GDT 9/23/21 Pittsburgh Pirates (Overton) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Nola)

[kikutaro]

Kevin Newman

Called strike (84.8 mph slider)
Ball (91.4 mph four-seam fastball)
In play, out(s) (91.3 mph four-seam fastball)

Kevin Newman flies out to center fielder Travis Jankowski.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh Pirates	0	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	6	0
Philadelphia Phillies	0	0	5	0	0	3	2	2		12	11	0

---

Current Batters

Pittsburgh Pirates

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B	4	1	1	3	0	0	1	.259	.320	.378	.698
Yoshi Tsutsugo RF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.228	.321	.420	.741
Bryan Reynolds CF	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	.293	.382	.509	.891
Colin Moran 1B	4	2	2	1	0	0	1	.266	.330	.401	.732
Anthony Alford LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.225	.295	.414	.710
Cole Tucker SS	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	.216	.286	.284	.570
Kevin Newman 2B	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	.222	.261	.309	.569
Michael Perez C	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.141	.214	.297	.511
Connor Overton P	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
Cody Ponce P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Anthony Banda P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Nick Mears P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Wilmer Difo PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.267	.330	.364	.694
Chad Kuhl P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.048	.091	.048	.138
Enyel De Los Santos P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000

Philadelphia Phillies

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Odubel Herrera LF	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	.257	.310	.416	.726
Jean Segura 2B	4	1	1	1	0	3	0	.297	.355	.450	.805
Bryce Harper RF	2	1	0	0	3	1	0	.312	.432	.618	1.050
Andrew McCutchen LF	3	2	1	1	1	1	0	.223	.333	.441	.774
Jose Alvarado P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Matt Joyce PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.091	.261	.218	.479
Bailey Falter P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Brad Miller 1B	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	.230	.320	.463	.783
J.T. Realmuto C	3	2	3	4	0	0	1	.270	.352	.451	.803
Freddy Galvis 3B	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	.249	.311	.417	.728
Didi Gregorius SS	3	1	1	1	1	0	1	.210	.270	.370	.640
Andrew Knapp C	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.156	.218	.222	.440
Matt Vierling 1B	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	.340	.382	.420	.802
Aaron Nola P	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	.149	.241	.191	.432
Ronald Torreyes PH	1	1	1	3	0	0	1	.244	.287	.356	.643
Archie Bradley P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Travis Jankowski CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.248	.356	.344	.700

Current Pitchers

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-K	ERA
Connor Overton	2.2	2	4	4	2	4	1	64-39	2.51
Cody Ponce	1.1	2	1	1	0	2	0	27-22	6.88
Anthony Banda	1.2	3	3	3	2	1	1	34-24	4.71
Nick Mears	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3-3	5.57
Chad Kuhl	1.0	1	2	2	2	3	1	28-15	5.00
Enyel De Los Santos	1.0	3	2	2	1	1	0	21-15	6.89

Philadelphia Phillies

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-K	ERA
Aaron Nola	6.0	6	6	6	1	8	2	84-60	4.64
Archie Bradley	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	11-7	3.71
Jose Alvarado	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	13-7	3.81
Bailey Falter	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13-7	5.12

[LoneStarPhan]

https://twitter.com/MattGelb/status/1441228562137169924

https://twitter.com/MattGelb/status/1441228562137169924

Matt Gelb
@MattGelb
Phillies 12, Pirates 6. You want to explain this? No one can explain this. The Phillies are two games back with nine to play. They are 79-74.

Hope continues.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Hope continues.

Close Matt - Hope springs eternal!

[LoneStarPhan]

A shoutout to the bullpen tonight. Three scoreless, hitless innings. One walk. A great job.

[phillychuck]

And, honestly, Nola was really gutsy to get them through 6 innings after his unlucky start. Credit to him, too.

[Sabin]

I'm sure glad I didn't get around to posting something like I can't believe Torreyes is the best player they have to pinch hit in such a key situation.

I wasn't thinking this either at the time. At all.

[DurhamBull]

I also give Nola credit for drawing a walk when the Phils needed base runners.

[Austinfan]

There's something wrong with Nola, it's a good thing the Phillies have an opt out in 2023 ($4.5M buyout).
At $15M next year, he may be slightly overpriced.

He's no longer a top pitcher, maybe #3, more like a #4.
The velocity is there, but the command is off, especially the 2-seamer.
What made him exceptional was his ability to paint the corners, now he's more like VV, stretches where he looks dominant and innings where he looks bound for AAA ball.
His 4-seamer is hittable, and his curve and changeup have become more erratic.

When pitchers start having arm trouble, command tends to go before a falloff in velocity.
Of course, this may simply be "long hauler" syndrome.

