he was pitching for the Royals. Feliz was hit often and hard, with the big blow coming from Nick Castellanos in the form of a go-ahead grand slam. Enyel De Los Santos fared even worse in the eighth, allowing six more runs to score. Nick Maton had to enter the game to retire the final batter in the bottom of the eighth - Tony Santillan, a pitcher, who struck out as a pinch-hitter.

Featured Card: We know now that this would be one of only two appearances Feliz would make in a Phillies uniform. The former All-Star closer saved a career high 40 games for the Rangers in 2010.

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

Game 82 - 2021 Topps Now #384 Rhys Hoskins

Phillies 13, Cubs 3
Game 82 - Monday Night, July 5th in Chicago
Record - 40-42, Tied for 3rd Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary: The Phillies rode five home runs to a blow-out 13-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

What It Means: We returned from a magical vacation to Walt Disney World on Monday night and after unpacking, we settled in to watch the Phillies from the comfort of our living room. We had a wonderful trip, made all the more joyous as it was the first time we'd left the area since November 2019. In the days to come, and for the sake of completeness, I'll slowly catch up on the game summary posts I missed while visiting Mickey and his pals.

What Happened: The home runs came from Andrew Knapp, Didi Gregorius, Odubel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm. The latter two were hit off Cubs' infielder Eric Sogard in for mop-up duty in the ninth inning. Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including two doubles. Matt Moore worked out of trouble through most of his four innings of work, with Connor Brogdon coming on in the fifth and throwing two huge scoreless innings.

Featured Card: He's only hitting .231, but Hoskins now has 19 home runs and 49 RBIs, with both marks leading the team and putting him on pace for a 40 home run, 100 RBI season.

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Monday, July 5, 2021

Series Preview - Phillies at Cubs: July 5th to July 8th

1986 Topps #302

1986 Topps #485

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:05
Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL

At the Ballpark: The Phillies Room staff is currently taking its first of two summer sabbaticals, and the blog will return to semi-current live posting shortly. Thanks for your continued support and Go Phils!

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