Tag: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Nick Castellanos clubs his 7th home run of the season a two run blast in the top of the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu May 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Philadelphia Phillies Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber connected for home runs against the San Francisco Giants in a 6-1 win at Oracle Park in Thursday afternoon. Those are two hitters you have to pitch very carefully to as the Giants found out.

#2 Things got a little testy in the top of the fourth inning when the Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper got out of the way of a second inside pitch that was around the head area by Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison. The first pitch by Harrison to Harper was an inside pitch that was a fast ball. After the second pitch offering both benches emptied and there was a lot of milling around the infield but no punches thrown. No ejections but warnings to both benches were issued.

#3 Castellano was having himself an afternoon against the Giants adding a double and a single. Kyle Schwarber’s home run was his 11th of the season.

#4 Giants starter Kyle Harrison started and pitched five innings, gave up 12 hits and four runs and five strike outs. Do you think that Harrison might have thrown at Harper out of frustration that Harrison was getting hit pretty good?

#5 Up next for the Giants they’ll host the New York Yankees opening up the series on Friday night. No starting pitcher has been announced as of yet by manager Aaron Boone. The Giants will start RHP Jordan Hicks (4-1 ERA 2.33) How do you see this match up and this series?

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Philadelphia Phillies hitter Bryce Harper avoids getting hit as the ball hits the knob of his bat in the top of the fourth inning from a pitch thrown by San Francisco Giants starter Kyle Harrison at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu May 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Philadelphia Phillies 6 (39-18)

San Francisco Giants 1 (29-28)

Win: Christopher Sanchez (3-3)

Loss: Kyle Harrison (4-2)

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 31,763

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants were unable to get the sweep, as Kyle Harrison gave up 12 hits over five innings of work, and the Phillies were able to salvage a game in this series with a 6-1 win.

Following Tuesday night’s 10-inning 1-0 win to take the series against the Phillies, the Giants had a chance to sweep the best team in baseball with a win Wednesday. The Giants had their young left-hander, Kyle Harrison, on the mound today for this sunny, cloudless but hazy Wednesday afternoon affair in San Francisco, and they had every reason to feel good about their chances today, as they came into today 9-2 in Harrison’s starts.

Kyle Schwarber greeted Harrison with a rude welcome, as he hit a home run to left-center field to start the game. Harrison then proceeded to retire the side in order.

It would be a matchup of left-handers, as the Phillies sent Christopher Sanchez to the hill. Marco Luciano reached base when he hit a weak ground ball between the mound and the third base line, and Sanchez threw the ball past first-baseman Bryce Harper down the right field line. Luciano advanced to second on a ground out by Thairo Estrada, but Matt Chapman flew out to center to end the inning.

Harrison ran into trouble in the top of the second, as Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott started the inning with singles. Whit Merrifield flew out to right, and Garrett Stubbs hit a bullet to Thairo Estrada at second for the second out.

That brought up the ninth-place hitter, Cristian Pache, who was hitting .196 coming into Wednesday’s game. It appeared that Harrison was going to get out of the inning, but Pache hit a ground ball that found its way into left field for a base-hit. Castellanos was waived in, and the throw from Heliot Ramos in left was not his strongest, as Castellanos scored to make it a 2-0 game.

The Giants were unable to do anything with a leadoff base-hit by Wilmer Flores in the bottom of the second, and Harrison found himself back in trouble with two outs in the top of the third. Castellanos doubled, and then Stott reached on an infield hit to short on what seemed to be a lack of effort by shortstop Marco Luciano.

Harrison got Merrifield to line out to right to escape the inning without any damage. As for Luciano, Manager Bob Melvin had Brett Wisely pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the third, as Luciano’s lackadaisical effort on Stott’s ground ball stemmed from a strained right hamstring that sustained while running to first base back in the first inning.

Wisely and Estrada both singled with two outs, and Chapman walked to load the bases, but the Giants wasted the opportunity, as Flores struck out swinging to end the inning.

The fourth inning would be interesting to say the least. Harrison was once again in trouble, as Bryce Harper came up with two outs and two runners on base. With the count at 1-2, Harrison threw a fastball up and in to Harper that Harper took umbrage to, as he had some words for Harrison.

