Rockies at Phillies: April 15th to April 17th

2024 Chachi Series Previews #1

2024 Chachi 1984 Topps Missing Links #13

Monday and Tuesday 6:40, Wednesday 6:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Tonight the Phillies and Rockies will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day wearing special on-field hats.  Tuesday is the next of the unpopular Hatfield Phillies Franks BOGO Nights.

Rockies 4-12
5th Place in the N.L. West, 6 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Rockies Probables
Cal Quantrill (0-2, 7.20)
Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91)
Ryan Feltner (1-1, 3.38)

Rockies Leaders
Average:  Ryan McMahon - .373
Runs:  Brenton Doyle - 10
Home Runs:  Three tied with - 3
RBIs:  Ryan McMahon - 11
Stolen Bases:  Ezequiel Tovar - 2

Wins:  Pete Lambert - 2
ERA:  Ryan Feltner - 3.38
Strikeouts:  Ryan Feltner - 18
Saves:  Jake Bird - 1

Phillies 8-8
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.50)
Ranger Suarez (2-0, 2.65)
Cristopher Sanchez (0-2, 3.52)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Brandon Marsh - .313
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 11
Home Runs:  Brandon Marsh - 4
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 10
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 4

Wins:  Three tied with - 2
ERA:  Ranger Suarez - 2.65
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 30
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 2

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 40 - 2019 Topps Heritage #270 Jorge Alfaro

Marlins 7, Phillies 6
Game 40 - Thursday Night, September 10th in Miami
Record - 21-19, 2nd Place, 3 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies lost another game in infuriating fashion, as the bullpen crapped away a 6-3 lead in this loss to the Marlins.

What It Means:  This was only new closer Brandon Workman's second blown save, and it feels as if he's had so many more than that.

What Happened:  The Phillies built their lead with a few clutch hits from Alec Bohm and Adam Haseley, with Haseley contributing a safety squeeze in the fourth to score Jean Segura.  J.T. Realmuto drove in a run in the first with a ground out and then hit a solo home run, his 11th, in the fifth.  All this while Jake Arrieta was battling through 5 2/3 innings.  He allowed three runs on five hits and four walks, and then surrendered the game to the bullpen.

JoJo Romero and Hector Neris did their jobs while Tommy Hunter and Workman did not.  Hunter recorded two outs in the eighth but then departed with the bases loaded.  Workman promptly allowed a bases clearing double to Starling Marte to tie the score, 6-6.  He re-took the mound in the ninth, recording a pair of outs before Jorge Alfaro singled home Monte Harrison with the winning run.

Featured Card:  Alfaro hurt the Phillies in this game, and on Sunday they'll face the big ticket player sent to Miami with Alfaro back in February 2019 for J.T. Realmuto - hot pitching phenom Sixto Sanchez.  This could be a tough weekend to be a Phillies fan.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 13 - 2019 Topps Phillies #PP-13 Jorge Alfaro

Marlins 10, Phillies 3
Game 13 - Saturday Night, April 13th in Miami
Record - 8-5, 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Zach Eflin was hit early and often and the offense couldn't get going in this 10-3 loss to the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Phillies will need to win Sunday afternoon to take the series.

What Happened:  Eflin was chased after four innings having allowed six runs on ten hits.  Juan Nicasio entered the game and gave up another four runs in his three innings of work.  Four of the Phillies' six hits came in their three-run ninth inning.

Marlins starting pitcher Caleb Smith kept the Phillies off the scoreboard (and the base paths) for six innings while Austin Dean went 4 for 4 with five RBIs.

Featured Card:  Former Phillie Jorge Alfaro had a two hit night but left the game following an awkward slide into second while trying to steal a base.  Alfaro was traded to the Marlins in early February which means he snuck into the Topps Heritage and Topps Phillies retail team set, in what should be his final two Phillies baseball card appearances.

Tracking the Ex-Phillies

Each spring, I'll spend time reviewing every team's roster, list of non-roster invitees and their coaching staff.  There are always a few ex-Phillies that I'm surprised to see still around with Tyler Cloyd (Rays) and Cameron Perkins (Dodgers) catching my eye this year.

Here's a list of each team's Phillies alumni representation, and I've only included players, coaches and managers who actually suited up for the team.  Players who passed through the Phillies minor league system but never made the big club aren't represented here.

