Game 19 - Yuck, Part II

Atlanta Braves	9
Philadelphia Phillies	0

1990 Bowman #147

Friday Night, April 17th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
8-11, 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies continued to play uncompetitive baseball in this 9-0 loss to the first place Braves.

What It Means:  The Phillies stink right now, and they own the worst run differential in the National League with a -34 mark.

What Happened:  Taijuan Walker's first inning woes continued.  He allowed two first inning runs and seven runs overall in four painfully long innings.  The bullpen contained things a little, but the Phillies couldn't muster any offense, managing six hits overall and  going 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.  Bryce Harper had three of those hits, including a triple.

Featured Card:  The Phillies have lost three consecutive games at home by at least six or more runs for the first time since the awful 1989 season.  That happened May 16th, 17th and 19th in 13-5 and 6-0 losses to the Giants, followed by a 8-2 loss to the Padres.  Mike Schmidt would announce his retirement on May 29th, and blockbuster trades would follow in June, shipping out Chris James, Steve Bedroscian and Juan Samuel and bringing in John Kruk, Terry Mulholland and Lenny Dykstra, among others.  Maybe a blockbuster trade is what the 2026 Phillies need now?

Ken Howell was battered in the second game in that 1989 streak, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks over four innings of work.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 94 - Bats, Blog Proprietor Snooze Through West Coast Game

Philadelphia Phillies	2
San Diego Padres	4

2025 Topps 1990 Topps
35th Anniversary #T90-31

Late Friday Night, July 11th

Petco Park - San Diego, CA
54-40, 1st Place, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies offense couldn't solve the Padres pitching and Ranger Suarez contributed a rare error in this 4-2 series opening loss.

What It Means:  Still a little jet lagged after returning from a European vacation this week, I was sound asleep a half hour before this game even began.  It will be nice to watch a few Phillies wins this weekend before the All-Star Break.

What Happened:  Two unearned runs scored in the bottom of the second following Suarez's errant throw to first base.  He settled in after that, pitching 6 2/3 innings and lowering his ERA for the season to 1.94.  Nick Castellanos (12) and Kyle Schwarber (30) both hit solo home runs, with the rest of the Phillies offense managing only three singles.

Featured Card:  Schwarber will be the only Phillies All-Star in Atlanta.  Zack Wheeler, named to the  team last week, declined his invitation, opting to use the time to rest.  Ranger Suarez was also asked to go as a replacement player, but he too declined.  And the deserving Cristopher Sanchez should have been asked, but since he's pitching on Sunday, he'd be ineligible for the game anyway.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 105 - Phils Bullpen Can't Preserve Sanchez's Gem

1990 Fleer #650

Pirates 6, Phillies 4 (10 Innings)
Game 105 - Sunday Afternoon, July 30th in Pittsburgh
Record - 56-49, 3rd Place, 12 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Cristopher Sanchez pitched a gem but the Pirates continued to battle back and the Phillies' bullpen couldn't hold them off in this 6-4 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies dropped two out of three to the Pirates, which is not good.  Fortunately, we entirely missed this ballgame as our son Doug's travel baseball team played three games on Sunday, advancing all the way to the Championship game.  It didn't work out for either Doug's team or the Phillies.

What Happened:  Sanchez pitched five hitless, shutout innings before yielding to the Phillies bullpen.  It was pretty much all downhill from there.  The Phillies had led the game through 5 1/2 innings after Alec Bohm's two-run home run in the fourth.  Bryan Reynolds tied it in the sixth with a two-run home run off reliever Seranthony Dominguez.  The Phils went up again in the seventh, taking a 4-2 lead following RBI singles from Bryce Harper and Bohm.  The Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, aided by a Johan Rojas error in center field, then tied it in the eighth on a sacrifice fly.  All tied up 4-4, and with a ghost runner on second base, Josh Palacios homered off AndrewVasquez in the 10th to give the Pirates the win.

