Weekend Quick Hits: Phillies power surge, Brandon Marsh’s breakout, Harper injury update, and a look at the Mariners
The Phillies got back on the right foot this weekend after a tough Thursday night loss, taking the next three games against the Colorado Rockies by a combined score of 17-9.
Friday: Phillies 4, Rockies 3
Friday night’s game got off to an ugly start, as Aaron Nola allowed a three-run bomb in the first inning. Nola got the blowup inning out of the way early and completely dominated after that, throwing six scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
The Phillies brought the deficit down to one in the bottom of the fourth inning, and a Schwarbomb in the bottom half of the seventh pushed the score to 3-3. Edmundo Sosa was welcomed back to the field with the game-leading RBI single in the bottom of the 8th and followed up his crucial at-bat with a web gem over at third base to secure the win.
Saturday: Phillies 4, Rockies 3
Cristopher Sanchez got the start on Saturday afternoon with the Phillies playing six games in five days, throwing 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and five hits while striking out five. The bullpen was flawless following Sanchez’s departure, logging 4.2 innings of three-hit ball while striking out six. Connor Brogdon, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez, and Craig Kimbrel were the four arms that locked the win in for the Phillies.
Nick Castellanos had his best game as a Phillie on Saturday, cracking his first multi-homer game in Philly along with a double, which was his first homer since August of last season. Christian Pache also got his first homer as a Phillie in Saturday’s matinee, a bomb to deep centerfield.
Sunday: Phillies 9, Rockies 3
Sunday’s game on Peacock got off to a hot start, and the bats never went away. Trea Turner led off the bottom half of the first with a homer, followed by a homer by Kody Clemens in the bottom of the third. Zack Wheeler allowed three earned runs in the fourth, but the Phillies chipped right back, pushing the lead to 4-3.
Alec Bohm broke the scoring open in the bottom of the 7th, followed by a two-run homer from Bryson Stott, giving the Phillies a 7-3 lead. Brandon Marsh hit the dagger in the bottom of the 8th, a two-run bomb to deep right-center.
Stars of the Weekend
Nick Castellanos
Castellanos continued his hot start to 2023 over the weekend, slashing .417/.417/1.000 in three games against Colorado. He crushed two home runs, one double, and five total hits and scored three runs while logging two RBIs. Castellanos is now up to .307/.378/.489 on the year (.866 OPS).
Jose Alvarado
Alvarado has logged three saves so far this season and holds just an 0.87 ERA. He’s struck out 20 batters and holds a 0.48 WHIP on the season. Jose tallied two scoreless innings again this weekend while allowing just one hit and striking out two. He’s allowed just one earned run all season back on April 12th.
Kevin Long Worked Wonders on Brandon Marsh
The Phillies acquired Brandon Marsh at last year’s trade deadline as an experimental player with hope for the future. Now, he’s playing like the Most Valuable Player of the league.
Marsh has logged 24 hits in 66 ABs this season, good for a .364 average on the year. Here’s where he ranks across Major League Baseball through the first 23 games of the season.
- Batting Average: 4th (.364)
- Triples: 1st (4)
- OBP: 3rd (.455)
- SLG: 1st (.758)
- OPS: 1st (1.212)
- WAR: T5th (1.2)
Bryce Harper Injury Update
We’re getting closer and closer to the return of Phillies star Bryce Harper.
Harper is still doing sliding drills and throwing the baseball every day, along with live batting practice. He’s taken a few live BPs over the last week and has continued to work with Kevin Long on getting used to the pitch clock and getting his body back in complete game shape.
May 5th has continued to be the potential date of return, according to Matt Gelb, Jeff Passan, and more.
A Look Ahead
The Phillies get an unfortunate day off today as they were just starting to really get hot. They welcome the Seattle Mariners to town for a three-game set starting on Tuesday. The Mariners are 10-12 on the year, being led by Jarred Kelenic, who’s hitting .319 on the year with 6 HRs.
Pitching Matchups
- Tuesday (6:40 EST): Logan Gilbert vs. Bailey Falter
- Wednesday (6:40 EST): Marco Gonzales vs. Taijuan Walker
- Thursday (1:05 EST): George Kirby vs. Matt Strahm
Following the Mariners series, the Phillies will travel down south to face off against the Houston Astros in a World Series rematch. They’ll head out to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers for three games and then come home for a five-game home stand.
Hi. I totally agree with you 100%. The Phillies did get back on the right track this weekend and hopefully, they can keep winning. They play today against the Seattle Mariners. I hope that the Phillies are going to do well. Lineups have already been posted. LET’S GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feel free to subscribe and take a look at my blog. Here is the link to my blog: https://sophiakd4.wordpress.com.