Special mention goes to Tommy Joseph, who signed with the LG Twins in Korea over the offseason, and Ty Kelly, who signed a minor league deal with the Angels but doesn't appear to be a non-roster invitee.

N.L. East
Atlanta Braves:  Andres Blanco - inf (NRI), Pedro Florimon - inf (NRI), Rick Kranitz - pitching coach, San Fasano - catching coach
Miami Marlins:  Jorge Alfaro - c, Brian Schneider - catching coach
New York Mets:  Wilson Ramos - c, Luis Avilan - lhp (NRI)
Washington Nationals:  Jeremy Hellickson - rhp, Howie Kendrick - of, Henderson Alvarez - rhp (NRI)

N.L. Central
Chicago Cubs:  Cole Hamels - lhp, Mike Zagurski - lhp (NRI)
Cincinnati Reds:  David Hernandez - rhp, David Bell - manager, Turner Ward - hitting coach
Milwaukee Brewers:  Erik Kratz - c
Pittsburgh Pirates:  Tom Prince - bench coach
St. Louis Cardinals:  Mike Maddux - pitching coach

N.L. West
Arizona Diamondbacks:  Torey Lovullo - manager, Humberto Quintero - bullpen catcher
Colorado Rockies:  Michael Saunders - of (NRI)
Los Angeles Dodgers:  Ezequiel Carrera - of (NRI), Cameron Perkins - of (NRI)
San Diego Padres:  Aaron Loup - lhp, Rod Barajas - bench coach
San Francisco Giants:  Rick Schu - assistant hitting coach


A.L. East
Baltimore Orioles:  Jose David Flores - third base coach
Boston Red Sox:  Ron Roenicke - bench coach
New York Yankees:  J.A. Happ - lhp, Drew Hutchison - rhp (NRI)
Tampa Bay Rays:  Charlie Morton - rhp, Tyler Cloyd - rhp (NRI), Hoby Milner - lhp (NRI), Ricardo Pinto - rhp (NRI)
Toronto Blue Jays:  Clay Buchholz - rhp, Ken Giles - rhp, Freddy Galvis - inf, Mark Leiter Jr. - rhp (NRI)

A.L. Central
Chicago White Sox:  None
Cleveland Indians:  Carlos Santana - inf, Terry Francona - manager, Brad Mills - bench coach
Detroit Tigers:  Daniel Stumpf - lhp, Cameron Rupp - c (NRI, and recently traded from the Giants)
Kansas City Royals:  Jake Diekman - lhp, Ben Lively - rhp, Dale Sveum - bench coach
Minnesota Twins:  None

A.L. West
Houston Astros:  A.J. Hinch - manager
Los Angeles Angels:  Luis Garcia - rhp, JC Ramirez - rhp, Justin Bour - inf, Peter Bourjos - of (NRI), Shawn Wooten - assistant hitting coach, Andrew Bailey - bullpen coach
Oakland Athletics:  None
Seattle Mariners:  J.P. Crawford - inf
Texas Rangers:  Asdrubal Cabrera - inf, Zac Curtis - lhp (NRI), Jeanmar Gomez - rhp (NRI), Chase d'Arnaud -inf (NRI), Hunter Pence - of (NRI), Ben Revere - of (NRI)

Phils Acquire Realmuto in Trade with Marlins

2019 Chachi New Additions #7

2019 Chachi Departures #9

On Thursday afternoon, the Phillies acquired All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins for catcher Jorge Alfaro, along with pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart.  The Phillies also sent $250,000 in international bonus slot money to the Marlins.  Realmuto's arrival indicates the Phillies are ready to graduate from the rebuilding phase to the contending phase.  Could a major free agent signing be next for the club?

Realmuto is signed through the 2020 season.  In the past five seasons with the Marlins, he's averaged 18 home runs and 73 RBIs per season - numbers that will hopefully increase in the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park.  Even if the Phillies don't land one of either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, the offseason acquisitions of Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, David Robertson and other key bullpen pieces instantly make the Phillies a better team (at least on paper) heading into 2019.

Realmuto has been a regular in all Topps sets since 2015, and his most recent card can be found in the recently released 2019 Topps Series 1.

