Phillies at Mets - September 19th to September 22nd

1984 Topps Traded #105T

2024 Chachi Series Preview #9

Thursday 7:15, Friday 7:10, Saturday 4:10 and Sunday 7:15
Citi Field - Flushing, NY

At the Ballpark:  On Saturday, all fans will receive a Mets fan appreciation beanie.

Philadelphia Phillies 91-61
1st Place in the N.L. East, 7 games ahead of the Mets

Phillies Probables
Taijuan Walker (3-6, 6.29)
Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 3.24)
Ranger Suarez (12-7, 3.13)
Zack Wheeler (16-6, 2.56)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .299
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 102
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 35
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 97
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 29

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 16
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.56
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 205
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 13

New York Mets 84-68
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 7 games behind the Phillies

Mets Probables
Luis Severino (10-6, 3.77)
David Peterson (9-2, 2.85)
Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.26)
Tylor Megill (4-5, 4.08)

Mets Leaders
Average:  Francisco Lindor - .271
Runs:  Francisco Lindor - 103
Home Runs:  Pete Alonso - 33
RBIs:  Pete Alonso - 86
Stolen Bases:  Francisco Lindor - 27

Wins:  Sean Manaea - 11
ERA:  Sean Manaea - 3.26

Strikeouts:  Sean Manaea - 177
Saves:  Edwin Diaz - 18

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

Game 45 - Phils Can't Complete Extra Inning Comeback

2009 MultiAd
Lakewood BlueClaws #11

Mets 6, Phillies 5 (11 Innings)
Game 45 - Thursday Night, May 16th in Philadelphia
Record - 31-14, 1st Place, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Phils can't complete the four-game home and home series sweep as the Mets push through in 11th inning win.

What It Means:  The Phillies took three of four games from the Mets, and the Nationals come to town next for a three-game weekend series.  With the Braves off on Tuesday, their division lead dropped to 2 1/2 games.

What Happened:  Trailing 2-0 in the sixth inning, the Phillies scored their first run when Alec Bohm singled home J.T. Realmuto.  Nick Castellanos would launch a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score, and the Phillies took a 3-2 lead in the seventh when Kyle Schwarber doubled home Bryson Stott.  Reliever Jeff Hoffman had a rare less than stellar outing when he allowed the Mets to take the lead in the eighth.  But in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies again got to Mets' closer Edwin Diaz.  Brandon Marsh walked to start the inning, went to second on a wild pitch, and came home to tie the game 4-4 on Stott's single to right.

The Mets quickly took the lead in the 11th when J.D. Martinez singled home ghost runner Francisco Lindor off Jose Alvarado.  The Phillies threatened in their half of the 11th, but former Phillies' reliever Jake Diekman held them off to deliver the win for the Mets.

Featured Card:  This marks Diekman's first appearance on the blog since 2018, and this is his first baseball card from the 2009 Lakewood BlueClaws team set.  He's put together a solid 13-year big league career, spending time with eight different teams since departing the Phillies in 2015.

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

Game 114 - 2015 Phillies Team Issue #63 Jake Diekman

Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 0
Game 114 - Wednesday Afternoon, August 8th in Phoenix
Record - 64-50, 1st place, 1/2 game ahead of the Braves

Another Post-Vacation Catch-Up, Part 5 of 7

One Sentence Summary:  Patrick Corbin and a pair of relievers held the sleepy Phillies offense to four hits in this 6-0 loss.

What It Means:  Enjoying a rare afternoon off while staying at the new Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, I was excited to find this game being broadcast on the MLB Network.  My excitement quickly waned and then transformed into an afternoon nap.

What Happened:  Vince Velasquez lasted just four innings, allowing four runs on six hits.  Cesar Hernandez contributed half of the Phillies offensive output with a pair of singles.

