Game of the Week: September 11: WAS @ PHI

[Commissioner Erick]

Washington Nationals (85-59) @ Philadelphia Phillies (90-52)


WAS: Gerrit Cole (11-8, 3.70)
PHI: Thomas Eshelman (14-6, 3.74)



After a strong week against the Marlins and Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves up 6 games over the Washington Nationals in the race for the NL East. The Nationals come in dropping three in a row to the Cubs, and lost a series with the Phillies two weeks ago.

Philadelphia can give themselves a near-insurmountable 7 game NL East lead over Washington if they can knock them off in tonight's Game of the Week.

The Phillies have been closing the season strong, and are also getting healthy. While Yordan Alvarez remains out with complications from a concussion, Andres Gimenez is due off the IL today. He'll join an offense looking to support red-hot Seth Beer. Whiskey hit .435 with four home runs and 10 RBIs last week to capture the Player of the Week award, including a dramatic ninth-inning home run on Saturday that gave the Phillies a comeback win over the Mets. He followed that up with a record-tying four walks the following game on Sunday. Beer also homered four times, walked seven times, scored seven runs, was hit by a pitch, and reached base 13 times in 15 plate appearances in Philadelphia's series win over Washington two weeks ago. He's sewing up his second straight MVP award and leaving Washington in the dust in the process.

The Nationals are trying to keep pace, but haven't supported Bryce Harper the last few weeks. Bam-Bam has just three RBI since their last series with the Phillies began, as teams have been extra cautious against him. Wil Myers has generally not been able to help him out as he's gone 8-46 since August 28. In fact, in August, Myers had the third most at bats of any NL player with Runners in Scoring Position, but hit just .216 in those positions. In September, he leads baseball in plate appearances with men in scoring position, but is hitting .176. His inability to produce has led opponents to pitch carefully to Harper knowing there won't be significant consequences.

The Nationals hold a 6.5 game lead for the second Wild Card spot with an easy schedule the final two weeks, so their position in the postseason is relatively secure barring a complete meltdown against the Phillies and Braves. Still, the Nationals would love to hold home field advantage in the Wild Card Game instead of needing to travel out to Chicago or St. Louis. Finding a way to hit with Bryce Harper being walked may be the key.


Questions for the GMs:


For Jake Pennel, with Wil Myers having such a disastrous time hitting behind Harper, will you make a lineup change at all?

How has the combination of Anthony Rendon and Hunter Watson fared with Kolten Wong and Luis Arcendo injured?

Cole Train has a mild shoulder injury right now. Do you hold him back a day or will he make his normal start?

For Matt Grubs, will we see Gimenez back in the lineup today?

With a couple of weeks to evaluate, how do you feel about the DH spot now that Schrock and Gray have had a few opportunities to show themselves?

Has Seth Beer surpassed Bryce Harper as the PBA's most ferocious hitter?


TRIVIA: With 52 home runs in a season, Darrick Hall now is tied for the 8th best home run season all-time, and is 11 behind Bryce Harper's record of 63. He's also now the leader for most home runs in a season by a First Baseman. Who did he surpass?

[dbackhon]

Cody Bellinger and Chris Davis both had 50ish HR at some point in the past I think

[Commissioner Erick]

May 7, 2020 14:29:22 GMT -5 dbackhon said:

Cody Bellinger and Chris Davis both had 50ish HR at some point in the past I think

Bellinger is right!

[Grubs - Philly]

Will we see Gimenez back in the lineup today?

I still haven't decided. He's been activated, but Miguelangel Sierra has been finding something close to a groove. It might be a day or two until Andres is ready, though he's champing at the bit.

With a couple of weeks to evaluate, how do you feel about the DH spot now that Schrock and Gray have had a few opportunities to show themselves?

Is low-key panic still a thing? Nobody wants a DH who's whacking away at a .250 or .213 average. That's just not what the position is there for. They've both shown themselves capable of doing a much better job. I expect to ride the hot hand if there is one. One possibility is sending them both to the bench and slotting Mikael Franco in. I'd push Arroyo to third, Gimenez to short and Sierra to second. I might have just talked myself into it. Don't be surprised to see that look.