[EDmuch]

Well AF, as you point out, the Phils have another year of Nola to get a better feel for him as a long term fit.

[California_Dreamin]

Nola's fine. He would certainly benefit from better defense, if that popup down the left field line is caught, he has a scoreless inning and we are all congratulating him on slowly putting his September ghosts to bed. That's two September wins in a row for Nola, good for him. If he turns out to be a #3-#4 starter starter for the Phils, then I guess Scherzer and Verlander are headed to Philadelphia because he may not be an ace but his anti-vax stance has certainly turned some on here to turn on him unfairly. I will take Aaron Nola on my staff any day of the week.

And while I doubt the team has enough time to catch Atlanta, these September comebacks matter, they just do. I admit that even when they were down 6-0, because of the comebacks they have been making lately, I honestly thought they would come back and was not surprised by the result.

Look, there is lots of work to do this off season, but playing meaningful games in September have a carry over effect, we saw that in 2008 after the great September of 2007 [unfortunately Colorado's was even more incredible, something like 16 of 17 wins to finish the season.] Harper is likely to win the MVP, Wheeler, Nola and Realmuto have now experienced a true pennant race, the team has developed a charector [no deficit is too much] and I can honestly see a team taking shape.

I believe Dombrowski is the right man for the job, the ghosts of Klentak/McPhail are disappearing and I will be very surprised if the Phils aren't a strong contender for the NL East next year. I also believe some of those disappointments now on the daily lineup cards at Triple A will still have good careers with the Phils. I have never thought it was a scouting or drafting problem, I have always believed it was a coaching and teaching problem in the minors. Too many agendas, too many different voices, too much politics. DD saw this and is removing those cancers.

To sum up, probably no playoffs this year, but for the first time since 2011 I honestly can say the higher ups are painting a picture [a phrase I used with Gillick and not since] that I can see coming to fruition. Brighter days are coming, I truly believe it.

[zambonir]

Nola didn't have COVID, he was only out for contact tracing.

Unless he falls apart next year (or gets traded this off-season in an aggressive move) that option still gets picked up. If he's a #3 or a #4 and you pay that buy out you'd still have to spend $10.5 million to replace him. At half that price you get #5s and 6s, as we did this year.

[xogfog]

Nola needs to work on pitching out of the stretch, that's where he gets beat up.

[rkeden]

I agree with CD's analysis and so many others of you also. It makes no sense to waste draft picks on those 5 tool high school kids if you can't then teach them the mind-set, the basic skills and light the proverbial fire to turn their god-given talent into great baseball players. So few of our draftees has reached anywhere near their potential and many are famous flops. The young athletes come in enthusiastic, eager, and raw. They need great coaches who can bring out the best of their potential. I'm old enough to remember well played BB games. Our youngsters in the last few years can't run the bases, haven't a clue how to bunt, swing at pitches wildly out of the strike zone and seem to lack a spark.

I love that this squad seems to enjoy the game again. They care for each other and have a personality. It's a job but if played well, it ought to be fun too. Quinn, Kingery, etc. seemed to lose the thrill and then the desire to get better. A Ben Simmons syndrome! Go the Eagles route-- Get in high energy, talented young coaches who can speak to and mentor today's youth. Let the excitement bubble up. Good vibes are contagious. And good coaching in the minors is not an option- it is an absolute necessity!

[zambonir]

Go the Eagles route-- Get in high energy, talented young coaches who can speak to and mentor today's youth. Let the excitement bubble up. Good vibes are contagious. And good coaching in the minors is not an option- it is an absolute necessity!

Like the San Francisco Giants have! I mean, not only is Gabe running an incredible coaching staff (thanks to a good front office above him) but he was an incredible player development guy for the Dodgers (thanks to a good front office above him).

I just don't know if Dombrowski is the guy to do that either. Been almost 20 years since he truly built an organization. He's not that different from MacPhail in that sense except MacPhail's peak (The Twins rathers than the Cubs and Orioles) is further past. This Phillies job should be like Dombrowski's Red Sox job, or Gillick's Phillies job, but unfortunately it's not, in the majors or the minors.

At the end of the day though, a lot of the future seems to turn on Sam Fuld, our Klentak/Kapler holdover who actually also had the Andrew Friedman connections. Hopefully he is up to it, regardless of how the labor is actually divided, he and Dombrowski will make a good team, and Fuld will still be here running a successful operation in 2025.

I do not question Quinn or Kingery's desire. They are both physically broken. Quinn chronically, Kingery recently/dramatically. If anything they both work too hard - Quinn can't handle the wear, and Kingery ruined his own swing - and got COVID for that matter - doing off-season work.