Featured Card:  I've been slowly updating my Phillies collection over at TCDB.com, going year-by-year through my many Phillies binders.  I recently polished off my 1990 Phillies binder, which contains this hybrid Phillies-Pirates card from the 1990 Fleer set.  My user name is Ringo73 at TCDB and after adding all 686 of my 1990 Phillies baseball cards to my collection, I'm ready to tackle my 1991 binder next.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

1990 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  45
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"

Description:  For the second year in a row, the card fronts feature an action photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  The set is sponsor-less, as Tastykake sponsored its final set in 1989 and the Medford Food Company wouldn't come along as the new sponsor until 1991.

How Distributed:  It took me years to track down this set, and I finally found one in September 2014 at The Philly Show.  The dealer I bought the set from told me these cards were never sold in complete set form and he had hand-collated the entire 1990 set.  According to him, the cards were distributed four or five at a time throughout the season at Veterans Stadium.  I don't know if all that's true or not, and I don't know how to verify it, but it would help explain why this photo card set eluded my collection for 24 years.

An eight-card update set was produced very late in the season, featuring what was most likely Dale Murphy's first Phillies baseball card.  Murphy was acquired from the Braves on August 3rd.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards): 

1. Darrel Akerfelds (#35 - RHP) 2. Rod Booker (#37 - INF) 3. Sil Campusano (#6 - OF) 4. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 5. Pat Combs (#38 - LHP) 6. Dennis Cook (#39 - No position)    7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 9. Curt Ford (#27 - OF) 10. Jason Grimsley (#54 - RHP) 11. Charlie Hayes (#8 - 3B) 12. Von Hayes (#9 - OF) 13. Tom Herr (#28 - 2B)

14. Dave Hollins (#15 - INF) 15. Ken Howell (#43 - RHP) 16. Ron Jones (#26 - OF) 17. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 18. John Kruk (#11 - OF-1B) 19. Steve Lake (#25 - C) 20. Nick Leyva (#16 - MG) 21. Carmelo Martinez (#24 - OF) 22. Roger McDowell (#13 - RHP) 23. Chuck McElroy (#51 - LHP) 24. Terry Mulholland (#45 - LHP)    25. Jeff Parrett (#49 - RHP)

26. Randy Ready (#23 - 3B) 27. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 28. Dickie Thon (#21 - SS) 29. Jim Vatcher (#31 - OF) 30. Phillies Coaches 31. Phillie Phanatic 32. Richie Ashburn (#1 - OF) 33. Steve Carlton (#32 - LHP) 34. Robin Roberts (#36 - RHP)    35. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 36. Phillies Broadcasters 37. PRISM Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards):

1. Joe Boever (#30 - RHP) 2. Jose DeJesus (#54 - RHP) 3. Marvin Freeman (#48 - RHP)

4. Tommy Greene (#49 - RHP)    5. Chuck Malone (#53 - RHP) 6. Brad Moore (#46 - RHP)

7. Dale Murphy (#3 - OF) 8. Dickie Noles (#34 - P)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0):  N/A

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (15):  Akerfelds, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, DeJesus, Freeman, Greene, Grimsley, Hollins, Malone, Martinez, McElroy, Murphy, Vatcher
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Carman, Cook, Daulton, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Moore, Mulholland, Noles, Parrett, Ready, Ruffin, Thon

Manager (1):  Leyva
Coaches (1):  The coach's card features Larry Bowa, Darold Knowles, Hal Lanier, Denis Menke, Mike Ryan and John Vukovich.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic returns after a one year absence.  The photo used pictures him atop the Phillies dugout.

Broadcasters (2):  The core TV/radio broadcast team of Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler are featured on a card.  The PRISM broadcast team of Jim Barniak, Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt are featured on another.
Commemorative Cards (4):  Ashburn, Carlton, Roberts and Schmidt

Schmidt's #20 was retired in a pre-game ceremony on May 26th, and cards of the four players to have their numbers retired - Ashburn, Roberts, Carlton and Schmidt - are included in the set.  Also of interest is Schmidt's first card as a broadcaster, featuring him with his fellow PRISM broadcasters.  Schmidt's first stint as a broadcaster lasted just the one season.

