PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #83 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Washington Nationals, 5-4, at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly … Starter Ranger Suarez (L, 2-3) went 5.1 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts – Suarez allowed 2 home runs on the day, one of which was a grand slam in the 3rd inning … Offensively, the Phillies had 10 hits, 5 walks and only 3 strikeouts – they had been 29-0 in their last 29 games when doing so, with their last loss coming on July 13, 2003 at Shea Stadium against the Mets.
ROADWORK The Phillies have won 11 of their last 12 on the road (since 6/3) and nine straight (6/13- current), which is their longest winning streak away from Philly since May of 1984 (also 9) and is tied for the fourth-longest road winning streak in franchise history (May 1984 and April-May of 1954) … This also marks the first time the Phillies have won 11 of 12 on the road since July 19-Aug. 10, 2011 (also 11 of 12) … A win today would be Philadelphia’s first 10-game winning streak on the road since 1976 when they won a franchise-record 13-straight games from April 17-June 2 … The only other 10-game winning streaks in franchise history on the road were a 10-game streak from June 25-July 11, 1969, and a 12-game streak that spanned two seasons from Sept. 15, 1887-April 25, 1888.
NO BUDDY LIKE A BROTHER: Today’s starting pitching matchup has former teammates, Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin, facing each other for the first time … The two were teammates with the Phils for 7 seasons (2016-22) and anchored the club’s rotation over that span … This marks the first time in Phillies franchise history a pair of Phillies teammates for at least seven seasons faced off as starting pitchers in the next season – the last time this happened in MLB was in 2009 when Cliff Lee (CLE) faced off against CC Sabathia (NYY) … From 2016-22, Nola and Eflin ranked Nos. 1 & 2 in several categories, respectively, for the Phils including wins (72 and 36), IP (1,150.2 and 659.1) and quality starts (107 and 52) … Last year, when the Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011 on Oct. 3 against the Astros in Houston, Nola started the clincher (W, 6.2 IP) and Eflin closed it out (SV, 1.0 IP).
SEE YOU IN SEATTLE: Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos was selected as an All-Start for the second time in his career (other: 2021 with CIN) … Castellanos, in his second season with the Phillies, has raised his OPS 180 points from .694 last year to .874 entering play today … Castellanos has increased his hard hit rate on balls in play by 11.1 percent from a season ago – that +11.1 percent spike in hard hit rate is the fourth-biggest jump from year to year of any player in MLB – teammate Brandon Marsh ranks 1st with a +12.8% spike, Corey Seager 2nd at +11.4% and Juan Soto 3rd at +11.2% … Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 117 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, he has 14 extra-base hits and is slashing .376/.462/.604 with a 1.065 OPS … Last season, Castellanos got ahead 1-0 in 174 plate appearances and tallied only 10 extra-base hits as he slashed .197/.276/.299 with a .575 OPS … In total, Castellanos (26 2B) is one double shy of matching his total of 27 last season, one home run shy of matching his total of 13 and one extra-base hit shy of tying his total of 40.
CANCEL THE SHORE PLANS: Today, the Phillies will play on July 4th in Tampa against the Rays … It will be their first summer holiday at work since Memorial Day 2022 (5/30/22 vs SF at CBP) … Prior to this July 4th, the Phillies had been off for three straight summer holidays: July 4th, 2022, Labor Day 2022 (9/5/22) and Memorial Day 2023 (5/29/23) … Last year marked only the sixth time in franchise history the Phillies did not play a game on July 4th and the first since 1916 (not counting 2020 pandemic season or 1981 strike season) … The Phillies are scheduled to play the Padres in San Diego on Labor Day 2023 (9/4/23).
SPENDING THE FOURTH IN FLORIDA: The Phillies are an even 105-105 in franchise history on July 4 which includes a 51-49 record in Philadelphia and a 54-56 record on the road … Philadelphia’s 210 games played on July 4th rank third among all MLB teams behind only CHI (225) and PIT (211).