The next pitch was also up and in and clipped Harper’s bat. Harper did not have much of a reaction, but the fact that he had another pitch up and in following the previous one caused the benches to empty. The Phillies basically had to exit their dugout to show that they had Harper’s bat, and same with the Giants and Harrison. Other than a bit of pushing and shoving, nothing too severe happened, and nobody was ejected.

“At that point, we’re still in the game and not trying to escalate anything,” said Manager Curt Casali. “There [was] no intent. Bryce has a history of being hit in the face, and I get the frustration, but I think we de-escalated it very very quickly. I went right over to him, and [I asked, ‘are you okay?’ He said ‘yes, I know you weren’t trying to go in there.’”

Harper acknowledged that neither pitch was intentional and that he had an emotional reaction.

“[Harrison] didn’t mean to [do it],” said Harper. “I wasn’t really that mad.”

“I’ll give Bryce some credit,” continued Casali. “He got upset, but he immediately calmed down. He wasn’t looking for a fight; he just reacted…..It’s scary when you get a ball in your face. I understand where he’s coming from. To his credit, I think after [his] reaction, I think he handled it really really well. I think he handled it like a pro. I gotta give some respect to him on that one.”

It was a coincidence that this happened on the seventh anniversary of Harper’s brawl with Hunter Strickland. Thankfully, today’s situation was nowhere near as severe as what happened in 2017, Harper ended up grounding out to short to end the inning.

The Giants went down scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, as Sanchez took comment. Harrison escaped trouble in the second, third and fourth unscathed, but he would not be so lucky in the top of the fifth. Bohm led off the inning with a double, and Castellanos hit an opposite-field home run to left that hit off the glove of Heliot Ramos just over the wall. That made it 4-0 Phillies, and after Harrison escaped further damage later in the inning, his day was done.

Harrison’s command has always been an indicator of how he’ll do, and while he only walked one better today, it was still not good. The Phillies also made a lot of hard contact off him. The most stinging stat is that the Phillies got 12 hits in just five innings against Harrison.

“[I’m] pissed off,” said Harrison. “Any time you look up and see [you’ve allowed] 12 hits, it’s not a good day.”

Sanchez proceeded to pitch a shutdown 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth. Luke Jackson relieved Harrison in the top of the sixth and pitched two perfect innings. Sanchez pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth to put a cap on his afternoon, and Gregory Soto followed that up with a quick and scoreless bottom of the seventh for Philadelphia.

Randy Rodriguez, who has pitched well as of late for the Giants, came in for the eighth, but his fortunes took a dip Wednesday. Schwarber and Harper each knocked in runs with base-hits to pretty much put the game away, as the Phillies opened up their lead to 6-0.

Seranthony Dominguez pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for Philadelphia, and submariner Tyler Rogers pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for the Giants.

The Giants were able to get on the board off Spencer Turnball in the bottom of the ninth, as Flores doubled, and Ramos singled him in, but that would be it. Trenton Brooks pinch-hit for Tyler Fitzgerald and grounded out to first to end the game.

Sanchez got the win, and Harrison took just his second loss of the season. The Giants fall to 29-28, as they were unable to complete the sweep, but the fact that they were able to take two out of three against the best team in baseball is no small accomplishment.

The Giants will have a day off Thursday, and then they will welcome the New York Yankees to Oracle Park for a three-game series starting Friday night. It will be the Yankees’ first trip to San Francisco since they swept the Giants from April 26-28, 2019. The Yankees have not announced a starter yet and the Giants will start Jordan Hicks, and first pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

News and Notes:

Marco Luciano is expected to be day to day with his strained right hamstring. He should be reevaluated no later than Friday.

Jung-hoo Lee is expected to have his operation on his dislocated left shoulder next Monday, June 3.

San Francisco Giants Luis Matos whacks a fly to left field that scored ghost runner Tyler Fitzgerald from third base in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Philadelphia (38-18). 000 000 000 0. 0 7 0

San Francisco (29-27). 000 000 000 1. 1 4 0. 10 innings

Time: 2:32

Attendance: 34,653

Tuesday, May 8, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Thrilling as it was, the Giants’ 1-0 10 inning triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park Tuesday night was less significant that what occurred in medical examination rooms and the Giants’ front office.

