PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #26 RECAP: The Phillies shut out the Seattle Mariners, 1-0, in a Thursday matinee at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Matt Strahm (W, 2-2) tossed 5.1 scoreless innings and allowed only 2 hits with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks … Seranthony Dominguez, Connor Brogdon, Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel made scoreless appearances in relief … The game’s only run came on a Kody Clemens RBI-single that scored Nick Castellanos in the 2nd inning.
YOU AGAIN: Tonight, the Phillies and Astros face off in a rematch of the 2022 World Series which ended 174 days ago … This marks only the second time that a World Series rematch occurred in April of the following year (other: Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets in 2016) … The most recent World Series regular season rematch, regardless of month, was in July of 2019 – Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Dodgers.
WORLD SERIES RECAP: Game 1 (10/28) – Trailing 5-0 after the 3rd inning, the Phillies stormed back with 5 runs off Justin Verlander before J.T. Realmuto hit a game-winning, extra-inning opposite field home run off Luis Garcia … Game 2 (10/29) – The Astros took a 5-0 lead for the second consecutive game and evened the series at 1-1 … Game 3 (11/1) – The World Series returned to CBP for the first time since 2009 as the Phillies won -7-0 and took a 2-1 series lead – they tied a World Series record with five home runs, all off Lance McCullers Jr. … Game 4 (11/2) – The Phillies were no-hit by a combination of four Houston pitchers as the series evened at 2-2 … Game 5 (11/3) – Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run but the Phillies were then held scoreless until the 8th in a 3-2 Houston win as they took a 3-2 series lead … Game 6 (11/5) – The Phillies scored first and took a 1-0 lead in the 6th inning on a Schwarber home run before the Astros rallied with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for the win and the Series.
CASTY’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND: Phils right fielder Nick Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 36 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, Castellanos is slashing .548/.611/.903 with a 1.514 OPS and seven extra-base hits – his .548 AVG after 1-0 leads MLB, his .611 OBP is T-1st, his .903 SLG ranks 4th and his 1.514 OPS ranks 2nd (best: LAD’s Muncy, 1.814) … Last season, Castellanos ranked 201st out of 203
qualified hitters in MLB with a .575 OPS after getting ahead 1-0 – in 174 plate appearances after 1-0, he slashed .197/.276/.299 with 10 extra-base hits.
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: After starting the year 0-4 and being outscored 37-12 (-25) through their first four games (3/30-4/3), the Phillies have gone 13-9 with a +15 run differential in their 22 games since (4/4-current) … Philadelphia has won five of their last six (since 4/21), six of their last eight (since 4/19), eight of their last 11 (since 4/16) and nine of their last 13 (since 4/14).
JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 11-3 in 14 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 2-10 in 12 games when they score three runs or fewer … Dating back to the start of last season, the Phillies are 82-26 (.759 win %) when they score four or more and 18-62 (.225 win %) when they score three or fewer.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DOC: In his final regular season start of 2022, Aaron Nola sent the Phillies to the postseason for the first time since 2011 … In 2022 and 2011, both postseason clinches came at Minute Maid Park … On Sept. 14, 2011, Hall-of-Famer Roy Halladay tossed a 9.0-inning complete game shutout, striking out Jose Altuve to end the game … In 2022, Nola retired the first batter he faced, Jose Altuve and the next 19 batters in order and was perfect into the 7th inning … Nola became the first Phillies pitcher to retire the first 20 batters of a game in order since Halladay did so in his perfect game, May 29, 2010 at FLA … Nola, who led all MLB pitchers in fWAR last season at 6.3, became the first Phils pitcher to lead MLB in fWAR since Halladay in 2011 (8.7).
GO NOLES: When he takes the mound tonight, Aaron Nola will make his 209th career start and move into sole possession of 9th place in club history, breaking a tie with Hall-of-Famer Jim Bunning … Nola has 1,402 career strikeouts, currently 7th in franchise history … He needs seven strikeouts to tie Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander (1,409) for 6th place in club history … Nola also ranks 4th in franchise history with 27 double-digit strikeout games and he trails Cole Hamels (29) for 3rd place.