FILLING UP THE TROPHY CASE: Yesterday, MLB announced that Craig Kimbrel was selected as the National League Relief Pitcher of the Month for June … Kimbrel made 13 appearances in June and went 5- for-5 in save opportunities – he posted a 0.69 ERA (1 ER, 13.0 IP) with 21 strikeouts to 3 walks and held the 50 batters he faced to a .133/.220/.156 slash line (.376 OPS) … For Kimbrel, it’s his second Monthly Award (other: May of 2017) and for the Phillies, he is the first relief pitcher to win a Monthly Award since Hector Neris in August of 2018
ON THE PLUS SIDE: The Phillies currently have seven players with an OPS+ (league average is 100) of 101 or greater (min. 200 PA): Nick Castellanos (137 OPS+), Brandon Marsh (124), Bryce Harper (120), Kyle Schwarber (110), J.T. Realmuto (106), Bryson Stott (105) and Alec Bohm (104) … Among all clubs, Philadelphia’s total of seven players with an OPS+ of 101 or better ranks T-3rd (with TB) and trails only Atlanta (9 players) and Texas (8 players) … The last time the Phillies had at least seven players with an OPS+ of 101 or better over a full season was 2011 (Utley, Rollins, Howard, Victorino, Ruiz, Pence, Mayberry) … As a club, the Phillies have a 104 OPS+ this season which ranks T-4th in the NL and T9th in MLB.
THE VIBES ARE BACK: This season, the Phillies were seven games under .500 at 25-32 (.439 win %) when they entered play on June 3, which was also the one-year anniversary of Rob Thomson’s first game as Phillies manager … Since then, they have gone 19-7 (.731 win %) with a +52-run differential (140-88) and enter today five games over .500 at 44-39 … When Thomson took over last year on June 3, the Phillies were also seven games under .500 at 22-29 (.431 win %), and in their first 26 games with him as manager (6/3-30/22), they went 18-8 (.692 win %) with a +39-run differential (140-101) … Since Thomson was hired on June 3, 2022, the Phillies are 109-85 and their .562 winning percentage ranks T-6th in MLB (with SEA), behind only ATL (.686), LAD (.636), HOU (.612), BAL (.573) and TB (.571).
TODAY’S STARTER – AARON NOLA RHP #27
2023: 7-5, 4.51 ERA Career: 85-67, 3.68 ERA
LAST START: 6/28 at CHI: W, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, (97 p, 65 s) … Nola vs Smyly … The Phillies beat the Cubs in Chicago, 8-5 … Had his streak of 6.0-plus innings pitched in consecutive outings snapped at 13 … His 1st time not completing 6.0 IP since 4/11 vs MIA … Allowed a pair of solo HR’s in the 3rd & 4th innings and 2 runs in the 5th … The win was Nola’s 4th in 6 career starts at Wrigley … Win was also the club’s 7th series win in the last 8.
TODAY’S START:
Friends Forever: Today’s starting pitching matchup has former teammates, Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin, facing each other for the first time … The two were teammates with the Phils for 7 seasons (2016-22) and anchored the club’s rotation over that span … In that span of 7 seasons, Nola and Eflin ranked Nos. 1 & 2 in several categories, respectively, for the Phils including wins (72 and 36), IP (1,150.2 and 659.1) and quality starts (107 and 52).
Movin’ On Up: Tonight’s start will be the 221st of Nola’s career which will move him into sole possession of 8th place on the Phillies’ all-time list … He entered today in a tie with Larry Christenson (220) … Curt Schilling is in 7th place with 226 starts
2023 SEASON:
2023 NL Ranks: IP (6th; 105.2), opp. OBP (6th; .279), BABIP (5th; .260), WHIP (8th, 1.12), and SO (11th; 102)
Innings Eater: Since the start of the 2018 season, Nola’s 977.1 IP are tied for the most in the majors with Gerrit Cole … This season, Nola ranks 6th among NL pitchers in IP (105.2; T10th in MLB) and has gone at least 6.0 IP in 14 of his 17 starts in 2023 (82%) … His 14 instances of 6.0 innings are tied for the 2nd most in the majors trailing SF’s Logan Webb (15)
Philly Value: Since 2018, Nola is the only pitcher in baseball to accrue more than 20.0 fWAR (23.3) and pitch for only one team … In that span, he ranks 5th overall in fWAR behind only Jacob deGrom (27.1), Max Scherzer (26.8), Gerrit Cole (25.6) and Zack Wheeler (25.4) … His 31.7 fWAR as a Phillie is 7th most in franchise history trailing Curt Simmons (33.5) for 6th place