LaMonte Wade, Jr., who aggravated his left hamstring strain running out a double last night, was placed on the 10 day injured list, but imaging showed that he had a grade two strain, making his placement on the 30 day list inevitable.

The probable month long loss of Wade, arguably the Giants most reliable hitter and a steady presence at first base, reverberates against the season-long loss of the sparkplug Jung-Hoo Lee, who is awaiting surgery on his dislocated shoulder.

But those weren’t the only transactions of note that came down today. The Giants promoted three players from Sacramento. Trenton Brooks, a career minor leaguer who was hitting .308 in the hitter friendly PCL yesterday, was playing first base and batting in the ninth position when the orange and black took the field this evening.

Spencer Howard, a right handed pitcher who throws a sinker, cutter, change of pace, and knuckle curve, got a break and pitched four innings of shutout ball in the show Tuesday night. Tyler Fitzgerald, who had played in 22 games for the Giants earlier this season and was the most recent PCL Player of the Week, joined the caravan of River Cats down I-80 to McCovey Cove and scored the winning run.

San Francisco also designated two players for assignment, the well paid and unused veteran hurler Drew Pomeranz and outfielder Ryan McKenna.

Here’s a little more detail about the newcomers fared tonight. Brooks went hitless in four at bats, striking out once. Howard surrendered four hits and struck out four batters in his effective four innings on the mound, throwing 49 pitches, 36 for strikes.

Fitzgerald entered the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth, when he walked. He struck out in the ninth and was the zombie runner whom Luis Matos drove in with his game winning sacrifice fly in the tenth.

The Giants used five pitchers to shut Philadelphia out in this bullpen game, opening with Erik Miller, who left after an inning. Then came Taylor Rogers. He stuck around for two frames, followed by Alexander, who kept Philadelphia off the board in the fourth through seventh frames.

Ty Rogers gave up a hit in the one inning he pitched, the eighth. Sean Hjelle, who got the win, and now is 2-1, 2.95, put the Phils down. in order in the ninth, and didn’t let the ghost runner get past third in the tenth.

Philadelphia’s starting pitcher, Zack Wheeler, a veteran of 10 major league campaigns and last years Gold Glove winner in the. National League, pitched six strong innings, in which he allowed only two hits and an equal number of walks while striking out nine of the 21 Giants he faced.

Orion Kerkering and José Alvarado each pitched a hitless inning, although the latter issued a pair of bases on balls. Jeff Hoffman gave up a couple of hits, one a broken bat single by Thairo Estrada, but emerged unscathed. Matt Strahm, who took the loss, issued an intentional walk, but managed to lose in the one scoring inning of the entire night. Here’s how it came down:

Fitzgerald was placed on second. The Phillies chose to grant Héliot Ramos an intentional pass to set up a double play. It was the standard move in situations like this. It backfired. WilmerFlores, who had entered the game a pinch hitter in the eighth, flew out to center, deep enough to let Fitzgerald advance to third. Matos then few out to medium deep left, deep enough for Fitzgerald to beat the throw home and give the Giants a tremendous victory

Wednesday Matinee, will see the final duel between these two teams, barring a playoff encounter Kyle Harrison (4-1, 3.90) will face off against the Fighting Phillies from the City of Brotherly Love’s Cristopher Sánchez (2-3, 3.15) at 12:45pm PT.

San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell delivers to the Philadelphia Phillies line up in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon May 27. 2024 (AP News photo)

Philadelphia (38-17). 002 200 000 4 7 3

San Francisco 28-27). 030 021 20x. 8 12. 1

Time: 2:44

Attendance: 40,598

Monday, May 27, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–We’re only about a third of the way through the season, so to consider any series critical at this juncture would not only be premature; it would border on the melodramatic. Nonetheless, the Giants’ 8-4 win this afternoon before a sellout crowd of 40,598 was important because it came at the expense of the team with the best winning percentage in the major leagues–.704 at game, .691 after it.

San Francisco had just completed a six game trip to Pittsburgh and New York and, in spite of Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Mets, was 8-2 in its last 10 games. The team’s decisive victory in the first of a three game series indicated that the Giants are, indeed, contenders but also left some serious doubts about their chances. Those doubts centered around Cy Young award winner Blake Snell.