THREE TO GO FOR 400: In yesterday’s 1-0 win over the Mariners, Craig Kimbrel tossed a scoreless 9th inning (2 SO) and picked up his 397th career save … Kimbrel’s 397th career save came in his 721st game – the only two pitchers in MLB history to reach 400 saves in 800 or fewer career games were Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (400th SV in 697th career G) and Trevor Hoffman (400th SV in 706th career G) … Billy Wagner currently ranks 3rd-fastest in MLB history as he reached his 400th save in his 813th career game.
CAN’T SPELL KIMBREL WITHOUT A K: Over his last seven appearances (since 4/12), Craig Kimbrel has struck out 12 of the 21 batters he has faced (57.1%) with 0 walks … Kimbrel has allowed only 3 hits in that span (all singles) and the Phillies are 6-1 in those 7 games … Kimbrel is currently running a 70.5% first pitch strike rate which would be his highest since a career-best 70.6% rate in 2012 with ATL.
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: In Wednesday night’s 6-5 win over the Mariners, LHP Jose Alvarado worked a scoreless 9th inning (1.0 IP, H, 2 SO) and picked up his 4th straight save … Dating back to Sept. 13, 2022, Alvarado has made 18 appearances – he has multiple strikeouts in 16 of those 18 games and has multiple strikeouts with 0 walks in 15 of those 18 … Alvarado, who has faced 40 batters this season, has 22 strikeouts and 0 walks … Since his last walk on Sept. 21, 2022 vs TOR, Alvarado has faced 59 batters and has struck out 34 of them (57.6% SO rate) with 0 walks.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last 11 games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 35.2 innings pitched with only 3 ER allowed (0.76 ERA), with 44 strikeouts and six walks (7.33 SO/BB ratio), while averaging 15.1 pitches per inning … During this span they have allowed 0 home runs and held the 134 batters they have faced to a .411 OPS … Over their first 15 games of the season (3/30-4/15), the bullpen posted a 7.19 ERA (45 ER, 56.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts to 41 walks (1.46 SO/BB ratio) while averaging 19.7 pitches per inning.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
2023: 1-2, 5.40 ERA Career: 79-64, 3.65 ERA
LAST START: 4/21 vs COL: ND, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, HR …
Nola vs Davis … The Phillies defeated the Colorado Rockies, 4-3, at CBP in South Philly … Down 3-2 in the 7th, Kyle Schwarber homered to tie the game at 3-3 … In the 8th, J.T. Realmuto doubled off former Phillie Brad Hand, then stole 3rd and eventually scored on a game-winning single by Edmundo Sosa … Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado made scoreless appearances in relief of Nola.
TONIGHT’S START:
• Houston, You Have a Problem: Nola is making his third career regular season star against HOU … He has thrown 12.2 scoreless IP with 6 H (5 1B, 2B), 1 BB, 19 SO against them in the other two, retiring 38 of the 45 batters he faced (84.4%) …his last start vs HOU – at Minute Maid on 10/3/22 – was the day the Phillies clinched playoff berth, he retired the first 20 batters he faced, the most by a Phillie since Roy Halladay in his 2010 perfect game
• Jekyll and Hyde: Current HOU players are a combined 4-for26 (.154), 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 11 SO against Nola in their careers during the regular season … In last year’s World Series, current HOU players were a combined 10-for-28 (.357), 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO against him
• Move on Over, Jim and Grover: With tonight’s start, Nola will pass Hall of Famer Jim Bunning for 9th place on the Phillies all-time starts list with 209 … He could also pass Larry Christenson (220) for 8th and Curt Schilling (226) for 7th this season … He is also 7 strikeouts from tying Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander (1,409) for 6th on the Phillies all-time list
• Turning a Corner: In his last 2 starts, Nola has gone 6.0 and 7.0 IP, combining to post a 3.46 ERA (5 ER, 13.0 IP) with only 9 hits (.209 AVG) and 1 HR allowed
• vs AL West: 4-2, 3.76 ERA (17 ER, 40.2 IP) in 7 starts
ROAD:
• 2023: 1-1, 5.74 ERA (10 ER, 15.2 IP) in 3 starts
• Career: 35-39, 4.09 ERA (280 ER, 616.1 IP) in 105 starts
2023 SEASON:
• Recorded his 1,400th career strikeout on 4/21 vs COL, the 5thyoungest to reach the mark among the 20 active pitchers to do so at the time
• Made his 6th straight Opening Day, extending his MLB-best active streak of Opening Day starts
• Was the first pitcher in baseball to make 6 straight Opening Day starts since Julio Teheran in made his 6th consecutive for ATL in 2019, and joins Robin Roberts (12) and Steve Carlton (10) as the only Phillies to do
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros and Phillies will open a three-game series tonight in Houston in what is a rematch of the 2022 World Series, won by Houston in six games…LHP Framber Valdez, who went 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA (2ER/12.1IP) in his two World Series starts last year, will get tonight’s start for the Astros…he’ll be opposed by RHP Aaron Nola, who also started two games in the Fall Classic, posting 8.64 ERA (8ER/8.1IP).