Additionally, since the start of the 2022 season, Nola’s 8.0 fWAR is the best among all NL starters with ARI’s Zac Gallen (7.7) and MIA’s Sandy Alcantara (7.5) trailing
Road Scholar: Since the start of the 2022 season, among all ML pitchers in road games, Nola has recorded the most SO (177) and ranks 2nd in IP (168.2) and SO/BB ratio (6.32) … Nola’s 26 starts on the road in that span are T-4th most
Phils’ Ranks: Recorded the 29th double-digit SO game of his career and 2nd of 2023 on 6/5 vs DET … Is now tied with Cole Hamels (29) for the 3rd most in club history (Curt Schilling is 2nd with 48)
Made his 6th straight Opening Day start, extending his MLB-best active streak of Opening Day starts … Was the 1st pitcher in MLB to make 6 straight Opening Day starts since Julio Teheran in made his 6th consecutive for ATL in 2019, and joins Robin Roberts (12) & Steve Carlton (10) as the only Phillies to do so
Pitch Usage: Curveball (31.8%), 4-seam fastball (27.8%), sinker (18.3%), Changeup (12.6%), cutter (9.4%) vs AL East: 4-7, 3.38 ERA (36 ER, 96.0 IP) in 16 starts
ROAD:
2023: 4-3, 5.34 ERA (36 ER, 60.2 IP) in 10 starts
Career: 38-41, 4.16 ERA (306 ER, 661.1 IP) in 112 starts
Tropicana Field: 0-1, 7.36 ERA (3 ER, 3.2 IP) in 1 start
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
EMERALD CITY BLUES — Tampa Bay dropped Sunday’s rubber match in Seattle by a 7-6 final after allowing six unanswered runs…LF Randy Arozarena (2-for-4, HR, RBI, 2R) and 3B Isaac Paredes (2-for-2, HR, 2RBI, R) each tallied solo homers within the opening two frames before the Rays used a four-run third inning to jump out to a 6-1 lead…the rally included a sacrifice fly by SS Wander Franco (0-for-3, RBI), a two-run double off the bat of 1B Luke Raley (1-for-3, 2B, 2RBI, R, BB) and an RBI-single courtesy of Paredes…the Mariners answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the third, drawing back within one run, 6-5…after tying the game on a sixth-inning solo homer, Seattle plated the winning run when RHP Jason Adam (1.0IP, ER, 2BB, 2SO, 2HBP) plunked Jose Caballero (0-for-2, RBI, BB, HBP) with the bases loaded in the seventh…Adam became the first Rays pitcher to take a loss despite not allowing a hit since Matt Wisler on 7/8/22 at Cincinnati.
RHP Taj Bradley (3.1IP, 9H, 5ER, BB, 3SO, HR) departed with one out in the fourth inning after tossing 73 pitches…the right-hander has recorded a 14.73 ERA (7.1IP, 12ER) over his last two starts after entering that span with a 3.86 ERA (49.0IP, 21ER) in his first 10 career outings.
The Rays concluded their six-game road trip through Arizona and Seattle at 3-3… they fell to 14-15 in one-run contests; their 29 one-run games are fourth most in the majors, behind Cleveland (35G), Cincinnati (34G) and Oakland (31G).
HAPPY 4TH! — Tampa Bay is 9-15 (.375) all-time on the Fourth of July, including 7-7 since 2008…the Rays are 4-4 at Tropicana Field and 5-11 on the road…they have dropped three of their last four Independence Day matchups since 2018, including a pair of shutouts, after winning four of five from 2013-17 — they did not play on the holiday in 2020…on 7/4/22, Yandy Díaz and Wander Franco recorded the lone Rays hits in a 4-0 defeat at Boston, a contest that was started by opener LHP Jalen Beeks (2.0IP, 2H, BB, 2SO).
This marks the fourth time the Rays have faced an NL opponent on the Fourth of July, including the first at home…they have gone 1-2 in the previous three games (‘04 at FLA; ‘17 at CHC; ‘18 at MIA).
HOME SWEET HOME — The Rays are undefeated (7-0-2) over their last nine home series dating back to 5/2-4 vs. Pittsburgh, going 20-8 (.714) overall in that span with a +33 run differential (156-123)…they have gone 3-0 in home rubber games over that stretch (5/7 vs. NYY; 5/28 vs. LAD; 6/11 vs. TEX)…it marks Tampa Bay’s longest streak of consecutive unbeaten home series since a 10-series run (9-0-1) from 5/14-7/21, 2021 (Elias).