Featured Card:  Jake Diekman was rumored to be coming back to the Phillies prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, but instead headed to the Diamondbacks from the Rangers on July 31st.  He was on the mound and contributed the first of two Diamondbacks throwing errors on Tuesday night when Hernandez circled the bases following his bunt.

2016 Topps - Phillies Cards (So Far)

2016 Topps Update #US112

2016 Topps Update #US199

2016 Topps #154

2016 Topps Update #US300

My wife and kids purchased a 2016 Topps factory set for me for Christmas and while this year's flagship design isn't my favorite, I still enjoyed looking through the set.  I believe in the adage of "Once a Phillie, Always a Phillie" which is why as I was going through the set I found myself absent-mindedly setting aside the past, current and future Phillies.  I ended up with a nice little stack of cards and for no other reason than I find this stuff interesting and entertaining, here's a list of the cards with Phillies connections in the 2016 Topps factory set, with the cards from the Update series thrown in for good measure.

This list will grow in future years, and I'm including four players (marked with an *) who haven't officially suited up for the team yet.

At some point in the coming weeks, I'll take a closer look at the 2016 Topps Phillies cards.  Until then, this page links to all my past Topps Phillies posts.

National League East (33 - 5 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (2) - #82 Michael Bourn, #US271 Jeff Francoeur
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (0)
Philadelphia Phillies (28)
Washington Nationals (3) - #266 Jonathan Papelbon, #342 Jayson Werth, #US112 Ben Revere

National League Central (3)
Chicago Cubs (0)
Cincinnati Reds (0)
Milwaukee Brewers (1) - #152 Kyle Lohse
Pittsburgh Pirates (1) - #169 Charlie Morton
St. Louis Cardinals (1) - #US199 Brandon Moss

National League West (7)
Arizona Diamondbacks (1) - #104 Jeremy Hellickson
Colorado Rockies (1) - #US82 Chad Qualls
Los Angeles Dodgers (3) - #351 Chase Utley, #US245 Howie Kendrick*, #US300 A.J. Ellis
San Diego Padres (1) - #163 Joaquin Benoit*
San Francisco Giants (1) - #154 Hunter Pence

2016 Topps #449

2016 Topps #622

2016 Topps #512

2016 Topps Update #US116

American League East (7)
Baltimore Orioles (1) - #6 Jimmy Paredes
Boston Red Sox (1) - #77 Clay Buchholz*
New York Yankees (0)
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (5) - #349 Ben Revere, #449 J.A. Happ, #655 Domonic Brown, #US35 Joaquin Benoit*, #US179 Ezequiel Carrera

American League Central (0)
Chicago White Sox (0)
Cleveland Indians (0)
Detroit Tigers (0)
Kansas City Royals (0)
Minnesota Twins (0)

American League West (6)
Houston Astros (2) - #270 Pat Neshek*, #622 Ken Giles
Los Angeles Angels (0)
Oakland Athletics (1) - #512 Ryan Madson
Seattle Mariners (0)
Texas Rangers (3) - #588 Cole Hamels, #US38 Cole Hamels AS, #US116 Jake Diekman

Memory Lane

1970 Topps - 114 cards with Phillies connections
1973 Topps - 107 cards with Phillies connections
1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more
1985 Topps - 153 cards with Phillies connections
1988 Topps - 154 cards with Phillies connections
2016 Topps - 56 cards with Phillies connections, as of 1/2/17

Diekman Joins Rangers Bullpen

2014 Topps Update Trajectory
Autographs #TA-JD Jake Diekman

I wanted to give Jake Diekman his due, as his inclusion in the blockbuster Cole Hamels trade with the Rangers has been largely overlooked.  (At least by me.)  Diekman made his Phillies debut in May 2012 and he would appear in 191 games in relief for the team over the next four seasons.  He served as an effective set-up man in 2013 and 2014, but has struggled so far in 2015.  He had recently lost his late inning duties and had been relegated to middle inning relief/clean-up responsibilities.

Here's a summary of the Phillies cards in my collection of the newest members of the Texas Rangers.