Jorge Alfaro leaves the Phillies after one full season with the club, although he saw time with the Phillies in 2016 and 2017.  In 143 games with the Phillies, Alfaro hit .270 with 15 home runs and 51 RBIs.  Alfaro's departure means that Jerad Eickhoff and Nick Williams are the last two remaining out of the six players the Phillies acquired from the Rangers in July 2015 for Cole Hamels.  My Alfaro baseball card collection (2015-2018) stands at 58 different cards.

2018 Topps Heritage Minor League #211

2018 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #27

Hopefully Sanchez, regarding as the team's top pitching prospect, won't come back to haunt the Phillies.  He made it up to High-A Clearwater last season, and we're likely a few years away from seeing him in a Marlins uniform.  Stewart was impressive with the Low-A Lakewood BlueClaws last season, starting 20 games and going 8-1 with a 2.06 ERA.  I've accumulated 14 Sanchez cards over the past two seasons, and the only two cards I have for Stewart are from recent minor league team sets.

Alfaro  Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #58
2017 Chachi #52
2018 Chachi #10
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12
2019 Chachi Departures #9

Moving On - 2018-2019 Offseason

• Trevor Plouffe - inf (10/4/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Bautista - of (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Asdrubal Cabrera - inf (10/29/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers on 1/24/19.
• Aaron Loup - lhp (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Wilson Ramos - c (10/29/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the New York Mets on 12/18/18.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jesmuel Valentin - inf (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Florimon - inf/of (11/3/18) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
• Luis Avilan - lhp (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent, signed as a minor league free agent with the New York Mets on 1/10/19.
• Justin Bour - 1b (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent, signed with the Los Angeles Angels on 12/15/18.
• Carlos Santana - 1b and J.P. Crawford - ss (12/3/18) - Traded to the Seattle Mariners for James Pazos, Juan Nicasio and Jean Segura.
• Luis Garcia - rhp (12/6/18) - Traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Jose Alvarez.
• Jorge Alfaro - c (2/7/19) - Traded with Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart (with cash) to the Miami Marlins for J.T. Realmuto.

New Arrivals - 2018-2019 Offseason

• James Pazos - lhp, Juan Nicasio - rhp and Jean Segura - ss (12/3/18) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (12/6/18) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for Luis Garcia.
• Andrew McCutchen - of (12/12/18) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• David Robertson - rhp (1/3/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (2/7/19) - Acquired from the Miami Marlins for Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez, Will Stewart and cash.

Game 150 - 2018 Topps Big League #285 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 5, Mets 2
Game 150 - Tuesday Night, September 18th in Philadelphia
Record - 77-73, 2nd place, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Backed by RBI pinch-hits from Wilson Ramos and Justin Bour, along with a three-run home run from Jorge Alfaro, the Phillies rode a 5-run 6th inning to a 5-2 win over the Mets.

What It Means:  The Braves continue to lose, and the Phillies are now 5 1/2 back in the East following this game.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola allowed two runs on six hits in his 5 2/3 innings of work and came away with a no decision.  One of the runs he allowed came on a solo home run to opposing pitcher Steven Matz.  Hector Neris pitched a scoreless 9th inning to record his first save since June 16th.

Featured Card:  Alfaro earns the card for his huge 6th inning blast.

Transaction:  Aaron Loup was activated from the disabled list prior to the game, giving the Phillies 40 active players on their roster.  Hard to believe, Harry.

Game 92 - 2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #38 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 5, Orioles 4
Game 92 - Thursday Night, July 12th in Baltimore
Record - 52-40, 1st place, 1/2 game ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  In a make-up game attended mostly by a few thousand Phillies fans, Nick Pivetta had a decent outing and Jorge Alfaro drove in 3 runs in this 5-4 win.

What It Means:  The Phillies were back alone atop the division in first place following this game.

What Happened:  Pivetta didn't allow a hit through the first four innings, ultimately going 6 2/3 innings and striking out seven.  Seranthony Dominguez pitched a perfect 9th to record his 9th save.  Cesar Hernandez, Scott Kingery and Alfaro all enjoyed 3-hit days.

Featured Card:  Alfaro's three RBIs came on a two-run double in the 4th and a solo home run (6) in the 6th.  This is his second series, team-issued card autographed during the recent Phillies Phestival.

Highlights from the 2018 Phillies Phestival (Part 2) #StrikeOutALS

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #17

Presented here are the remaining cards from the limited edition Chachi insert set I created to commemorate our amazing time at this year's Phillies Phestival benefiting the ALS Association.  Part 1 can be found here along with some of my memories from the event.