For those of you not in the Philadelphia area, PRISM was the Philadelphia-based HBO equivalent that broadcast a handful of Phillies games every year between 1976 and 1997.

Set Composition:  Of the 27-man opening day roster, only Moore and Frohwirth are omitted from the original set, with Moore getting a card in the update set.  Tommy Barrett and Floyd Youmans spent the entire season on the Disabled List, and Steve Ontiveros spent all but the last month of the season out with an injury, and none of those three are in the set.  Beginning the year in the minors, but earning a spot on the checklist are Grimsley, Jones and Vatcher.  The latter two were added to the roster on May 30th, and Grimsley wasn't called up until August 8th.

The eight card update set may not have all been issued all at once, given Freeman and Boever are both in it and they were traded for each other on July 23rd.  Freeman headed to the Braves with Boever coming to the Phillies.  Murphy and Greene were acquired from the Braves on August 3rd for Parrett, Vatcher and minor leaguer Victor Rosario.  Noles is a surprise addition, as he was on the active roster for three games in early May, his comeback attempt cut short by arm injuries.

Omissions:  Back-up catcher Tom Nieto appeared in 17 games but was on the team's active roster for 73 games during the season.  Late season call-ups Wes Chamberlain, Mickey Morandini, Louie Meadows and Darrin Fletcher all saw time with the Phillies in September, so it's understandable no photo cards were created for that quartet.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick left a few comments on my original post for this set and sent me an e-mail with scans showing 12 cards made available at the 1990 ALS Autograph Party fund raising event (later the Phillies Phestival) held at Veterans Stadium on July 30th.  The Phillies issued 10 cards celebrating the ten year anniversary of the 1980 World Champions.  Coach Hal Lanier received his own card and there are two versions of cards for Larry Bowa - one showing him as a coach, and one showing him up at bat.  The back of the 1980 commemorative cards feature a 10th Reunion logo.

ALS Autograph Party 1. Larry Bowa (coach) 2. Larry Bowa (1980) 3. Dallas Green (1980)    4. Greg Gross (1980)

5. Hal Lanier (coach) 6. Greg Luzinski (1980) 7. Garry Maddox (1980) 8. Bake McBride (1980)

9. Tug McGraw (1980) 10. Paul Owens (1980) 11. Manny Trillo (1980)    12. Del Unser (1980)

Also See:  The Mysterious Jim Vatcher Card
Trivia:  The Beckett database incorrectly lists the set as "1990 Phillies Tastykake" even through the Tastykake logo or name is nowhere to be found on the set.  The Beckett database also omits the eight update cards.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set at "1990 Phillies Photocards," and omits the Vatcher card from the main set.  For years, my want list for this set included only 44 cards as most published checklists for the set omit the Vatcher card.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1989 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1991 Medford Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

2022 Chachi #29 Joe Girardi MG

#25
Joseph Elliott Girardi
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Opening Day Age:  57
Born:  October 14, 1964, Peoria, IL
Contract Status:  Signed through 2022 with a club option for 2023
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1989-1992; Colorado Rockies 1994-1995; New York Yankees 1996-1999; Chicago Cubs 2000-2002; St. Louis Cardinals 2003
As a Coach:  New York Yankees 2005
As a Manager:  Florida Marlins 2006; New York Yankees 2008-2017; Philadelphia Phillies 2020-

First Phillies Card:  N/A
Newest Card Added:  2020 Topps Allen & Ginter Field Generals #FG-6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1990-1998, 2000-2003, 2008-2010

1 - Girardi baseball card in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/7/22.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2019 Chachi #69 - New Manager HL
2020 Chachi Preseason Photo Cards #25
2020 Chachi #31
2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #24
2021 Chachi #27
2021 Chachi #58 - Weird Game HL
2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #15
2022 Chachi #29

1990 Topps #12

1993 Topps #425

1997 Topps #291

2003 Topps #521

2009 Topps #555

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2022 Chachi #28 Corey Knebel / 2022 Chachi #30 Phillies Coaches

Game 59 - 2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #11 Luke Williams

Braves 9, Phillies 5
Game 59 - Tuesday Night, June 8th in Philadelphia
Record - 28-31, 3rd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies battled back to take a brief lead only to see the Braves score five times in a nightmare eighth inning in this 9-5 loss.