This cool, sunny, and–it goes without saying–breezy Memorial Day afternoon, gave us a chance to see if, after long last, Snell had overcome the negative effects his extended off-season, groin injuries, and paternity leave that had sent him to the mound at 0-3, 11.40, and a distressing WHIP of 2.07. His performance Sunday indicated that he hadn’t.

Snell lasted a mere four innings and threw 90 pitches in them. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, on five hits and two walks, while striking out seven on the way to a no decision that left him at 0-3, 10.42 with a WHIP of 2.00. Randy Rodríguez, who earned his first major league win, replaced him at the start of the Philly fifth.

Snell’s counterpart for Philadelphia, Taijuan Walker, brought an impressive 3-0 won-lost record to this, his 200th career start. His ERA also was impressive but in a dissonant way; it was 5.06. He wasn’t impressive today, yielding a half a dozen runs, five of them earned, on nine hits and two walks. Of his 98 offerings, 65 were considered strikes. The loss left him at 3-1,6.51

The Phillies hit Snell hard in the first, including JT Realmuto’s one out double off the 399 foot marker in front of the Giants’ bullpen that extended his hitting streak to 16 and Alec Boh Bohm’s inning ending line out to Héctor Ramos in left.

The Giants did more against Walker than just threaten. They tattooed him. Matt Chapman opened the second with a walk and moved up a base on Patrick Bailey’s single to right. After Jorge Soler flew out to center, Mike Yastrzemski lashed a two bagger into the right field corner, driving in Chapman and Bailey. The offensive paused when Ramos took a called third strike but resumed with Brett Wisely’s RBI single to center. When the dust had settled, the home team led, 3-0.

That didn’t last long. Kyele Schwarber’s 10th home run of the year, which flew over the State Farm advertisement embedded in the right field wall in the top of the third, closed the gap to 3-2. A nice running catch by Yastrzemski of Bohm’s fly to right center kept things from getting out of hand.

That happened in their next turn at bat. Edmundo Sosa socked a triple to base of the center field fence and scored on Snell’s wild pitch to Whit Merrifield. Chapman’s error when he couldn’t pick up Merrifield’s hopping ground ball allowed the Phillies’ second sacker to reach first and then steal his way into scoring position.

Johan Rojas then dumped a single into center, Merrifield scored, and Philadelphia had grabbed a 4-3 lead. It could have been worse; Schwarber drew a walk and then. combined with Rojas to pull off a double steal before Realmuto whiffed for the final out of the frame.

The Giants grabbed the lead back in their half of the fifth, thanks, in part, to some bad fielding. Matos beat out a bad throw by third baseman Bohm on a tough play that was scored as a hit. LaMonte Wade, Jr. whacked a double off the left edge of the State Farm sign in right center to put two runners in scoring position.

It was a pyrrhic victory; Wade aggravated the hamstring injury from which he had been recovering. Wilmer Flores pinch ran for him and remained in the game to play first. Estrada followed Wade’s double with a hot shot to third that Bohm couldn’t handle and which let Flores move up 90 feet. He scored on Bailey’s sac fly to left.

San Francisco tacked on another tally in the sixth on a walk to Yastrzemski and Wisely’s double off the Visa advertisement in right center. That gave Erik Miller a 6-4 lead when he came in to pitch the top of the seventh. He retired Rojas quickly and then got Schwarber to lift a pop up in front of the plate.

Miller, Flores, and Chapman converged on the ball, which fell between them for a sun and wind aided infield single. Then Miller retired the dangerous Realmuto. and Harper to put an end to that uprising.

Walker didn’t come out for the home half of the seventh; José Ruíz did and was the victim of fielding that was worthy of the 1962 Mets. Errors by Bohm (yes, him again) and Merrifield, along with Estrada’s infield single and Ramos’s safety to center, upped the Giants’ advantage to 8-4.

Matt Strahm replaced Walker to pitch the bottom of the eighth, which was uneventful except for Estrada’s shot down the third base line that ate up Bohn and went into left for a two out double.

Camilo Doval allowed a double off the National Car Rental ad in left field to close out the game.

The Giants, who were swept earlier this month in their four game visit to the City of Brotherly Love, have a chance to clinch the current series Tuesday. The Giants haven’t yet announced who will start. Philadelphia will go with Zack Wheeler (6-3, 2.53). Game time will be 6:45pm PT.