FALL STARS: The Astros were led in the 2022 World Series by LHP Framber Valdez (2-0, 1.46 ERA), RHP Bryan Abreu (4g, 0ER/5IP) and RHP Ryan Pressly (5g, 0ER/5.2IP), who all were dominant in their outings…at the plate, the club was led by SS Jeremy Peña (.400, 10×25), the series MVP, and postseason stalwart 2B Jose Altuve (.308, 8×26).
ABOUT THE MVP: SS Jeremy Peña won the 2022 World Series MVP after leading the club in hits in the series, while hitting safely in all six games at a .400 clip (10×25)…he had game-winning RBI in Game 2 and Game 5, including a three-hit performance in Game 5…by winning the MVP, Peña became the third rookie (first rookie position player) to win World Series MVP, following the Marlins Livan Hernandez in 1997 and the Dodgers Larry Sherry in 1959.
FRAMTASTIC: LHP Framber Valdez enters tonight with a 2.25 ERA (8ER/32IP), which ranks sixth in the AL overall and second among left-handed starters…he also ranks tied for fifth in the AL in innings pitched with 32.0, which is second among lefty starters…Valdez is coming off a stellar 2022 season that saw him post a 17-6 record with a 2.82 ERA.
UNIQUE START TIMES: Take note, Saturday’s game has a unique start time of 4:10 p.m. CT, which is the Astros only home game scheduled to begin at that time this season…Sunday’s game will begin at 6:10 p.m. CT to accommodate ESPN’s telecast.
ON WINSDAY: The Astros tossed their second consecutive shutout on Wednesday in Tampa, securing the series victory with a 1-0 win over the Rays…rookie RHP Hunter Brown (0ER/7IP) was dominant, as he allowed just two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts en route to the win…SS Jeremy Peña scored the game’s only run in a 2×4 night.
CLEAN GETAWAYS: The Astros have won 17 consecutive ‘getaway day’ games, dating back to last season…their last loss on a getaway day was on Aug. 7, 2022 at CLE (1-0 loss)…’getaway day’ is defined as the final game before traveling after a homestand or during/after a road trip.
PENA’S PALS: SS Jeremy Peña will host students from Magnolia Elementary from Pearland ISD for the third Peña’s Pals of the 2023 season…Peña’s Pals is a new program developed by Jeremy in partnership with the Astros Foundation, that celebrates kids and their development in academics, character building and making healthy choices.
RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros have won six of their last seven games and are 11-5 in their last 16 contests, which have all come against clubs with records above .500…additionally, the Astros have won their last three series against teams considered to be among the best in baseball, the Blue Jays (2-1), Braves (3-0) and Rays (2-1).
VS. THE BEST: This series is the Astros seventh consecutive against an opponent with a current record of .500 or above… that’s good news for Houston, as they’ve gone 11-7 this season vs. clubs that are at .500 or above, which also continues a trend of recent years…in 2022, the Astros were an AL-best 42-27 (.609) vs. opponents that were .500 or better and were 35-20 (.636) in the regular season vs. opponents that qualified for the playoffs…additionally in 2022, Houston ended up with an 11-2 (.846) mark in the 2022 postseason (3-0 vs. SEA, 4-0 vs. NYY, 4-2 vs. PHI).
