GDT 7/2/24 Philadelphia Phillies (Mercado) @ Chicago Cubs (Wesneski)

[kikutaro]

Christopher Morel

Called strike (96.9 mph four-seam fastball)
Swinging strike (96.9 mph four-seam fastball)
Ball (98. mph four-seam fastball)
Ball (87.7 mph slider)
Called strike (87.5 mph slider)

Christopher Morel called out on strikes.

Dansby Swanson

In play, out(s) (96.2 mph sinker)

Dansby Swanson lines out sharply to right fielder Nick Castellanos.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Philadelphia Phillies	0	2	1	0	2	0	1	0	0	6	9	0
Chicago Cubs	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	4	5	0

---

Current Batters

Philadelphia Phillies

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Bryson Stott 2B	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	.246	.337	.364	.701
Trea Turner SS	5	2	3	4	0	0	2	.338	.386	.487	.873
Alec Bohm 3B	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	.297	.349	.484	.833
Brandon Marsh LF	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	.266	.349	.420	.769
Nick Castellanos RF	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.232	.291	.385	.676
Kody Clemens 1B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.250	.278	.558	.836
David Dahl DH	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	.231	.268	.442	.710
Garrett Stubbs C	4	0	1	2	0	1	0	.217	.280	.272	.552
Johan Rojas CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.234	.272	.297	.569
Michael Mercado P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Gregory Soto P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Orion Kerkering P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Yunior Marte P								.000	.000	.000	.000
José Ruiz P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Jeff Hoffman P								.000	.000	.000	.000

Chicago Cubs

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Nico Hoerner 2B	4	1	0	0	0	1	0	.245	.330	.343	.673
Michael Busch 1B	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.259	.358	.444	.802
Cody Bellinger RF	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	.270	.329	.421	.750
Seiya Suzuki DH	4	1	2	3	0	2	1	.262	.332	.468	.800
Ian Happ LF	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	.226	.341	.413	.754
Christopher Morel 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.195	.304	.370	.674
Dansby Swanson SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.214	.289	.359	.648
Pete Crow-Armstrong CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.188	.238	.271	.509
Tomás Nido C	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.202	.238	.323	.561
Miles Mastrobuoni PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.146	.226	.167	.393
Miguel Amaya C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.189	.253	.260	.513
Hayden Wesneski P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Colten Brewer P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Ethan Roberts P								.000	.000	.000	.000
Jorge López P								.000	.000	.000	.000

Current Pitchers

Philadelphia Phillies

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-K	ERA
Michael Mercado	5.0	2	1	1	2	4	0	78-51	1.50
Gregory Soto	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	14-9	3.62
Orion Kerkering	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	12-6	1.47
Yunior Marte	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10-7	2.93
José Ruiz	0.0	3	3	3	0	0	1	8-5	4.30
Jeff Hoffman	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	11-8	1.24

Chicago Cubs

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-K	ERA
Hayden Wesneski	5.0	5	5	5	3	7	2	89-51	4.14
Colten Brewer	2.0	3	1	1	0	3	0	30-21	5.40
Ethan Roberts	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	19-12	0.00
Jorge López	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-6	3.34

[zambonir]

He's That Guy. The long man. Has had his moments, and maybe will again. But maybe not. He was already the one most likely to lose his job if and when they add someone in trade or end up fully healthy, and that's even more true now that Marte's back. Last year it was Dylan Covey. Earlier this year it was Pinto (he's probably not coming back). If we're lucky it will end up being Walker.

Nice night for Casty in the field.

[billgtrman]

I thought Casty misplayed the last out (whew). Great night for Trea. It turned out we needed the RBI’s. Phillies need a good outfield bat and another good relief pitcher and they are set. Release Ruiz now - why wait?

[zambonir]

Not sure what I'm watching, Ricky B is now the voice of reason re: the team's recent less impressive stretch.

Still the best team in baseball.

[BostonRoss]

Are you guys talking about the Ruiz who has given up no earned runs in 17 of his 22 outings, including the last five before tonight?

[fish]

Mercado’s poise was remarkable- that really stood out. No heartbeat, by the end it almost felt like watching a right handed Cliff Lee.

[VoteForKalas]

NL East lead back up to 9 games

[phillychuck]

He was pretty lucky a couple of times...fastballs right down the middle of the zone, one taken for strike three, one swing and miss. He will have to locate his FB better to continue his success. Still, a great debut for him as a MLB starter.

[zambonir]

Turns out if we play .500 baseball and the Braves also play .500 baseball the lead will never shrink.

[VoteForKalas]

Turns out if we play .500 baseball and the Braves also play .500 baseball the lead will never shrink.

Funny how that works lol

The issue is, as we saw earlier this season, that lead can be cut into quickly if we stumble and ATL plays better, especially playing head to head as we are coming up. ATL is a very good team so we should not under-estimate them.

[zambonir]

For sure, though I don't think it has been any lower than - six? - since the lead was first opened.

And it's a two-way street. It could also stretch to 10 or 11 by the break. Braves finish with a West Coast trip. They might even win the series in Atlanta. But also lose at home to the Dodgers who have stayed pretty steady.

[allentown]

Those of us who followed the 1964 Phillies closely know just how fast a lead like this can vanish. We didn't even finish second that year. Of course, the NL wasn't split into divisions back then.

[zambonir]

Those of us who followed the 2007 Phillies know it too. But just because we've seen it happen twice doesn't mean it happens often (or is more likely to happen).

But yeah, the '64 Phillies are the NL East champs from 1969 on. Never mind the current or post-'93 format.

I want this team to not only win the division but have home advantage throughout the playoffs (as they currently would today). But if they were to end up as the 4th wild card, well... we have an equally unscientific two-season sample that says being one of the top two teams in the NL gets you nowhere.

[zambonir]

Why were the Reds considered ahead of the Phillies, what was the theoretical tiebreaker?

[Philsmania]

Mercado’s poise was remarkable- that really stood out. No heartbeat, by the end it almost felt like watching a right handed Cliff Lee.

Soon, the Rays are going to be afraid to trade pitchers to us!