The Philadlephia Phillies head to Houston for a World Series rematch against the Astros. Philadelphia has been playing more consistent baseball over the last few series. The Phils still won the series, their fourth in a row, and finished the month of April with a 15-14 record. Phillies win the series against the Astros in a World Series rematch.
Now The Is the Nola We All Know
Aaron Nola, as we all know, has not been pitching as we are used to seeing from him. It has been a very rocky beginning of the season. This game was broadcasted on Apple TV during the second round of the NFL draft. Some Phillies fans may have missed the clinic that Nola put on Friday night. Aaron pitched eight dominating innings. He only allowed a late-inning solo homerun to Jeremy Peña.
The offense was facing the pitching of Framber Valdez. A thorn in the side of any Phillies fan from the World Series in 2022. He pitched seven innings allowing eight hits and three earned runs. That was all the runs the Phightins would require to get the win in the first game of the weekend series. The first run came in a form of a solo homer from Kyle Schwarber that mirrored the shot from the World Series. Peña landed a solo shot in the second half of the first inning. This would tie the game up at one. That would be all the scoring the Astros could muster.
One of the biggest defensive plays came from Nick Castellanos. He robs a homerun from the Astros, keeping the game tied. Christian Pache knocks in a double to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Bohm, with a huge defensive play, threw José Abreu out at the plate at the bottom of the fifth. Brandon Marsh tacked another RBI in the 7th inning, scoring Sosa on a single. That would be enough for the Philadelphia victory, 3-1.
Wheeler Takes the Mound in Houston
Wheeler has pitched well in his last three outings. He only has had one bad inning in that time frame. That was in Chicago two starts ago. He struck out 11 in a win over the Rockies Sunday. Wheeler was in control through six innings. This was his best start of 2023 so far. With his six shutout innings, this was Wheeler’s first scoreless outing of 2023.
The bullpen took over. After Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless seventh, Andrew Vasquez allowed Houston’s first run in the bottom of the eighth on another Jeremy Peña homer. Yunior Marte returns from the minors after struggling mightily at the beginning of the season. Marte took down a scoreless ninth for Philadelphia to close out the 6-1 victory.
Phillies got on the board in the top of the fourth as Castellanos homered onto the train tracks in left field off Cristian Javier to go up 1-0. That was Castellanos’ fourth home run of the season. Adding on his double would raise his OPS to .908. The Phillies added another in the same inning as Brandon Marsh avoided the tag at home on a J.T. Realmuto sacrifice fly, and Kody Clemens ripped a two-run home run in the sixth to make it 4-0. Clemens is usually a beloved name in Houston, but not on this night. The Phillies kept the offense rolling in the eighth with two more runs. Alec Bohm shot an RBI double into the right center. Jake Cave plated one of his own with a single. Now the Phillies have a chance to sweep the Astros on Sunday Night Baseball.
Phillies Fall Short of the Sweep But Win Series vs. Astros
In three different innings, the Phillies left two runners on base in a 4-3 loss in a finale against the Astros. Trea Turner continues to struggle. He is just 6-for-42 (.143) over his last 10 games, tallying up 14 strikeouts. Turner struck out on four pitches in the seventh inning with two on, two outs, and the Phillies down two runs. Rob Thomson spoke to Turner Saturday night about sitting him Sunday, but Turner asked to play through his cold spell.
The Phillies are able to hit right-hander Jose Urquidy. They just couldn’t capitalize when needed. Realmuto and Kody Clemens hit solo home runs to the Crawford Boxes. The third run came across the plate in the eighth-inning error by third baseman Alex Bregman. Clemens’ homer was his third in his last four games. He’s driven in a run in all four. Thomson went with him in the DH spot Sunday night over Jake Cave because he likes what he’s seen lately from Clemens.
Once again, the bullpen kept the game close. Connor Brogdon, Gregory Soto, and Luis Ortiz combined for 4⅔ scoreless innings. The Phillies’ pen has a 0.81 ERA in the last 14 games. Ultimately the Phightins fall short in a 4-3 loss. The Phightins lose Sunday, but Phillies win the series against the Astros in a World Series rematch.
Will Bryce See Baseball Action in LA?
The Phillies haven’t swept a series yet but won their fourth in a row against the Astros. They head to Los Angeles to face the 16-13 Dodgers. they’ve been in recent seasons. Philly will see the likes of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith. Taijuan Walker starts the series opener Monday night opposite Tony Gonsolin. The mighty Matt Strahm pitches the middle game against lefty Julio Urias. Aaron Nola looks to dazzle Hollywood in the series finale Wednesday. The Dodgers haven’t yet named a starter for Wednesday. Bryce Harper, with clearance, could be in the lineup as early as Tuesday night.
Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
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