- Disappointing loss by the Phillies last night to Toronto. Nice comeback that fell short in the 9th inning. Rhys Hoskins, taking a called third strike with the bases loaded and one out, is unacceptable. Need to put the ball in play and at least hit a fly ball to tie the game. Odubel Herrera chased a first pitch bad pitch, grounding out to end the 6-5 loss. The team is 0-16 when trailing after 8 innings. No comeback or walk-off wins. A trend that must change soon.
- Another wasted opportunity to climb into 1st place since the Braves lost in Boston.Look out for Washington, who continues to creep up on the back, only 2 games off the lead.With a 10-game road trip looming to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago,the next two games against the Blue Jays are big. Aaron Nola and Nick Pivetta, two hot pitchers, go the rest of the weekend.
- Hoskins continues to struggle and needs to bat 5th or lower in the order. He is killing the club in the 2-hole. The team continues to leave too many runner son base, striking out too many times. Herrera is the only .300 hitter on the team. And the defense continues to be sloppy at times. It's a wonder the Phils are still only 1/2 game out of first in NL East.
- Another small crowd for a Friday night at the Bank. 21,000 was announced. Soon the kids will be out of school. hopefully the weather stays nice and fans will start to believe in this team. Last night would've been a good start towards that goal but a comeback wasn't in the cards.
- Zach Eflin had an off-night against Toronto, but he has been pitching well since he was called up from Lehigh Valley. There are still rumors of Cole Hamels coming back to the Phils, which would give the rotation a needed lefty and another veteran presence. I don't think it's a coincidence that the young pitchers on the staff are better since a true pro and Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta was signed.
- Win or lose, it's fun to have meaningful baseball games again heading into Memorial Day. If the Phillies are in contention on July 4th, it will be time to start getting serious.
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