What It Means:  Maybe the Phillies remade bullpen isn't that great?

What Happened:  Aaron Nola labored again, giving up four runs on seven hits in another short (five innings) outing.  The bullpen was called on to pitch the final four innings, and they hit a stumbling block when Connor Brogdon entered the game in the eighth.  Between Brogdon and then Sam Coonrod, the Braves collected four hits and a walk, including a game-tying home run from Austin Riley.  Coonrod made matters much worse when he threw a double play ball into center field, prolonging the inning and allowing the Braves to score three more runs.

The offense had battled back with a solo home run from Bryce Harper in the fourth, an RBI double from Jean Segura in the fifth and a solo home run from J.T. Realmuto in the sixth.  Brad Miller delivered an RBI-single later in the sixth to give the Phillies a brief 5-4 lead.

Featured Card:  Luke Williams made his major league debut, pinch-hitting for Nola to start the bottom of the fifth.  On the very first pitch he saw, he executed a perfect bunt towards third base which was fielded by Braves starting pitcher Drew Smyly and promptly thrown by Smyly into right field.  Williams advanced to third and came in to score on Segura's double.  Williams first appeared in the Bowman Draft set back in 2015, and he's had cards in Phillies minor league team sets dating back to 2016.

Transactions:  Williams (inf-of) had his contract selected from Lehigh Valley.  David Hale (rhp) and Chase Anderson (rhp) were activated off the Covid injured list.  Brandon Kintzler (rhp) landed on the injured list with a neck strain, while Nick Maton (ss) and Cristopher Sanchez (lhp) were both optioned to Lehigh Valley.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster; Cotham Named New Pitching Coach

2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #8

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #33

2020 Topps Pro Debut #PD-106

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #15

2019 Choice Medusas de Lakewood #20

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #17

For the first time since a group of Phillies became free agents following the World Series, there was some movement with the team's roster.  As part of the annual offseason ritual of preparing for the rule 5 draft, teams must add draft-eligible players to their 40-man roster if they're to be protected. The Phillies added six of their top prospects to the 40-man roster yesterday, as summarized below.

Normally I'd include a sentence or two here about each player's prior year minor league performance, but with no minor league baseball in 2020 there's not much to say.

• Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Dohy was a spring training non-roster invitee in 2020, but then left off the 60-player pool over the summer.
• Bailey Falter (lhp) - One of three lefties added, Falter pitched for Reading in 2019.
• Damon Jones (lhp) - Jones was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Nick Maton (inf) - Like Jones, Maton was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Francisco Morales (rhp) - Ranked the team's 4th top prospect by MLB Pipeline, Morales projects as a starting pitcher and he reached Low-A Lakewood in 2019.
• Simon Muzziotti (of) - Center fielder Muzziotti spent all of 2019 with Clearwater and he's apparently an above average defender.

Granted 2020 was a bizarre season, but three of the four prospects (Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera and JoJo Romero) added to the 40-man roster this time last year saw action with the Phillies over the summer.

Memory Lane

2009 Additions - Quintin Berry, Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus
2011 Additions - Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Tyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach Collier, Ethan Martin, Trevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron Altherr, Kelly Dugan, Tommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Nefi Ogando
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects
2017 Additions - Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ranger Suarez, Jose Taveras and Engelb Vielma
2018 Additions - Arquimedes Gamboa, Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina
2019 Additions - Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera, JoJo Romero and Cristopher Sanchez

2020 Additions - Kyle Dohy, Bailey Falter, Damon Jones, Nick Maton, Francisco Morales and Simon Muzziotti

* * *

2017 Topps #188

Earlier Friday afternoon, the Phillies named Caleb Cotham as their new pitching coach, the team's fifth  pitching coach in as many years.  Admittedly, I know nothing about Cotham other than he appeared in the 2016 and 2017 Topps sets.  He appeared in 35 games (all in relief) with the Yankees in 2015 and the Reds in 2016, going 1-3 with a 7.15 ERA over 34 innings pitched.  His manager with the Yankees in 2015 was current Phillies manager Joe Girardi and his manager with the Reds in 2016 was outgoing Phillies pitching coach Bryan Price.