Tampa Bay has lost consecutive home games just once this season (4/25-26 vs. HOU)…it is the only MLB club that has not suffered a home losing streak of 3+ games.
USE THE BAT, LUKE — Luke Raley has reached base safely in 34 of his last 37 starts since 5/6, slashing .315/.401/.597 (39-for-124) with 10 doubles, two triples, 7 HR and 19 RBI…his .995 OPS overall in that span ranks fourth in the AL (min. 140PA) behind LAA Shohei Ohtani (1.153), TEX Corey Seager (1.017) and CWS Luis Robert Jr. (1.014)…during his current five-game hitting streak, Raley is 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles, 2 HR and 7 RBI.
Raley has recorded at least one RBI in each game of his hitting streak, matching the longest RBI streak by a Rays batter this season (also: Jose Siri, 5G, 3/30-4/5).
He has collected an extra-base hit in a career-best four straight games, tying ATL Sean Murphy for the longest active streak in the majors and matching the longest run by a Ray this season (5x, last: Yandy Díaz, 5/13-21).
‘PEN PALS — RHP Kevin Kelly has thrown 17.1 consecutive scoreless innings since 5/14, holding opponents to a .109 (6-for-55) average with a .343 OPS and 59.6 pct. ground ball rate during the run…it marks the second-longest active scoreless inning streak in the majors, trailing only NYY Tommy Kahnle (17.2IP).
LHP Jake Diekman owns the fourth-longest active scoreless streak among AL relievers at 12.2 innings, behind Kahnle, Kelly and MIN Griffin Jax (16.2IP)…he has made 15 appearances during the run (since 5/26), logging a 0.79 WHIP and a .051 (2-for-39) opp. average while fanning 21 of his 47 batters faced (44.7% SO rate).
BEST OF THE BEST — Tampa Bay is an MLB-leading 31-17 (.646) against teams that are currently at or above .500, ahead of Atlanta (29-16, .644) and San Francisco (25-19, .568)… including the current series, six of the Rays next seven series are against clubs that are currently above .500, with the lone outlier coming 7/14-16 at Kansas City, Tampa Bay’s first matchup following the All-Star break…the Rays remaining opponents have a combined .518 winning pct., the highest mark in the AL and fourth highest in the majors.
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING — The Rays concluded June with the most home runs (128) and stolen bases (102) in the AL…they became 10th team all-time to lead the AL in both categories at the end of June, including the first since the 2015 Houston Astros (Elias).
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR — OF Randy Arozarena and 1B Yandy Díaz were voted by fans to start for the American League in the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle, while
LHP Shane McClanahan received his second career All-Star nod via player voting…the Rays are one of eight major league clubs to receive 3+ All-Star selections, including one of four AL teams (TEX – 6; BAL – 4; TOR – 4).
It marks the first All-Star selection for Arozarena — he became the second outfielder in Rays franchise history to receive a fan-elected start, joining Carl
Crawford in 2010.
On 7/1, it was announced that Arozarena was selected to participate in the 2023 T-Mobile Home Run Derby…he will become the third player in Rays history to participate in the event, joining Evan Longoria (2008) and Carlos Peña (2009).
Díaz also earned his first career All-Star nod…he is the only first baseman in Tampa Bay history to win a fan election and the second infielder to do so, joining Longoria in 2009 and 2010.
McClanahan is the fourth Rays pitcher to receive multiple All-Star selections, joining Chris Archer (‘15 & ‘17), David Price (‘10-’14), Scott Kazmir (‘06 & ‘08)…he joins Price as the only hurlers to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons.
THE GANG VISITS THE TROP — The Rays and Phillies meet for their 13th all-time series this week at Tropicana Field, including their first since Tampa Bay earned a two-game sweep from 8/24-25, 2021 at Citizens Bank Park…the Rays have won a club-record seven straight games over the Phillies dating back to 9/25/20.
Per Elias, this marks the first time the Rays have hosted a club that entered the series with a road winning streak of 9+ games…the previous record for the longest such winning streak by an opponent was six, set by Oakland in 2013…the Athletics won each of their first six road games of the season before being swept in a three-game set at Tropicana Field from 4/19-21, 2013.
