Game of the Week: June 27: PHI @ NYY

[Commissioner Erick]

Philadelphia Phillies (45-26) @ New York Yankees (28-41)


PHI: Thomas Eshelman (5-3, 3.04)
NYY: N. Bremer (0-1, 9.00)


The Philadelphia Phillies are part of a dogfight for the NL East lead, as the entire division has put itself in contention for the playoffs. The Phillies have the best offense in the league, plus the deepest, which will be a problem for a struggling New York Yankees staff. The Yankees were supposed to have a dominant bullpen, but its 12th in AL ERA. Their staff, besieged by injuries, will see Noah Bremer make his second career start. The Yankees can slug their way out of a hole, but can they keep the Phillies to single-digits?


Players to Watch:


Phillies:


CF—Odubel Herrera:

An All-Star the past two years, Herrer'a struggles and Philadelphia's depth have resulted in Herrera getting demoted for Andrew Toles. Herrera's hitting just .213 with three home runs in roughly 200 plate appearances, and with the NL East so cutthroat, the Phillies don't have the luxury of seeing if he'll round into form. With rookie Darick Hall supplying a jolt of power at First Base and moving Yordan Alvarez to DH, the Philies are opting to go for the average-and defense of Andrew Toles in Left Field. Herrera's still getting chances, going 2-7 in a pair of outings last week. Those hits though are his only hits over his last 27 at bats. Should Herrera turn it around, he'll likely be back in the lineup, and is still one of the best insurance policies around.


1B—Yordan Alvarez:

The former Rule-V pick Alvarez has taken his game to another level this year, and will look to show it off—on his birthday! Happy Birthday Yordan! Alvarez hit .257 and .255 his first two seasons, with 26 and 21 home runs. This year, the average is up to .292, and if his power numbers were extrapolated to a full season's worth of games he's on pace for 35. A back injury took a chunk out of Alvarez' season, but he's been injuring the pitching his faced this year. One thing to keep in mind: Some of his production this year has been fueled by uncharacteristic success against left-handed pitching in a small sample. If that reverts, or he simply begins to face more lefties, Alvarez will look more like an excellent supporting player than a superstar.


SP—Luke Weaver:

Weaver's gotten better as the year has gone on, recovering from a horrid April to settle into his 5-2 record. Weaver's still allowing home runs, but he's not walking people, and his strikeout numbers are the best they've been with the Phillies. The offenses Weaver has faced in June have been middle-of-the-road, with the Reds, Rockies, and Cardinals on the docket. Weaver also shutout the Orioles over 7.1 innings, but they're barely a major league team. Weaver has a propensity for home runs, and the Yankees are third in home runs. Weaver will need his defense to start helping lower his BABIP, because when the Yankees crank out their home runs, if they're three-run shots, it'll be tough for the Phillies to overcome.


Yankees:


RP—Nick Rumbelow:

Rumbelow has been a solid reliever for the Yankees the past three seasons, striking out roughly 30% of batters, wielding a 3% strikeout rate, and walking between 5.5% and 7.5% of hitters. This year, though, his walk rate and home rate have spiked, while his strikeout rate is his career low. The Yankees used to have a terrific bullpen, and Rumbelow's struggles are symptomatic of the team's struggles. New York needs their pen to come together and they need Rumbelow to pitch better to turn their second half around.


CL—Aroldis Chapman:

Like Rumbelow, Chapman has picked this season to have the worst season of his career. He allowed four runs in 2 innings for Cuba in the WBC, and now has a 5.76 ERA. Teams have a .365 BABIP against him, and he's walked 16 batters in 25 innings. He's still dominating lefties, but righties have five home runs and 13 walks to 14 strikeouts. The Phillies have a ton of lefties though, so if Chapman can turn things around, tonight would be the night to start.


RF—Jarred Kelenic:

New York's first round pick back in 2018, Kelenic didn't play full season ball until this year when he made the jump from Rookie and Short-Season ball last year to the majors this year. Kelenic was too advanced for his level the past pair of seasons, but he wasn't too old as he's still 22-years-old. Kelenic has shown a very balanced offensive profile, with a .253/.337/.441 which is very nice for a 22-year-old. Kelenic has also shown decent defense in right field. Kelenic doesn't have the pure power of many of his teammates, but the Yankees can use a guy who hits line drives and can keep the offense moving considering how often Aaron Judge makes outs ahead of him. This will be a big stage for Kelenic for the league to witness his play.


TRIVIA: Which Yankee is second All-Time in career saves?

[Commissioner Erick]

Yankees 8 - Phillies 7


WP: J. Guzman (1-0)
LP: J. Miller (0-1)
SV: A. Chapman (7)


Up 7-3 in the sixth, the Philadelphia Phillies had a chance to pick up a win, needing all the victories they could get in a cutthroat NL East. The New York Yankees bullpen wouldn't let them have it. New York's pen worked 4.2 scoreless innings, Jarred Kelenic' infield grounder plated the winning run, and the Yankees came back to beat the Phillies 8-7.