STREAKER: Mauricio Dubón is on an active 20-game hitting streak, which is the longest hitting streak in the Majors this season…his hit streak is also the longest in franchise history before May 1 and is the longest by an Astro since OF Hunter Pence posted a 23-game streak in 2011…Dubón is 29×85 (.341) during the streak with just seven strikeouts…he has made all 21 of his starts at second base this season while filling in for the injured 2B Jose Altuve.
MAKING A CASE: RHP Hunter Brown has made a strong case to be the American League’s Rookie of the Month after going 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA (8ER/30.1IP), a .206 opponent average and 32 strikeouts in five starts this season…Brown is trying to become the first Astros pitcher to win Rookie of the Month since RHP Collin McHugh in September of 2014.
ON THE SIDELINES: The Astros have several players currently sidelined…updates on a few are below:
• LF Yordan Alvarez, who is on the Astros active roster, has missed the last three games with neck stiffness.
• LF Michael Brantley, on the IL while recovering from right shoulder surgery, is currently on an injury rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar
Land…so far, he’s gone 2×8 with two walks and two RBI in three starts in left field for the Space Cowboys.
• OF Chas McCormick, on the IL with lower back tightness, has been working out with the Astros, but will likely require an injury rehab assignment prior to his return to the active roster.
• LHP Parker Mushinski, on the IL with a lumbar spine muscle spasm, has been returned from his injury rehab assignment, after a reoccurrence of his lower back discomfort.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: LHP FRAMBER VALDEZ
LAST START – 4/22 AT ATL: logged his 4th straight quality start…allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with with 9 strikeouts and no walks in 7.0 innings…is 1 of 2 pitchers in the Majors to toss at least 7.0 innings in 3 starts this season, along with teammate Hunter Brown.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: in AL, is T-5th in IP (32.0) and 6th in ERA (2.25)…is T-2nd in AL with 4 quality starts.
VS. THE PHILLIES: has made 3 career starts against Philadelphia, all coming in 2022 with 2 coming in the World Series…got the win in the Astros World Series-clinching Game 6 win, allowing 1 run on 2 hits through 6.0 IP, striking out 9 batters and issuing 2 walks…also logged a quality start in Game 2 of the World Series, helping lead the Astros to a 5-2 win… has gone 3-0 with a 1.04 ERA (2ER/17.1IP) and has totaled 28 strikeouts.
STAYING GROUNDED: among AL starters this season, he ranks 1st in groundball percentage (66.7)
• has been a groundball machine in his Major League career…owns a career 66.6% groundball percentage, which ranks as the lowest percentage in the Majors since 2018 (min. 300 IP)…the next closest active pitcher is RHP Logan Webb (57.0%)…since ground ball percentage started being tracked in 1987, Valdez career ground ball percentage is the highest ever posted by a starting pitcher (min. 250 IP).
ABOUT VALDEZ: the 2022 All-Star is pitching in his 6th Major League season (2018-23) and his fourth as a staple in the Astros rotation.
• has been one of the AL’s most prolific starters since 2020, ranking 2nd in the AL in opponent OPS (.622), ERA (3.00) and wins (35), 5th in opponent’s batting avg (.226), and innings (438.2) and 7th in pitcher’s WAR (4.8) and strikeouts (429) in that time span.
• has held left-handed hitters to a .211 average (84×398) and a .611 OPS in the Majors…has allowed just six homers to left-handed hitters in his career.
OPENING DAY STARTER: made his 2nd consecutive (and career) Opening Day start…is the first Astros pitcher to make back-to-back Opening Day starts since Justin Verlander (2018-21)
• was the second Dominican-born pitcher to start Opening Day for the Astros, joining Wandy Rodriguez in 2012…was one of three Dominican-born pitchers to get Opening Day nod in ‘23, joining Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara and Mariners RHP Luis Castillo.
• was the third LHP in Astros history to make back-to-back Opening Days, joining Dallas Keuchel (2015-17) and Dave Roberts (1973-74)
• became the first Dominican-born pitcher in Astros history to pick up a winning decision on Opening Day in ‘22…tossed 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 6 batters to 1 walk, in a 3-1 win at LAA.