Has Seth Beer surpassed Bryce Harper as the PBA's most ferocious hitter?

That's a clown question, bro! They're both cut from the same dominant cloth, and for that, we're grateful. 

[Commissioner Erick]

Phillies 7 - Nationals 6 (10)


WP: J. Lon (2-1)
LP: J. Jeffress (4-3)


Philadelphia beat Washington at Citizens Bank Park, escaping with a 7-6 win. The win in large part was due to shortstop Andres Gimenez, who earned player of the game honors. He was 3 for 4 with 3 singles and was hit by a pitch, while scoring 2 runs and driving in 2. Philadelphia reliever Jo Lon picked up the win, bumping his record to 2-1. Jeremy Jeffress was collared with the loss. The current losing streak for Washington has reached 4 games.

The clutch at-bat came in the bottom of the tenth inning, when Philadelphia right fielder Seth Beer, facing Jeremy Jeffress, had a run-scoring sacrifice fly. It gave the Phillies the 7-6 win.

"This wasn't a good win," said Gimenez. "It was a great win."


Questions for the GMs:


For Jake Pennel, you continue to struggle with your bullpen. Do you agree with the decision to pull Cole after 83 pitches and 4 innings despite not allowing an earned run? It put extra pressure on the pen.

Anthony Rendon had a nice game with a pair of hits, but he also committed an error in the field. How is his return to Second Base working out for you?

Your club allowed four stolen bases. Will Ryan January get starts in the postseason against high-steal teams?

For Matt Grubs, Christian Arroyo had three hits and has looked good since coming over from San Francisco; Andres Gimenez had three hits with two runs and two RBIs, and Max Schrock doubled twice. How do you feel about your new-look infield alignment?

Dave Simon gets all the credit, but another rookie has had a big year out of the pen for you. Jo Lon was available as a minor league free agent for a year and a half when your club signed him in 2019, and he has a 1.77 ERA here in his rookie year. Talk about what he means for your pen?

Your team has so much firepower, yet still is aggressive on the bases with four steals in four attempts. Talk about why you still remain active in stealing bases?


TRIVIA: Who has the most stolen bases in PBA History?

[dbackhon]

Trivia: It *has* to be Yoan Moncada

[Commissioner Erick]

It is!

[Grubs - Philly]

Christian Arroyo had three hits and has looked good since coming over from San Francisco; Andres Gimenez had three hits with two runs and two RBIs, and Max Schrock doubled twice. How do you feel about your new-look infield alignment?

I'm a huge fan. But the new-look alignment didn't roll out until the next game. Miguelangel Sierra's such a good defender and he's been good enough with the bat to keep him in there at 2B. Christian's a 3B anyway and was happy to get back to the hot corner. Max Schrock and Tristan Gray can fill in as needed, but this move was primarily about defense and trying to find a way to jump start Mikael Franco's bat, which has been pretty cold since the All Star break.

Dave Simon gets all the credit, but another rookie has had a big year out of the pen for you. Jo Lon was available as a minor league free agent for a year and a half when your club signed him in 2019, and he has a 1.77 ERA here in his rookie year. Talk about what he means for your pen?

Jo's a keystone for our pen. His fastball is just devastating and he's really worked on controlling both it and the curve. He came into our system at just 17 and we liked the raw skill if he could learn to pitch. So, we pushed a little. Even when his numbers didn't blow you away — and they usually didn't — his skills were progressing. He just soaks up instruction and focuses on maximizing what he has. He's always been young for whatever level he's played, but this year has really been something special.

Your team has so much firepower, yet still is aggressive on the bases with four steals in four attempts. Talk about why you still remain active in stealing bases?

I love stealing. I think it adds a disruptive element to the game that's hard to pin down statistically. Guys like Mickey dig it, too, and having a 40+ steal guy in the three hole is pretty amazing. I've backed off from a couple years back and tried to be more strategic about it, especially early in the game. It's not a lockdown strategy for us (we've struggled with Gimenez this year), but we'll keep evaluating and always take that extra large lead.