How They Played:


Phillies:


CF—Odubel Herrera: 2-5, 2 RBI

Herrera got a rare start in center field and turned in a nice day. He smoked a lined single in the first that brought home an early run for the Phillies off Noah Bremer. In the third, with two outs a man on second, Herrera flew out harmlessly to right. With a runner on third and one out in the fifth, Herrera grounded a ball up the middle and beat Jorge Polanco's throw to first for an infield hit. Herrera would try to score on a single later in the inning, only to be gunned down at the plate by Mark Payton. Herrera fisted a grounder to third off Juan De Paula in the seventh. Finally, he struck out off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth to end the game. Defensively, he made six plays in the field, generally looking like a strong defender. However, he couldn't stop a pair of runners from advancing on outs or hits to his area. Nonetheless, it was a strong performance for Herrera, and a sign that he can still deliver when called upon.

He played the following day after Andrew Toles was hurt in the first inning. He picked up five plate appearances, flying out four times, and grounding an infield single. He also pinch hit on Sunday, tripling in the ninth and scoring the winning run. Herrera showed off an ability to make contact and use his legs, which led to a pair of infield hits. He also came through with a pair of RBIs. While it hasn't been the season he wanted, Herrera is still a hitter coming off a year where he hit .310. As he demonstrated this week, he can still come in and make things happen.


1B—Yordan Alvarez: 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 1 K

Alvarez was extremely productive as he continues to ascend into a star. He dumped a single into left to bring in a run in the first, coming around to score later in the three-run first. He hit a booming double to the right-center field wall in the third, but was stranded at second base. In the fifth, he lashed a double the other way to left-center, bringing home Andrew Toles with his second RBI. He came into score later that inning on a Herrera single. He grounded into a double play off Juan De Paula in the sixth, and struck out in the ninth off Aroldis Chapman. No balls were really playable in his area.

Opponents were wary of Alvarez day, so while Alvarez didn't have a big remainder of the week, he drew a ton of walks. He drew six walks to be exact, giving him a .440 OPS, to go with the Monday doubles and a Sunday home run. The Phillies are coming off their best month of the season, in no small part due to Alvarez' return to the lineup.


SP—Luke Weaver: DNP

It wasn't Weaver's turn to pitch so he stayed on the bench watching Thomas Eshelman struggle through 5 innings.

Weaver started Friday's game against the Washington Nationals, and it was a chore for him. He threw 101 in just 4.2 innings. Importantly, he allowed just two runs, but he gave up seven hits, and a walk while fanning seven. He faced six batters where the at bat went seven pitches or more, as the Nationals lineup really makes a pitcher work. It's a testament to Weaver's resolve that he was able to limit the damage Washington did, holding them to just two runs.


Yankees:


RP—Nick Rumbelow: DNP


Rumbleow had the day off as the rest of the Yankees pen came through with an excellent performance, with 4.2 scoreless innings.

Rumbleow got in to the next game, and pitched three times during the week with mixed results. On Tuesday he worked an inning and allowed a home run to Darick Hall in an 11-9 loss. He followed on Sunday and worked an inning, striking out Tristin Gray and Maniac Moniak, and getting the win when Gleyber Torres followed with a home run the next inning. Finally on Saturday, he got shelled in a 21-2 loss to Houston. He gave up a three-run home run to Lazaro Armenteros, and an RBI double to Vicente Sanchez, allowing three runs in 0.2 innings. Rumbelow continues to give up extra base hits, making him unreliable in big moments.


CL—Aroldis Chapman: 1 IP, 3 K, (SV)

Chapman pitched a dominant inning, striking out each batter he faced, including right-handed Maikel Franco. For a struggling pitcher, it was exactly the outing Chapman needed, as the Yankees will need him to be dominant to close down the close games they'll be in.

Chapman carried that momentum with him in one of the best week he's had this season. He struck out two more batters in a close victory on Wednesday, earning the same in a 3-1 Yankees win. Chapman then appeared yesterday against the Astros. He faced three righties, and only struck out one, but with a harmless groundout and fly out, Chapman was able to earn his ninth save. The Yankees are still 8.5 games back of the wild card, but if Chapman keeps this up, he'll show he'll still be able to help the Yanks if they attempt to contend in 2023.


RF—Jarred Kelenic: 3-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 3B, 1 E

Kelenic had an awesome offensive game, playing a huge game to give the Yankees a comeback win. He walked to leadoff the second, but was stranded there. He batted in fourth and lashed a laser single to left, clocked at 111 miles-per-hour, coming around to score on a single and sac fly. In the sixth, he batted with two on and no outs, and hit one over the head of Mickey Moniak, who misplayed the ball into a two-run triple. Finally, in the seventh, with runners on the corners and one out, he hit one up the middle that Cole Stobbe fielded deep behind second base and couldn't throw Kelenic out. That allowed Torres to score the eventual winning run. Defensively, it was more of an adventure for Kelenic. He made a nice running catch to track down an Odubel Herrera fly ball in the third, right after making an easy grab on a Max Schrock fly ball. He threw away a throw home in the fifth, allowing a run to score though.

The rest of Kelenic' week was disappointing. He only hit 3-21 the rest of the way, leading to a total week battign line of .250. He did have a double and two triples, but he struck out nine times. Kelenic will still need to be better at making contact, as his willingness to work deep counts leads to a lot of strikeouts. He showed that his line drive swing can be a weapon, he just needs to refine it and be more consistent.


TRIVIA: Which pitcher has the most losses all time as a member of the Phillies?

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: Aroldis Chapman

TRIVIA 2: Mark Appel