- The Phillies, after a successful home stand, hit the road and looked flat in St. Louis, losing 6-0. The offense only garnered five hits, all singles. Starter Vince Velasquez gave up three home runs and was in the center of a new controversy. He repeatedly shook off catcher J.T. Realmuto and got burned by it
Nick Pivetta was accused of doing the same thing with Realmuto earlier this season. He is currently in the minors, pitching at Lehigh Valley.
Out of the younger pitchers in the rotation, only Zach Eflin has performed well so far. Eflin pitches to contact. He isn't the strikeout pitcher that Velasquez and Pivetta is, but he has been the most effective.
Same old story with Velasquez. High pitch count. Doesn't go deep into games. He has needed to be in the bullpen for a while. In the 'pen he can air it out with fastballs and not worry about pitch count.
The offense remains inconsistent. Bryce Harper, the $330 million man, is killing them. He continues to be a strikeout machine and is now hitting in the .220s. But you knew what you were getting in Harper, a guy who sucks for three weeks then goes on a hot streak and hits tons of home runs.
Hopefully once the weather heats up so will Harper. It does effect the lineup, and Rhys Hoskins has benefited the most form his presence. I think Harper will be OK.
Odubel Herrera is also killing the team. He has an inconsistent approach at the plate. I would rather see Andrew McCuthen play center field and Nick Williams patrol left field. Herrera can be your fourth outfielder.
With Roman Quinn still hurt and Aaron Altherr no longer with the club, the center field options are limited. Down the road, prospects Adam Heasley and Mickey Moniak can play center field if Herrera can't do it or is traded.
The offense has the capability to be great, as we have seen in flashes this season. But to only get five hits off the Cardinals is pathetic.
Aaron Nola goes tonight.Nola looked closer to the old Aaron Nola last game he pitched. The Phils could use a good outing to tie the series 1-1.
Luckily for the Phillies, the Braves, Nationals and Mets all lost last night too. Atlanta and New York are on the West Coast, while Washington faces a tough brewers team in Milwaukee.
- Game 5 tonight in Toronto for the Sixers with the series tied at 2-2. Expect the Raptor crowd to feed off their team's big win in Philadelphia last Sunday. I see the Sixers walking into a buzz saw tonight.
Joel Embiid should play but still looked sick as he boarded the plane to Canada with his teammates. How effective will he be? Will Tobias Harris get out of his funk? Will Ben Simmons finally take offensive control and shoot the friggin' ball? Will Brett Brown make the necessary adjustments if needed?
Kahwi Leonard can't be stopped, only contained. He's gonna get his points. The key is keeping his teammates under control.
If Toronto can keep Philly under 100 points chances are they will win. Look at the series so far. Another Sixer other than Jimmy Butler needs to step up and score.
I still think the Raptors win tonight, with the Sixers coming back to Philly on Thursday and winning, forcing a pivotal game 7 back in Toronto on Sunday.
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