If you plan to go to the event in 2019, we'll see you there!

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16

Game 65 - 2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #9 Jesmuel Valentin

Rockies 7, Phillies 2
Game 65 - Wednesday Night, June 13th in Philadelphia
Record - 34-31, 3rd place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Jesmuel Valentin was the only bright spot in this forgettable 7-2 loss to the Rockies.

What It Means:  Maybe there were two bright spots . . . Hector Neris pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the side.

What Happened:  Nick Pivetta suffered through his fourth straight subpar start, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits in his 5 innings.  The offense was limited to home runs from Jorge Alfaro (5) and Valentin (1), his first career home run.  Valentin had earlier doubled twice in the ballgame.

Featured Card:  I was going to go with the Luis Garcia card that Doug had signed (see below) but after Valentin homered in the 9th, it tipped the scales in his favor.

Field Report:  We picked the worst game of the series to attend!  Still, the four of us had fun and Doug continued to have pre-game autograph success.  He added additional autographs of coaches Rick Kranitz and Dusty Wathan to his collection along with signatures from Valentin and Garcia.  Valentin seems to be this year's Ty Kelly as he's made time to sign a few autographs at each game we've attended this season.

Alfaro rounds the basees after his home run

Game 45 - 2018 Toppy Gyspy Queen #288 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 3, Braves 0
Game 45 - Monday Night, May 21st in Philadelphia
Record - 27-19, 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Nick Pivetta and two relievers blanked the Braves as Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr both hit key home runs in this 3-0 victory.

What It Means:  Per Todd Zolecki, this game marked the first time since September 2011 that two N.L. East teams at least eight games over .500 faced off against each other at Citizens Bank Park.

What Happened:  On the way to his fourth win, Pivetta struck out 7 and allowed just 4 hits in his 7 innings of work.  Seranthony Dominguez pitched a scoreless eighth and Hector Neris locked it down with his 9th save.

Williams hit a solo home run (3) in the fourth and Altherr provided some cushion with a 2-run home run (5) in the seventh.

Featured Card:  I wanted to feature Jorge Alfaro since he made three terrific throws from behind the plate to guarantee this win for the Phils.  He threw out Johan Camargo stealing at second in the seventh and threw out Dansby Swanson at first to end the inning on Swanson's slow roller in front of the plate.  Finally, Ender Inciarte attempted a bunt to reach in the ninth and Alfaro nailed him at first to end the game.

Field Report:  While Doug and I attended to Little League duties, Jenna and Ben enjoyed the weather and this game.  Ben became the first member of our family to sit for a caricature drawing at the ballpark, meriting a Season Highlight card.

2018 Chachi #10 Jorge Alfaro

#38
Jorge Mario Alfaro
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  240
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  June 11, 1993, Sincelejo, Colombia
Signed:  Signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent, January 19, 2010
Teams:  Phillies 2016-
Acquired:  Acquired with Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson and Alec Asher from the Texas Rangers for Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman and cash considerations, July 31, 2015

2015 Topps Pro Debut #172

2015 Bowman Draft Scouts Fantasy Impact #BSI-JA

2016 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #1

2016 Chachi #58

2017 Topps #569

50 Alfaro Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  2015 Topps Pro Debut #172
First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Draft Bowman Scouts Fantasy Impact #BSI-JA
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #1

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2017 Topps #569

First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue Update #38
Latest Card:  2018 Topps Now Road to Opening Day #OD-285

2017 Phillies Team Issue Update #38

First Mention on The Phillies Room:  July 31, 2015 - Cole Hamels (and Jake Diekman) are now officially members of the Texas Rangers and the Phillies have six new players in their organization that I've honestly never heard of before.  No offense meant here, but if Matt Harrison, who was an A.L. All-Star in 2012, bumped into me on the streets of Philadelphia I'd have no idea he was the newest Phillies starting pitcher.

The best way for me to get acclimated with these new guys is to summarize their baseball card careers to date.  I won't attempt to provide scouting reports on these players as I'm just purely interested in getting to know them through their baseball cards for now.  If you want something a little more in-depth, I thought this article was a good read . . .

