I love it when a plan comes together: Phillies 9, Padres 3

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Good pitching + good hitting = easy victories (why don’t more teams try this?)

The Philadelphia Phillies (17-10) continued their ten game road trip with a series opening victory against the San Diego Padres (14-15) by the score of 9-3 on Friday night thanks to a synergized pitching performance and power clinic.

Aaron Nola was brilliant again in his sixth start of the year and fifth straight quality start.

The Phillies got to Padres’ starter, Joe...

Phillies pound five home runs, pummel Padres

Kyle Schwarber led off the game with the first of five Philadelphia homers and Aaron Nola worked eight solid innings as the Phillies powered to a 9-3 road rout of the San Diego Padres on Friday.

Alec Bohm deserves credit for Phillies' strong start to season

The Phillies are out to a strong 16-10 start here in 2024 and a portion of the credit has to go to third baseman Alec Bohm, who is out to a scorching hot start at the plate.

Gamethread 4/26: Phillies at Padres

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That’s what’s in. It’ll never get old

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

San Diegooooo#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/lWwpbObV0C

For the Padres:

Musgrove on the mound pic.twitter.com/xljYi3RAcp

Let’s talk about it.

Phillies MLR 4/23 - 4/25: Samuel Aldegheri returns from the IL and dominates

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Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford keep swinging a good bat

Charlotte 5, Lehigh Valley 4 (4/23)
Charlotte 5, Lehigh Valley 3 (4/24)
Lehigh Valley 7, Charlotte 6 (4/25)

David Buchanan - 7.1 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 K, HR, 12 GB, 2 FB
Max Castillo - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, HR,
Mick Abel - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, HR, WP, 6 GB, 5 FB
Griff McGarry - 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, K, WP
Simon Muzziotti - 4 for 14, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI,...

The Aldi brand of baseball teams: Phillies vs. Padres series preview

Dylan Cease has lived up to expectations, but the Padres largely haven’t. | Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres haven’t been as good as their roster would suggest.

After splitting the series with the Reds, the Phillies head further West to face the San Diego Padres. After a disappointing 2023 season that saw them fall short of the postseason, many people expected the Padres to return to the playoffs in 2024. But thus far in the season, they haven’t been able to rise...

Phillies Infielder is Creating Runs Early This Season

Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm is elevating his game in 2024 by creating runs at the plate, and has helped the team tremendously in the process.

Cristopher Sanchez is the latest reminder to wait to judge trades

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Sometimes, it’s a slow burn

Quick: think of the worst habit people in sports analysis, the ones who are paid all the big bucks for the big name websites, what’s the worst thing that they do this time of year?

If you’re thinking of hot takes, well, yes, but that’s not what I was thinking about.

Think more along the lines of the NFL event that is going to take place this weekend. What do tons of people have a habit of doing...

First-time father Manny Machado set to return as Padres host Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper displayed his "dad strength" in his first game back from the paternity list Thursday in Cincinnati. The San Diego Padres hope Manny Machado follows suit when they welcome Harper and the Phillies to town on Friday night for the opener of a three-game series.

Rise and Phight: 4/26/2024

Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The dalliance on the West Coast begins

I’m a fan of West Coast games. We don’t usually watch them, so staying up a little later to watch the games is nice. It’s even better on the weekends when I can stay up and not have to worry about work.

On to the links.

MLB roundup: Bryce Harper back, homers in Phillies' win

Bryce Harper returned from a three-day paternity leave and belted a two-run homer to lead the visiting Philadelphia Phillies past the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Thursday.

Nipped in the bud: Phillies 5, Reds 0

Zack Wheeler’s six shutout innings led the Phillies to a win. | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Zack Wheeler and the bullpen made sure the Phillies’ losing streak didn’t reach three.

You can’t win them all, so, it wasn’t too alarming when the Phillies turned in a stinker of a performance on Tuesday, ending their seven-game winning streak. But after another poor performance on Wednesday night, there was concern that the Phillies might follow that winning streak with an...

Bryce Harper's blast helps Phillies take down Reds

Bryce Harper returned from a three-day paternity leave and belted a two-run homer to lead the visiting Philadelphia Phillies past the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Thursday.

Phillies Have MLB’s Best Rotation … and It’s Not Just Wheeler and Nola

The Philadelphia Phillies have gone on two consecutive deep playoff runs thanks in large part to the one-two punch atop their rotation of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

Phillies' Bryce Harper returns from paternity leave

The Philadelphia Phillies reinstated first baseman Bryce Harper from the paternity list, making him available for Thursday afternoon's game at Cincinnati.

Gamethread 4/25: Phillies at Reds

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Can they get the split?

Here are the lineup. For the Phillies:

Afternoon action on deck#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/JROqPum0fs

For the Reds:

Going for another series win.

Powered by @PNCBank pic.twitter.com/Ph7t8TlRKC

Let’s talk about it.

What are the best pitches on the staff?

Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images

We’re going granular, folks

Aesthetics are everything. Often time, how one thing looks defines how something is. With my travel baseball team I coach, we are constantly trying to find just the right uniform that looks good on a player. We have come up with some solid combinations, ones that make the players look like ballplayers. We’re also always harping on tucking in their jersey. “You look good, you play good!” is a common, through...

Rise and Phight: 4/25/2024

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Let’s go ahead and split the series

Is it ever too early to think about wild card tiebreakers?

With today’s rubber match against the Reds, the Phillies will need to win to finish 4-3 against them this season. That means Cincinnati will have the season edge against them, which might have some implications later on. Doubtful though since the Phillies are the better team and will likely finish further ahead of the Reds in the standings. But against these...

4-run sixth inning rallies Reds past Phillies

Santiago Espinal's two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning tied the game, and the Cincinnati Reds added two more runs in the inning and went on to defeat the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Wednesday night.

Not exactly Rob’s best game: Reds 7, Phillies 4

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

There were some things done wrong tonight

There are nights when you know someone on the team doesn’t have it. Usually, the obvious choice is the pitcher. It’s almost instantly when one can tell if the starter doesn’t have his good stuff on that night. Other times, you know right away when the offense just isn’t going to have it in them. Bad takes, strikezone struggles - it can be apparent within a batter or two with experience. The...