New Rangers
Cole Hamels - As of this writing, I have 279 Hamels baseball cards in my collection and it appears as if his 2015 Topps Allent & Ginter card will be the final Phillies card issued of him while he was still with the franchise.

Jake Diekman - I have 15 Diekman cards in my collection and his final Phillies card was most likely his 2015 Topps Series Two release.  I'll always remember Diekman for being the reliever who threw my son Doug a baseball from the bullpen last season.

Departed During Season
Grady Sizemore (6/1/15) - Released and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization on 6/15/15.
Phillippe Aumont (6/24/15) - Designated for assignment and elected free agency.  Signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization on 7/24/15.
Jonathan Papelbon (7/28/15) - Traded with cash considerations to the Washington Nationals for Nick Pivetta.
Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman (7/31/15) - Traded with cash considerations to the Texas Rangers for Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher.
Ben Revere (7/31/15) - Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado.

Arrived During Season
Kevin Correia (6/8/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the San Francisco Giants organization.
Dalier Hinojosa (7/15/15) - Selected off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

2015 Topps Phillies #PHP-17 Jake Diekman

Reds 6, Phillies 4
Game 55 - Thursday Night, June 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 21-34

One Sentence Summary:  There was no late inning comeback in this game for the Phillies, as they fell to the Reds, 6-4.

What It Means:  The modest two game winning streak is over and the Giants come to town tonight for a three-game weekend series.  Things could get ugly.

What Happened:  Aaron Harang struggled for the first time this season, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and five walks in 5 2/3 innings.  The wheels came off for Harang after a controversial call at the plate allowed the Reds to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth.  Carlos Ruiz was ruled to have obstructed the plate on a play at home when he didn't provide a path for Reds pitcher Anthony DeScalafani within the base path.  It's a dumb rule.

Featured Card/Transaction:  Following the game, reliever Jake Diekman was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  A corresponding a roster move will be made before tonight's game.  Diekman had been one of the team's best relievers last season, but he's struggling mightily this season.  He pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings in this game to lower his 2015 ERA to 6.75.

Six in a Row and the Final 2014 Chachi Cards

2014 Chachi #71

Phillies 4, Rockies 3
Game 40 - Late Monday Night, May 18th in Denver
Record - 17-23, 4th Place, 6 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels pitched a gem while Odubel Herrera and Carlos Ruiz provided clutch hits in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie as the Phillies eventually defeated the Rockies, 4-3.

What It Means:  The Phils have won six in a row and they've passed the Marlins in the standings for sole possession of fourth place.  They're now 2 1/2 games behind the third place Braves.

What Happened:  Hamels pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing a run on six hits while striking out seven.  Luis Garcia and Jonathan Papelbon (10th save) held the Rockies scoreless over the final five outs.  With the score tied at one, and with two outs in the sixth, Herrera's double plated two runs to give the Phils the lead.

Featured Cards:  I thought this would be a good place to feature the final two cards from the 2014 Chachi set.  Honestly, these team leaders cards probably didn't get the attention they deserved on this blog since I was so anxious to put the 2014 season behind me.

The Leading Firemen card below features a great photo from the combined no-hitter thrown by four different Phillies pitchers on Labor Day.  I tried hard to use this photo for the eventual no-hitter Highlight card, but the four individual pictures I ended up using worked better with the 1988 Topps Highlights card design.  And I really wish the dude walking by with the large gray trash can hadn't photo bombed the shot.