Jorge Alfaro (C - AA) - Alfaro was ranked the third best prospect in the Rangers system in Baseball America's pre-season rankings.  He's going to miss the rest of the 2015 season as he's been out of action since mid-June with a left ankle injury.  It seems as if Alfaro has more baseball cards available than any other player acquired in this deal (with the exception of Harrison) and he's had cards in Topps Heritage Minors, Bowman Chrome and Topps Pro Debut sets since 2012.  Alfaro also has a card in the 2015 Topps Pro Debut set.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #58
2017 Chachi #52
2018 Chachi #10

Card statistics through 5/12/18.

Game 28 - 2018 Topps Heritage #352 Jorge Alfaro

Marlins 8, Phillies 4
Game 28 - Monday Night, April 30th in Miami
Record - 16-12, 3rd place, 2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jake Arrieta was uncharacteristically ineffective in this 8-4 loss to the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Phillies have lost three in a row, dropping into third place behind the Braves and the Mets.  If they hope to contend this year, these are the games they absolutely need to win.

What Happened:  Arrieta couldn't escape the fourth inning, leaving after 3 2/3 having allowed six runs on eight hits.  Marlins right fielder Brian Anderson enjoyed a four-RBI night.  The Phillies had a pair of two-run home runs from Jorge Alfaro (3) in the second and Maikel Franco (4) in the fourth.

Featured Card:  These are the games where it's hardest to come up with a featured card that makes some sort of sense.  Ultimately, I went with a recent Alfaro card since his home run was an absolute bomb that hit the Marlins' garish home run structure located beyond the center field wall.

Transaction:  The Phillies made a few roster moves prior to this game.  Victor Arano, one of the more reliable relievers so far this season, was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.  Jake Thompson was optioned back to the IronPigs.  Lefty reliever Zac Curtis was recalled and right-handed starting pitcher Zach Eflin was also recalled to start for the Phillies on Tuesday night.

Game 12 - 2018 Topps Phillies #PP-9 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 2, Rays 1
Game 12 - Friday Night, April 13th in St. Petersburg
Record - 7-5, 3rd place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez continued the recent trend of strong starting pitching for the Phillies and Jorge Alfaro knocked in the winning run with a ninth inning single.

What It Means:  The Phillies have a nice little four-game winning streak going.

What Happened:  Velasquez allowed a run on four hits while striking out seven over 6 2/3 innings.  Hector Neris recorded his second save of the season.

Carlos Santana knocked in J.P. Crawford with an RBI single in the sixth.

Featured Card:  This is a preview of what Alfaro's flagship Topps card will most likely look like, from the Topps retail Phillies team set.

Grapefruit Game 2 - 2017 Topps Fire #143 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 9, Orioles 6
Spring Training Game 2 - Saturday Afternoon, February 24th in Clearwater
Record - 1-1

One Sentence Summary:  Jorge Alfaro's second inning grand slam led the Phillies to a 9-6 win over the Orioles in the spring training home opener in Clearwater.

What It Means:  The offense looked good with 12 hits against Orioles pitching.

What Happened:  Alfaro got a green light with a 3-0 count and he didn't miss.  Zach Eflin allowed a run on two hits in his first spring start while Jake Thompson struck out the side in his inning of work.  Infielder Will Middlebrooks had to be carted off the field with a bad left ankle injury when he collided with Andrew Pullin trying to catch a fly ball.

Featured Card:  I've mentioned this here before, but Topps really overdid it last year with cards of Alfaro, Thompson and Roman Quinn in just about every one of its releases.  I imagine Rhys Hoskins will received the same treatment within the 2018 Topps releases.  Topps Fire was a new set last year and it came out in late September.  I'm sure some people liked this set, but I wouldn't mind if Topps Fire is a one and done release.

Camp Head Count:  63

2017 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs #CRA-JA Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 5, Athletics 3
Game 148 - Saturday Night, September 16th in Philadelphia
Record - 58-90, 5th place, 31 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  After a lengthy rain delay, Jorge Alfaro homered in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie and ultimately send the Phillies to victory.

What It Means:  The prospects continue to perform, and the Phillies are fun to watch again.

What Happened:  The rain delay ended Ben Lively's night early, but the Phillies bullpen combined to throw six scoreless innings.  Victor Arano threw two of those scoreless innings, picking up his first big league win.  J.P. Crawford tied the game in the fourth with an RBI single and he added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Featured Card:  It seems as if I have more cards of Alfaro in my 2017 Phillies binder than any other player.  Here's the one autographed card I have of his in that binder, from the Bowman release.