Cotham had been the Reds assistant pitching coach the past two seasons.  The Phillies are still looking for a new bullpen coach to replace Jim Gott, as Gott's contract was not renewed following the 2020 season.

Phillies Pitching Coaches Since 1970

Ray Rippelmeyer 1970-1978
Herm Starrette 1979-1981
Claude Osteen 1982-1988
Darold Knowles 1989-1990
Johnny Podres 1991-1996
Jim Wright 1996
Galen Cisco 1997-2000
Vern Ruhle 2001-2002
Joe Kerrigan 2003-2004
Rich Dubee 2005-2013
Bob McClure 2014-2017
Rick Kranitz 2018
Chris Young 2019

Bryan Price 2020

Caleb Cotham 2021-

Game 36 - 2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #36 Mauricio Llovera

Mets 14, Phillies 1
Game 36 - Sunday Afternoon, September 6th in Flushing
Record - 19-17, 2nd Place, 3 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Shaky defense, an unhittable Jacob deGrom and a tough day from the bullpen all contributed to this blowout 14-1 loss to the Mets.

What It Means:  This was a horrendous loss.  Best just to move on.

What Happened:  deGrom allowed a run (a solo home run to Andrew Knapp in the second) on three hits while striking out 12.  Aaron Nola struck out 10, but costly errors and mental mistakes from Adam Haseley, Alec Bohm, Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius led to three unearned runs.  The bullpen trio of Heath Hembree, Mauricio Llovera and Blake Parker combined on 2 2/3 innings, allowing 9 hits, 8 runs and 3 home runs.  Parker's runs allowed were the first runs he had allowed all season.

Bryce Harper, who appeared to have cut his hair following Saturday night's ejection, went 1 for 2.

Featured Card:  Llovera made his big league debut and exited after an inning with a 36.00 ERA.  Facing 10 batters, he gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk.  On a positive note, he earned his first strikeout when he caught Mets' catcher Wilson  Ramos looking in the 7th.

2019 Grandstand Reading
Fightin Phils #19

Transaction:  Jay Bruce (of) was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain and Roman Quinn (of) was placed on the 7-day concussion protocol list.  Kyle Garlick (of) and Llovera (rhp) were recalled from Lehigh Valley.

Also of note, the Phillies added three more players to their 60-man player pool - Henri Lartigue (c), Jeff Singer (lhp) and Luke Williams (inf).  I believe that brings the club to 59 players, with just one spot still open - 28 active, 5 on the injured list (not counting the 2 on the 60-day injured list) and 26 training in Lehigh Valley.

Lartigue and Williams were both non-roster invitees to spring training and Singer is a new name for the mix.  A Philadelphia native and a graduate of Rutgers, Singer has been pitching through the Phillies minor league system since 2016 and he appeared in 42 games last season for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, going 7-0 with a 2.34 ERA.  It would be quite the story if Singer joins the Phillies at some point, as he was a non-drafted free agent signing back in October 2015.

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

Game 24 - Bohm Homers, Bullpen Survives, Phils Win

2020 Bowman 1990 Bowman
#90B-AB

Phillies 5, Braves 4
Game 24 - Sunday Night, August 23rd in Atlanta
Record - 10-14, 5th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  With a dramatic play at the plate to end the game, the Phillies held on to defeat the Braves, 5-4.

What It Means:  The bullpen didn't implode!

What Happened:  Heath Hembree, in his Phillies debut, and Tommy Hunter combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief before turning the game over to new closer Brandon Workman with the Phillies leading 5-3.  Workman allowed a pair of runners to reach and surrendered a double to Freddie Freeman that scored a run.  But a relay throw from Roman Quinn to Didi Gregorius to Andrew Knapp at home cut down Dansby Swanson, preserving the lead and ending the game.  The play unexpectedly earned a Topps Now card for Knapp.

