Phillies drop series to Padres
The Los Angeles Dodgers will visit Citizens Bank Park for a three-game set over the weekend
Phillies drop rubber match to Padres
Absent Bryce Harper once again, the Phillies mustered just three runs in the three-game set with the San Diego Padres, all of which came in Wednesday's game. They were shutout on Tuesday, 3-0, and on Thursday, 2-0. —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
Pitching performances:
PHI Kyle Gibson: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 7 K
SDP Yu Darvish: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 5 K
Standout bats:
PHI Rhys Hoskins: 2-for-4
SDP Robinson Cano: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
SDP Ha-Seong Kim: 1-for-3, RBI, K
MORE: Harper's presence changes landscape of Phillies' lineup —Lauren Amour, Inside the Phillies
Moniak slated to begin rehab with Clearwater
According to Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer, center fielder Mickey Moniak will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Clearwater on Friday.
The former 2016 first overall pick had a ballistic spring, in which he hit five home runs alongside a 1.286 OPS, securing him a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Unfortunately, in his final game of spring training, Moniak suffered a hairline fracture to his hand after getting pegged with a fastball, sidelining him for 4-6 weeks.
Moniak will serve as the Phillies' final in-house option to solve their center field void. One would hope he can rise to the occasion. —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
MORE: Bryce Harper shut down from throwing for six weeks —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
The red-hot Dodgers pay a visit
The Phillies look to replicate their recent visit to Los Angeles as they welcome the Dodgers to Citizens Bank Park for the first time this season. Philadelphia enters Friday's game on the losing end of a series against the Padres, which all but showed how pivotal Bryce Harper, sidelined following his PRP injection on Sunday, is to the lineup. —Declan Harris, Inside the Phillies
Game 1:
PHI starter: Ranger Suárez (4-1, 3.72 ERA)
LAD starter: Julio Urías (2-3, 3.00 ERA)
First pitch: May 20, 7:05 p.m. EST
NBCSP/94.1 WIP
Game 2:
PHI starter: Aaron Nola (1-4, 3.64 ERA)
LAD starter: TBD
First pitch: May 21, 6:05 p.m. EST
NBCSP/94.1 WIP
Game 3:
PHI starter: Zach Eflin (1-3, 3.90 ERA)
LAD starter: Tony Gonsolin (4-0, 1.64 ERA)
First pitch: May 22, 1:35 p.m. EST
NBCSP, MLB Network/94.1 WIP
MORE: Six center field trade targets the Phillies must consider —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
Latest Inside the Phillies podcast
Lauren Amour, Alex Carr, Kade Kistner, and Ben Silver discuss the Phillies’ 5-2 road trip and what they’ll need to do to make a postseason run.
Listen on Spotify or SoundCloud!
Mets’ ace Scherzer suffers oblique injury
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer will miss 6-8 weeks with an oblique injury.
The news came a day following Scherzer exiting his start after 5.2 innings due to the injury on Wednesday.
The door has certainly opened for the Phillies to cut into the Mets' seven-game lead in the division while Jacob deGrom and Scherzer are out.
While Harper prepares for his return from a PRP injection, the offense needs to make a push now before New York can return to full strength. —Jeff Fitzpatrick, Inside the Phillies
MORE: Phillies must take advantage of crumbling NL East —Lauren Amour, Inside the Phillies
Phocus on Phillies’ farm
Thursday’s top performers:
Triple-A: OF Matt Vierling - 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K
Re-adjusting to Triple-A hasn't been easy for Vierling, but he showed a major sign of life on Thursday, mashing a home run to left field to kick off the game.
2B Scott Kingery - 2-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI
1B Darick Hall - 2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
Double-A: C Logan O'Hoppe - 2-for-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI
This is the fifth consecutive 'notable performances' inclusion for O'Hoppe.
He's nearly cresting a .400 on-base percentage on the year, sitting comfortably at .397, and has ticked his OPS up to .948.
High-A: OF Carlos De La Cruz - 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K
De La Cruz is hitting .275, alongside a .370 on-base percentage and a .920 OPS. He's still striking out at an unsustainable clip, but the fact that his pitch selection seems to have taken a step forward is interesting. —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
Opinion: Can Norwood, Bellatti, and Nelson be part of an effective bullpen?
Before arriving in Philadelphia, the trio of James Norwood, Andrew Bellatti and Nick Nelson had 88.2 career innings to their names. Now just five weeks in the 2022 season, they've accumulated 38.1 innings, or 43% of their career total.
The three have averaged a 4.72 ERA, not ideal in a year where the median bullpen ERA is 3.70.
Norwood’s FIP is 3.09, compared to an ERA of 8.44; Bellatti’s ERA is 2.89 and his FIP is 2.88; Nelson’s ERA and FIP are both solid, 3.44 and 3.64, respectively.
The Phillies have leaned heavily on their front-end of the bullpen trio, especially Nelson, who's thrown more innings than any other Phillie reliever. —Ben Silver, Inside the Phillies
MORE: Five bullpen trade targets that will make the Phillies contenders —Ben Silver, Inside the Phillies