Field Report:  We were there!  We enjoyed the pre-rain delay portion of the game from Section 123 before the steady rain forced us to seek shelter under cover in Section 122.  We didn't see much action while we were still there, but our sons surprisingly seemed to enjoy themselves during the one hour and 46-minute rain delay.

2017 Topps Allen & Ginter #288 Jorge Alfaro

Phillies 2, Marlins 1
Game 134 - Friday Night, September 1st in Miami
Record - 51-83, 5th place, 30 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jorge Alfaro and Andres Blanco provided RBIs in the ninth to ruin Dillon Peters' Major League debut and give the Phillies a 2-1 win.

What It Means:  Peters had thrown seven shutout innings and fanned eight, but Brad Ziegler couldn't shut down the Phils in the ninth.

What Happened:  Nick Pivetta pitched a great game and the only Marlins run scored in the first on a wild pitch.  Pivetta scattered four hits and struck out six in six innings of work.  Maikel Franco doubled to start the ninth and then Pedro Florimon walked.  Alfaro singled home Franco and Blanco grounded out to second to score Florimon.

Featured Card:  I've got a whole bunch of Alfaro's cards from 2017 Topps products, and here's his card from the Allen & Ginter set.

2014 Topps Heritage #218

Transactions/Phillies Debut:  Reliever Juan Nicasio was claimed off waivers from the Pirates and added to the active roster.  Nicasio has had a great season so far, but the Pirates had placed him on irrevocable waivers in an attempt to trade him to a contending team and save some payroll.  He was claimed, the Pirates didn't like the proposed return from the claiming team, and rather than deal him he was waived.  The Phillies scooped him up, and he'll help out the beleaguered bullpen the rest of the way.

Brock Stassi had been designated for assignment to open up a spot for Nicasio, and he was later outrighted to Triple-A.  Finally, reliever Casey Fien was released.  Fien appeared in four games this season for the Phillies and he's an excellent candidate to receive a future Chachi Missing Links card.

23. Juan Nicasio (rhp) - Nicasio relieved Hoby Milner with two outs in the eighth and coaxed a ground out form Giancarlo Stanton.  His 1/3 of an inning made him the pitcher of record when the Phillies took the lead in the ninth, and he eventually got the win.

2017 Topps #569 Jorge Alfaro

Padres 8, Phillies 4
Game 117 - Late Tuesday Night, August 15th in San Diego
Record - 43-74, 5th place, 28 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Home runs from Jorge Alfaro and Rhys Hoskins weren't enough to overcome Dinelson Lamet and the Padres in this 8-4 loss.

What It Means:  Every year, there's at least one or two of these west coast games for which I don't see one single pitch.  This was one of those games.

What Happened:  Mark Leiter, Jr. allowed eight runs (four earned) in his five innings of work.  The four unearned runs resulted from a Maikel Franco error.  Alfaro's fifth inning, two-run home run was his first int he majors, and Hoskins added a two-run home run (3) in the ninth.

Featured Card:  Alfaro, along with Roman Quinn and Jake Thompson, are all over this year's Topps releases.  Here's his card from Topps Series Two, his first appearance in the flagship set.

Transaction:  Daniel Nava was placed on the disabled list again with lower back issues and Cameron Perkins was recalled from the IronPigs.

2017 Chachi #52 Jorge Alfaro

#38
Jorge Mario Alfaro Buelvas
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  236
Born:  June 11, 1993, Sincelejo, Colombia
Home:  Sincelejo, Colombia
Signed:  Signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent, January 19, 2010
Teams:  Phillies 2016-
Acquired:  Acquired with Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson and Alec Asher from the Texas Rangers for Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman and cash considerations, July 31, 2015

2015 Topps Pro Debut #172

2015 Bowman Draft Bowman Scouts' Fantasy Impact #BSI-JA

2016 Chachi #58

2017 Topps #569

31 Alfaro Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  2015 Topps Pro Debut #172
First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Draft Bowman Scouts Fantasy Impact #BSI-JA
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2017 Topps #569
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Latest Card:  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter #288

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Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #58
2017 Chachi #52

Card statistics through 8/8/17.