Alec Bohm crushed his first big league home run in the second, with Rhys Hoskins and Gregorius following with home runs in the third.  Andrew McCutchen drove home a much-needed insurance run with a single scoring Bohm in the fourth.

Featured Card:  Bohm's homer was hit off Josh Tomlin an estimated 446 feet to dead center and into a pond beyond the outfield wall.  The Braves fished out the ball for Bohm and it was presented to him following the game in a cup of water.

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

Game 22 - Nola Flounders; Phillies Bolster Bullpen with Trades

2019 Bowman Heritage
#53P-122

Braves 11, Phillies 2
Game 22 - Friday Night, August 21st in Atlanta
Record - 9-13, Tied for 4th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola had his first rough outing of the year and the offense  stayed mostly quiet again in this 11-2 shellacking by the Braves.

What It Means:  At least help is on the way for the bullpen.  The Phillies acquired David Hale (rhp) from the Yankees before the game and then Brandon Workman (rhp) and Heath Hembree (rhp) from the Red Sox during the game.

What Happened:  Nola was chased after 2 2/3 innings, and his final line wasn't pretty - 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 2 home runs.  Costly errors from Alec Bohm at third led to three more unearned runs.  Reggie McClain and Cole Irvin contributed to increase the bullpen's ERA with a combined 3 2/3 innings, allowing 7 runs (4 earned).  Scott Kingery made an acrobatic leaping catch in center in the second to save a few more runs.

Featured Card:  JoJo Romero made his impressive big league debut in the bottom of the 8th, striking out the side on 12 pitches.  Adam Duvall, Austin Riley and Johan Camargo went down in order.

Transaction:  The Phillies made a few bullpen moves prior to his game.  First, and more painfully, Jose Alvarez (lhp) was placed on the injured list with a testicular contusion suffered in Sunday afternoon's debacle.  Romero (lhp), the 29th man from the double header remained on the roster.

In the first of hopefully a few trades, the Phillies acquired Hale from the Yankees for Addison Russ (rhp).  It's tough to see Russ go, and we first met him back at a BlueClaws game in 2018.  He's been pitching in Lehigh Valley at the team's alternate training site since July.  He appeared in 55 games last season for Double-A Reading, all in relief and as the team's primary closer, and had a 2.54 ERA with 22 saves.  Russ has exactly 200 minor league strikeouts over 152 2/3 innings pitched.

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #30

2014 Topps #363

Hale has pitched for the Braves, Rockies, Yankees, Twins and Yankees again in parts of seven seasons dating back to 2013.  He had appeared in five games for the Yankees so far this year, and had a 3.00 ERA over 6 innings, with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks.  He was designated for assignment on August 17th, who needed his roster spot for the recently activated Aroldis Chapman.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Hale, Austin Davis (lhp) was designated for assignment.  I'll write about the Red Sox trade in a separate post.

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

Grapefruit Game 18 - 2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #54 Ramon Rosso

Phillies 3, Yankees 1
Spring Training Game 18 - Monday Afternoon, March 9th in Clearwater
Record - 12-5-1

One Sentence Summary:  An eighth inning home run from Christian Bethancourt broke a 1-1 tie and sent the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Yankees.

What It Means:  Aaron Nola was supposed to start this game, but he was a late scratch as the presumed opening day starter has the flu.

What Happened:  Ramon Rosso got the emergency start and allowed a run on two hits in his two innings of work.  Six relievers shut down the Yankees after that, with Mauricio Llovera throwing two scoreless innings.  Bryce Harper had three more hits and Mikie Mahtook hit a third inning solo home run.

Featured Card:  Rosso has emerged as a potential bullpen candidate, and he certainly didn't hurt his chances with his outing on Monday.

Camp Head Count:  64 - 3 = 61.  Prior to the game, the Phillies optioned catcher Deivy Grullon to Lehigh Valley and infielder Arquimedes Gamboa to Reading, while re-assigning Austin Listi to minor league camp.  The Grullon move seems to indicate Andrew Knapp will once again open the season as the back-up to J.T. Realmuto.