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP ZACH EFLIN (9-3, 3.29)
TODAY’S START — The righty makes his 16th start of the season, including his ninth at home…has won each of his eight starts at Tropicana Field this season, pitching to a 2.17 ERA (49.2IP, 12ER) with 50 strikeouts against six walks while holding opponents to a .209 (38-for-182) average.
LAST TIME OUT — Did not factor into the decision on 6/28 at Arizona after tossing 7.0 innings of two-run ball, allowing seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
He completed 7.0 innings on just 83 pitches…it was his third start completing 7.0 innings on 85 pitches or fewer (5/4 vs. PIT – 80 pitches, 5/20 vs. MIL – 85 pitches)…he is the only pitcher in MLB to accomplish the feat three times this season and one of four pitchers to have multiple such starts (TB Drew Rasmussen, SEA Bryce Miller, TB Shane McClanahan).
OLD FRIENDS — Eflin will make his first career appearance against the Phillies…he made 127 appearances (115 starts) with Philadelphia from 2016-2022, going 36-45 with a 4.49 ERA (659.1IP, 329ER) and one save.
In 59 appearances (54 starts) against NL East opponents, Eflin is 18-21 with a 4.64 ERA (308.2IP, 159ER).
NO PLACE LIKE HOME — Eflin has earned the win in each of his first eight home starts to open the season, producing a 2.17 ERA (49.2IP, 12ER) in those games…it marks the most consecutive home starts with a win at any point in a season in his career, surpassing a six-game run from 6/5-7/3, 2018…it marks the longest streak in Rays history, ahead of six pitchers tied at five straight starts (last: Shane McClanahan, 5/17-6/9, 2022).
Eflin is the first pitcher to earn a win in each of his first eight home starts of a season since STL Adam Wainwright in 2010 (10GS)…since 1901, only 11 pitchers have recorded longer such streaks to open a season, led by Lefty Grove (14GS) in 1931.
He is the eighth pitcher since 1901 to earn a win in each of his first eight home starts with a club, including the first since CHC Rick Sutcliffe (8GS) from 6/24-9/14, 1984.
Eflin’s 2.17 ERA at Tropicana Field is the second lowest through a pitcher’s first eight home starts with the Rays in club history behind Matt Garza (2.16, 4/8-7/1, 2008).
Min. 45.0 IP, Eflin ranks among AL leaders at home in walk rate (3rd, 3.2%), SO/BB (3rd, 8.33) and ERA (4th).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE — Eflin is holding opponents to a .149 AVG (15-for101) on his curveball, the second-lowest mark in the majors (min. 75AB) behind HOU Phil Maton (.139).
Eflin’s curveball has induced a 37.6 pct. whiff rate, third-best on any AL pitcher’s curve (min. 100 curveballs swung at) behind DET Alex Lange (49.6%) and HOU Framber Valdez (40.2%).
QUALITY CONTROL — Eflin’s 6.07 SO/BB ratio is third best in the majors (min. 90.0IP), trailing SEA George Kirby (9.56) and MIN Joe Ryan (7.13)…he joins MIA Braxton Garrett (92SO, 15BB) as the only pitchers in the majors with 90+ strikeouts and 15 or fewer walks.
Eflin has walked two or fewer batters in each of his last 18 starts since 6/14/22, the second-longest streak of his career (longest: 33GS, 8/29/20-6/3/22)…overall, the righty has issued two or fewer walks in 51 of his last 52 starts dating back to 8/29/2020.
Since the beginning of 2021, his 4.1 pct. walk rate is the lowest in the majors (min. 1,000BF), outpacing KC Zack Greinke (4.6%).
TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT — He is holding left-handed batters to a .188 (31-for-165) average, compared to a .272 (47-for-173) mark against righthanded batters…over his last seven starts since 5/20, he is holding lefties to a .163 (15-for-92) average with 28 strikeouts against just four walks while only allowing one extra-base hit (lead-off HR by Nick Pratto on 6/23 vs. KC).
Min. 170 batters faced, his .188 opponent average against lefthanded hitters is the lowest mark in the AL and second lowest in the majors behind CHC Marcus Stroman (.186).