2014 Chachi #72

2015 Chachi #23 Jake Diekman

#63

Jacob Tanner Diekman

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  203

Born:  January 21, 1987, Wymore, NE

Home:  Beatrice, NE

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 30th round of the June 2007 draft

Teams: Phillies 2012-

Acquired: Via draft

2009 Multi-Ad Lakewood BlueClaws #11

2012 Chachi #33

2012 Topps Update #US85

13 Diekman Baseball Cards in My Collection per Zistle
First Card:  2009 Multi-Ad Lakewood BlueClaws #11
First Phillies Card:  2012 Topps Update #US85
First Phillies Topps Base Card:  2012 Topps Update #US85
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2012 Phillies Team Issue 2 #63
Latest Card:  2015 Topps Phillies #PHP-17

First Chachi Base Card:  2012 Chachi #33

Diekman Games I've Attended per Hardball Passport

Cards and game statistics through 5/6/15.

Phillies Throw Combined No-Hitter!

2014 Chachi #61

Phillies 7, Braves 0
Game 137 - Monday Afternoon, September 1st in Atlanta
Record - 63-74

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon combined to no-hit the Braves as the Phillies won a memorable Labor Day game in Atlanta.

What It Means:  It means (for me at least) that this was the highlight of the 2014 Phillies season.  We all watched each and every pitch of the last two innings together, and we cheered when first baseman Darin Ruf caught the line drive from Phil Gosselin to end the game and give the Phillies their first combined no-hitter in franchise history.  Very cool stuff.

What Happened:  Hamels threw the first six innings, but departed when his pitch count reached 108.  Diekman, Giles and Papelbon shut down their nine batters in order.  Marlon Byrd made a spectacular diving catch in the third to preserve the no-hitter.

Somewhat lost in the shuffle due to the amazing pitching performance was Ben Revere's first career five-RBI day.  Revere cleared the bases with a triple in the seventh.  Jimmy Rollins had three hits and an RBI triple, with his triple giving him 658 multi-hit games as a Phillie - the most in franchise history.  Richie Ashburn was the previous record holder with 657 multi-hit games.

Other cool stuff/random thoughts from the no-hitter . . .

2014 Bowman #204

• Hamels dedicated the game ball from the final out to team president David Montgomery who is currently out on medical leave recovering from jaw cancer.
• This was the third no-hitter caught by Carlos Ruiz, second only to the four caught by Jason Varitek.
• Ruiz, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were in the line-up for all three no-hitters.
• I hope Topps does something cool to commemorate the four pitchers who contributed to this feat.  It would be easy to just feature Hamels on a card, but I'm hoping for a card featuring all four pitchers.
• The Phillies typically give away a set of postcards during the last game of the season showing highlights from the past year.  Do you think they stopped the presses to squeeze in a card for the combined no-hitter?

Featured Cards:  I had to produce a Chachi Highlight card to celebrate this feat, although I had to get a little creative with the photo selections.  I was really hoping to find a photo with all four pitchers smiling and celebrating, but the only photos out there are from the post-game interview and press conference, which seemed somewhat anti-climatic.

Memory Lane:  This is the third no-hitter to be thrown during the lifetime of the Chachi sets.  Here are the links to the other two no-hitters, both courtesy of Roy Halladay.

5/29/10 - Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history
10/6/10 - Halladay no-hit the Reds in Game 1 of the N.L.D.S.
9/1/14 - Hamels, Diekman, Giles and Papelbon combine for the franchise's 12th no-hitter

2014 Phillies Team Issue 2 #63 Jake Diekman

Phillies 4, Mariners 3
Game 127 - Wednesday Afternoon, August 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 56-71, 5th Place, 17 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The bullpen trio of Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon combined for four scoreless innings as the Phils held off the Mariners, 4-3.

What It Means:  It means the Phillies actually won the series from the contending Mariners.  They'll have an off-day today before opening up a weekend series against the Cardinals.

What Happened:  Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff, lasting just five innings and giving up three runs on nine hits.  But the bullpen was fantastic, registering nine strikeouts in their four innings of work.  Chase Utley gave the Phillies the lead for good with an RBI single in the fourth.

Featured Card:  Diekman threw two of the four shutout innings from the bullpen, striking out four.  Two of the biggest positives from the 2014 season are the emergence of Diekman and Giles at the back end of the bullpen.  This is Diekman's card from the recently released second series of Phillies team issued cards.