Game 145 - 1990 Phillies ALS Phestival Dallas Green

Braves 3, Phillies 1
Game 145 - Wednesday Night, September 11th in Philadelphia
Record - 75-70, Tied for 3rd place, 15 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Dallas Keuchel and three Braves relievers held the Phillies to five hits in this 3-1 loss.

What It Means:  In his post-game interview, Keuchel indicated the Phillies had never even come calling when the then free agent was looking for employment before the Braves signed him in early June.  Instead, the Phillies have relied on a steady stream of starting pitchers who can't seem to get past the fourth inning or have ERAs over 5.  In 16 starts with the Braves, Keuchel is 8-5 with a 3.35 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings pitched.

What Happened:  All three runs for the Braves were unearned and scored in the fourth inning after a costly Jean Segura error.  The five Phillies hits were all singles and they went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  Here's a card of a Dallas who did play for the Phillies - Dallas Green - as well as lead the team to their first World Championship title in 1980.  After a multi-year eBay search, I recently added this card to my collection, signed by Green at the 1990 ALS Phestival as part of the 10th anniversary celebration of that 1980 Phillies team.

Game 123 - 1990 Upper Deck #580 Bruce Ruffin

Padres 5, Phillies 3
Game 123 - Saturday Night, August 17th in Philadelphia
Record - 64-59, 3rd place, 8 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  After four straight wins, the offense quieted down and the Phillies couldn't overcome shaky outings from Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta in this 5-3 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies are once again a game behind the Cubs for the second N.L. Wild Card spot.

What Happened:  In his return to the starting rotation, following the season-ending surgery now scheduled for Jake Arrieta, Eflin was chased in the fourth inning having allowed three runs on seven hits.  Pivetta gave up two more runs in his 1 1/3 innings.  J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run (19) in the third, but Bryce Harper went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.  The team went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  I was surprised to read the Phillies haven't won five games in a row all season, and the 1990 Phillies were the last team to hold that distinction (per this Tim Kelly Tweet).  Bruce Ruffin is not amused.  Hopefully, they'll start a five game (or more) win streak this afternoon in the series finale against the Padres.

2019 Topps Heritage #3

Transactions:  Roman Quinn landed back on the injured list with a right groin strain and Edubray Ramos was moved to the 60-day IL to accommodate new reliever Jared Hughes.  Hughes was claimed off waivers from the Reds on Thursday and when he pitched in this game he became the 53rd player to suit up this season for the Phillies.

A nine-year veteran, Hughes was 3-4 with a 4.10 ERA over 47 games for the Reds this year, and he should provide an upgrade to the club's bullpen.  His newest baseball cards can be found in Topps Heritage and Topps Series 2.  Also, if you have the Justin De Fratus card (#274) from the 2012 Topps Heritage set, you already have a Hughes card in your collection as he's one of the four floating heads on the card along with De Fratus.

Arrived During the 2019 Season

• Jay Bruce - of (6/2/19) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with cash considerations for Jake Scheiner.
• Brad Miller - inf (6/13/19) - Purchased from the New York Yankees.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (6/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.
• Logan Morrison - 1b (7/15/19) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees organization.
• Mike Morin - rhp (7/20/19) - Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (7/21/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (7/29/19) - Acquired with cash from the New York Mets for Austin Bossart.
• Blake Parker - rhp (7/30/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Corey Dickerson - of (7/31/19) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and international bonus money.
• Jared Hughes - rhp (8/15/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

Departed During the 2019 Season

• Aaron Altherr - of (5/12/19) - Selected off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.
• Dylan Cozens - of (8/1/19) - Released and signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays, 8/9/19.
• Yacksel Rios - rhp (8/3/19) - Selected off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Game 106 - Smyly Shines; Phils Acquire Vargas and Parker

2018 Topps Heritage #455

Phillies 4, Giants 2
Game 106 - Tuesday Night, July 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 56-50, 3rd place, 6 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Drew Smyly pitched seven shutout innings as the Phillies took the series opener against the Giants, 4-2.

What It Means:  I'm not going to get carried away here, but the last Phillies left-handed pitcher before Smyly to pitch at least seven innings and not allow a run was Cole Hamels in his no-hitter on July 25, 2015.  (Per Jayson Stark Tweet.)

What Happened:  Smyly allowed four hits while striking out five.  Nick Pivetta entered in the eighth in his new set-up role and promptly allowed two home runs.  Hector Neris pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 19th save.  The big hits came from Adam Haseley (RBI double in the fourth) and Rhys Hoskins (two-run home run in the fifth).

Featured Card:  Smyly's best bet for a Phillies card this season is in the Topps Update set or if the Phillies issue an updated photo card set.  For now, here's his card from the 2018 Topps Heritage set, showing him with the Cubs.  Smyly never actually threw a pitch for the Cubs as he missed the entire 2018 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2019 Topps #418

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #18

2019 Topps Heritage #132

Transactions:  On Monday afternoon, the Phillies acquired left-handed starting pitcher Jason Vargas from the Mets for Double-A catcher Austin Bossart.  Vargas is a 14-year veteran and a one-time All-Star with the Royals in 2017.  With the Mets this year, he was 6-5 in 18 starts with a 4.01 ERA, and even though the move isn't that major, it immediately provides an upgrade to the Phillies' starting rotation.  Yacksel Rios was designated for assignment to make room for Vargas on the 40-man roster.

Vargas' latest baseball cards can be found in Topps Series 2 and the Topps Total online set.  Bossart has been in the Phillies' system for five years, appearing in a number of minor league team sets.  He was one of the Reading players who signed for Doug during our trip to Harrisburg back in late May.

On Tuesday afternoon, reliever Blake Parker was also added to the mix.  Parker is a seven year veteran and he started the season as the closer for the Twins.  In 37 games this season, he was 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA and 10 saves with 34 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings.  He elected free agency after declining a minor league assignment and the Phillies quickly nabbed him.  Edgar Garcia was optioned back to Lehigh Valley and Mitch Walding was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for Parker.

From a baseball card perspective, Parker returned to mainstream cardboard in 2019 after a five year absence.  Before his cards in the 2019 Topps flagship and Heritage sets, his last major appearance came in the 2014 Topps set.

Arrived During the 2019 Season

• Jay Bruce - of (6/2/19) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with cash considerations for Jake Scheiner.
• Brad Miller - inf (6/13/19) - Purchased from the New York Yankees.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (6/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.
• Mike Morin - rhp (7/20/19) - Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (7/21/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (7/29/19) - Acquired with cash from the New York Mets for Austin Bossart.
• Blake Parker - rhp (7/30/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.

Departed During the 2019 Season

• Aaron Altherr - of (5/12/19) - Selected off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.

Remembering Dutch

Like all baseball and Phillies fans, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Phillies great Darren Daulton on Sunday night after his four year battle with brain cancer.  Doug and I met Dutch in September 2014 at the Valley Forge baseball card show and I wrote this at the time:

By far, the highlight of the day was getting to meet Phillies great Darren Daulton.  There were a number of current Phillies signing earlier in the day, but Doug's mid-morning soccer game meant that we didn't arrive until most of the current Phillies had already left. We scanned the list of upcoming autograph signers, and decided we'd like to meet Daulton. 

Dutch could not have been any nicer to us.  He took his time to talk to Doug and he graciously posed for several pictures.  As we were walking away, Daulton called Doug back over and said, "Now listen, here's the deal.  When you make the big leagues, you have to remember that you owe me an autograph."  Doug smiled from ear to ear, and shortly thereafter he announced that Daulton had joined the ranks of his favorite all-time players along with Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and Mike Trout.

I followed social media all day Monday for the accolades and tributes that came pouring in from former teammates and coaches of Daulton's, and I'll pay tribute here with a gallery of his Topps baseball cards.  Thanks for everything, Dutch.

1986 Topps #264

1987 Topps #636

1988 Topps #468

1989 Topps #187

1990 Topps #542

1991 Topps #89

1992 Topps #244

1993 Topps #180

1994 Topps #380

1995 Topps #477

1996 Topps #85

1998 Topps #218