2014 Topps Heritage #208 Roy Halladay

Mets 5, Phillies 4
Game 116 - Friday Night, August 8th in Philadelphia
Record - 52-64

One Sentence Summary:  Bartolo Colon mowed down the Phillies through eight innings and a ninth inning rally wasn't enough as the Mets won, 5-4.

What It Means:  It means the modest three game win streak is over.

What Happened:  Colon limited the Phillies to six hits and a run in his eight innings of work.  Grady Sizemore came within a foot of hitting a grand slam in the ninth off closer Jennry Mejia to tie up the game, but he had to settle for a double.

2014 Phillies Team Issue #63

A.J. Burnett struggled again, allowing five runs on 11 hits in six innings.

Featured Carda:  The Phils paid tribute to Roy Halladay prior to the game, and Doc was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  All fans attending the game also received a Roy Halladay bobble head.  (See Field Report below!)

Field Report:  I didn't attend this game, but my wife and my oldest son decided they needed a Roy Halladay bobble head and so they were there!  We found two reasonably priced tickets on StubHub in Section 101, overlooking the Phillies bullpen.  Doug was lucky enough to have two baseballs thrown to him during the game - one from the assistant bullpen catcher (not Jesus Tiamo) and one from Jake Diekman.  Apparently Doug had a little trouble catching Diekman's ball, but the reliever persisted and Doug eventually caught the ball.

I'm not sure what's going on with Doug's hat brim in this picture.  Must be a seven-year-old thing.

2014 Chachi #22 Jake Diekman

#63

Jacob Tanner Diekman

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  200

Born:  January 21, 1987, Wymore, NE

Home:  Beatrice, NE

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 30th round of the June 2007 draft

Teams: Phillies 2012-

Acquired: Via draft

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2012 Topps Update #US85

#4 - 2014 Phillies Team Issue #63

I have nine Diekman cards in my collection - four featuring him with the Phillies and five minor league cards.

First Chachi Card:  2012 Chachi #33

2012 Topps Update #US85 Jacob Diekman

Phillies 5, Rockies 4
Game 124 - Monday Night, August 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 55-69, 4th Place, 21 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Ethan Martin turned in a strong pitching performance and John Mayberry, Jr. hit a three-run home run as the Phillies defeated the Rockies, 5-4.

What It Means:  This is the first time the Phillies have won consecutive games since the final two games before the All-Star break, more than a month ago.

What Went Right:  Martin faltered in the seventh, but he was fantastic for his first six innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six.  Both Mayberry (9) and Carlos Ruiz (3) homered for the Phils.  Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth to record his first save since July 11th.

Featured Card:  Mayberry had the big hit in this game, but I wanted to pay tribute to Jake Diekman who has slowly become one of the more reliable relievers out the Phillies 'pen.  Diekman entered with one out in the eighth with the Phillies up by a run and Rockies runners at first and second.  He struck out Todd Helton and Nolan Arenado to end the threat and twice his fastball hit 99 on the radar.

Diekman might be a good closer candidate one day if the Phillies can find a taker for the current closer and his salary.  He's appeared on only one mainstream baseball card - the card featured here - and he's an excellent candidate for Phillies Team Issue 2.1, if an update to the update set is issued.

2013 Chachi #45 Jake Diekman

#63

Jacob Tanner Diekman

Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'4"  Weight: 200

Born: January 21, 1987, Wymore, NE

Home: Wymore, NE

Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 30th round of June 2007 draft

Teams: Phillies 2012-

Acquired: Via draft

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

2012 Chachi #33 Jake Diekman

#63

Jacob Tanner Diekman

Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'4"  Weight: 200

Born: January 21, 1987, Wymore, NE

Home: Wymore, NE

Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 30th round of June 2007 draft

Teams: Phillies 2012

Acquired: Via draft

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible