PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #84 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, in a classic on Independence Day in St. Pete … Starter Aaron Nola (W, 8-5) went 7.1 innings and allowed only 1 run on 5 hits with 1 walk and 12 strikeouts … Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel made scoreless appearances in relief of Nola … Offensively, the Phillies scored twice off former teammate Zach Eflin – Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott each had an RBI as the Phillies snapped a seven-game skid against the Rays.
THE STREAK: The Phillies have won 10 straight games on the road which is tied for the third-longest road winning streak in franchise history (also 10 G, 6/25-7/11/1969) … The longest road winning streak in franchise history was a 13-game streak from April 17-June 2, 1976 – the second-longest road winning streak was a 12-game stretch that spanned two seasons from Sept. 15, 1887-April 25, 1888 … When this current streak started, the Phillies were 10 games under .500 on the road at 13-23 and they are only the second team in MLB history to be at least 10 games under .500 on the road before running off a 10-game winning streak to get back to .500 – the 1998 Cincinnati Reds were 15-25 on the road before a 10-game road winning streak from June 25-July 15, 1998 …Further, the Phillies are only the sixth team in MLB history to be 10 or more games under .500 on the road before entering a 10+ game winning streak on the road: CLE in 2008, CIN in 2005, BAL in 1999, CIN in 1998 and CLE in 1922 … Philadelphia’s 10-game road winning streak is the longest active streak in MLB and tied with San Francisco for the longest in MLB this season (10 G, 6/6-27) – the last team to win 11 straight on the road was St. Louis from Sept. 13-26, 2021 … Dating back to June 3, the Phillies have won 12 of 13 on the road which is their best 13-game stretch away from Philly since April 18-June 3, 1976 (also 12-1)
AMERICA’S TEAM: The Phils have won 10 straight games against the American League which is their longest Interleague winning streak in franchise history (previous was 5 G, 2x: 6/21-29/03 and 9/1/97- 6/6/98) … The streak, which began on May 7, has included wins over BOS (1), TOR (2), DET (3), OAK (3) and TB (1) … Philadelphia’s current 10-game Interleague streak is the longest by a National League club against American League opponents since 2017 when the Dodgers won 13 straight against the AL, and it’s the longest Interleague streak by any club since the Rays won 10 straight against the NL last season … The Phillies are the only team in MLB history with a 10-game Interleague winning streak and a 10- game road winning streak in the same season.
ARMS RACE: Over the last 27 games (since 6/3), the Phillies’ starting rotation has gone 14-4 with a 2.56 ERA (45 ER, 158.1 IP) with 169 strikeouts to 39 walks (4.33 SO/BB ratio) – they have faced .635 batters and held them to a .604 OPS … The staff has gone at least 6.0 innings in 18 of those 27 games and at least
7.0 innings in eight of 27 … Further, the rotation has allowed 1 ER or none in 19 of those 27 games (70%) … Philadelphia’s starters lead the National League in fWAR at 9.7 (next: MIA, 7.9) and they rank 2nd in MLB behind only MIN (10.0) … Philadelphia’s bullpen ranks 3rd in the NL and 6th in MLB with 3.1 fWAR – combined, Philadelphia’s starters and relievers have combined for 12.8 fWAR which leads MLB (next: MIN, 12.2 fWAR) and is two wins clear of the next closest NL club (MIA, 10.8 fWAR).
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 170 points from .694 last year to .864 entering play tonight … Castellanos has increased his hard hit rate on balls in play by 10.9 percent from a season ago – that +10.9 percent spike in hard hit rate is the fifth-biggest jump from year to year of any player in MLB from 2022 to 2023 – teammate Brandon Marsh ranks 1st with a +12.1% spike, Jonathan India ranks 2nd at +11.7%, Juan Soto 3rd at +11.2% and J.D. Martinez 4th at +11.0% … With 26 doubles, he is one 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 from a season ago.
FILLING UP THE TROPHY CASE: Monday, 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 fifth Monthly Award (others: August 2011 with ATL, Sept. 2012 with ATL, August 2013 with ATL and May 2017 with BOS) 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 (134 OPS+), Bryce Harper (122), Brandon Marsh (121), Kyle Schwarber (109), Alec Bohm (106), Bryson Stott (106) and J.T. Realmuto (102) … 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 and Texas, who both have eight players with an OPS+ of 101 or better … 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).
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 20-7 (.741 win %) with a +54-run differential (143-89) and enter tonight six games over .500 at 45-39 … 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 27 games with him as manager (6/3-7/1/22), they went 19-8 (.704 win %) with a +41-run differential (145-104) … Since Thomson was hired on June 3, 2022, the Phillies are 110-85 and their .564 winning percentage ranks T-6th in MLB (with SEA), behind only ATL (.682), LAD (.633), HOU (.614), BAL (.570) and TB (.568).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 9-3, 3.93 ERA Career: 63-53, 3.89 ERA
LAST START: 6/29 at CHI: W, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO … Walker vs Hendricks … The Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs, 3-1, as they swept a 3-game series at Wrigley for the first time since July of 2015 … Kyle Schwarber homered on the 1st pitch of the game and Bryce Harper had a 2-run single in the 3rd … Yunior Marte, Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel made scoreless appearances in relief of Walker to preserve the win.
TONIGHT’S START:
- Pitch Usage: Splitter (35.5%), Sinker (24.6%), 4-Seam (18.5%), Cutter (13.1%), Sweeper (4.9%), Curveball (3.4%).
- Strangers: Has visited the Trop once in his career, on 6/14/16 while with SEA. Today marks his 3rd career appearance against the Rays.
- Remember This: Walker has won 5 straight games for the 1st time since winning a career-high 6 contests over a 9-game stretch from 6/12-7/31/22. He has allowed 1 run or less each of those starts, the longest such streak of his career. He tossed back-to-back scoreless starts of at least 5.0 IP on 6/6 and 6/11 for the 1st time in his career.
- Summer Baby: Walker’s 2.71 ERA (57 ER, 189.1 IP) in the month of June is his lowest ERA in any month of his career (next, 3.65, April). It is the 4th-lowest mark of any active pitcher (min. 160.0 IP) for June, behind Clayton Kershaw (2.67), Chris Sale (2.55) and Jacob deGrom (2.40). His 1.50 ERA for June in 2023 was 6th-lowest among starters for the month, while he was the only ML pitcher to tally 5 wins. Walker is the 1st Phillies pitcher since Zach Eflin (5 in 2018) to record 5 wins in the month of June.
- That’s Just the Way We Roll: Walker is the 1st Phillies starter to reach 9 wins this season, a mark tied for 4th in the National League. He has recorded at least 9 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. Walker’s ERA has dipped below 4.00 for the first time since 4/19.
- Much Better: Walker has used his splitter 35.5% of the time in 2023, the highest rate of his career (previous: 27.6% in 2022) … He threw his splitter for 46 pitches on 5/7 and 4/9, the most he has ever thrown the pitch in a game in his career (previous: 43 times, 6/2/22 & 8/8/16). 38 of his 77 strikeouts have come via the splitter and his 26.6 strikeout percentage and 27.3 whiff percentage with the pitch are the 8th- and 10th-best marks in the NL, respectively (min. 25 PA).
- Make it Right: In 2023, Walker has held lefties to a .200 (30-150) AVG (13th among NL starters), compared to .258 (47-182) against righties … Since his debut year, 2013, Walker has limited left-handed batters to a .229 AVG, 10th-best among active right-handed starters during that span (min. 1,500 LHB faced).
- vs AL East: 7-10, 4.16 ERA (68 ER, 147.0 IP) in 28 starts.
ROAD:
- 2023: 5-3, 5.26 ERA (30 ER, 51.1 IP) in 10 starts.
- Career: 35-32, 4.09 ERA (231 ER, 508.0 IP) in 97 games (95 starts).
- Tropicana Field: 0-0, 8.10 ERA (3 ER, 3.1 IP) in 1 start.
2023 SEASON:
- Threw a career-high 14.0 scoreless innings from 6/6-16, surpassing 2 scoreless 13.0-inning stretches from 7/4-16/22 and 6/26-7/7/15 … Completed 8.0 innings on 6/16 for the 1st time since 4/27/17 vs SD while with ARI.
- On 5/21 vs CHI, Walker made his 1st career start on 3 days rest.
- Made his Phillies debut on 4/3 at NYY after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December.
- Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 WBC, making 1 start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout.
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
NO FIREWORKS ON THE FOURTH — The Rays opened their final homestand before the All-Star break with a 3-1 loss to the visiting Phillies on Independence Day at Tropicana Field…facing his former club for the first time in his career, RHP Zach Eflin (7.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 9SO) retired 19 of the first 21 batters he faced, with the lone damage being back-to-back doubles in the second inning that led to a 1-0 Philadelphia lead…yielded an RBI-single in the seventh inning before escaping a one-out, bases-loaded jam to conclude the outing… after the Phillies extended their lead to 3-0 in the eighth against the Rays bullpen, SS Wander Franco (2-for-4, HR, RBI, R) spoiled the shutout bid with a solo homer in the botttom half of the frame, his 10th of the season.
Tampa Bay has dropped three straight games, matching its longest losing streak of the season (also 6/17-20)…the Rays are one of three teams that have not endured a losing streak of 4+ games, along with Arizona and Cleveland…overall, they have gone 6-9 over their last 15 games.
It marked the Rays first loss this season when their starting pitcher tosses 7.0+ innings…they had won each of their first 10 such contests to begin the year.
OPENING ACT — RHP Zack Littell will serve as an opener for bulk reliever RHP Yonny Chirinos in tonight’s game…the Rays are 10-8 this season when using an opener, with wins in four of their last six such games dating back to 5/22…Rays openers have recorded a 2.91 ERA (34.0IP, 11ER) on the season, including a 1.27 ERA (21.1IP, 3ER) over their last 12 appearances since the beginning of May, turning in scoreless outings in nine of those 12 games while limiting opponents to a .190/.264/.304 (15-for-129) clip.
Chirinos has gone 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA (33.1IP, 7ER) in eight relief appearances compared to 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA (21.0IP, 15ER) in four starts.
BETTER AGAINST THE BEST — Tampa Bay is 32-20 (.615) against teams that are currently at or above .500, the second-best record in the majors behind Atlanta (31-17, .646)… 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 .517 winning pct., the highest mark in the AL and fourth highest in the majors.
Since 5/2, the Rays are 9-1-2 in series play against teams that entered with a .500 or better record, compared to 0-4-2 against clubs that were below the .500 mark at the beginning of the series…Tampa Bay is unbeaten over its last nine series against teams that came in at .500 or better (7-0-2)…however, its last series victory against a team that entered with a losing record was 4/27-30 at Chicago-AL.
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 those games with a +33 run differential (156-123)…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)…the Rays would need to win each of their next two games in order to maintain the streak.
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.
ON-BASE PAREDES — Isaac Paredes leads the majors (min. 100PA) with a 20.0 pct. walk rate since the beginning of June, ahead of OAK Ryan Noda (18.7%)…he has drawn a walk in 18 of his 26 games in that span, including three games with multiple walks…his .429 OBP since 6/1 ranks third in the AL (min. 100PA) behind LAA Shohei Ohtani (.458) and TEX Corey Seager (.439), while his .960 OPS ranks fifth.
This comes after Paredes recorded a 5.8 pct. walk rate from Opening Day through 5/31, the lowest mark among Rays hitters in that span (min. 150PA).
‘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 (18.2IP).
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).
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING — The Rays concluded June with the most home runs (128) and stolen bases (102) in the AL…they became the 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).
Tampa Bay is now looking to become just the sixth team in AL history to lead the league in homers and steals at the All-Star break since the Midsummer Classic’s inception in 1933…they would join the the 2015 Astros, 1984 Oakland Athletics, 1962 Detroit Tigers and both the 1955 and 1956 New York Yankees.
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 had won a club-record seven straight games over the Phillies dating back to 9/25/20 prior to yesterday’s loss.
The Rays 22-13 (.629) record against the Phillies marks their best winning pct. against any opponent, ahead of San Diego (15-9, .625)…the 22 victories are their
most against any NL club, excluding Miami (75-58).
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
TONIGHT’S BULK RELIEVER: RHP YONNY CHIRINOS (4-3, 3.64)
TONIGHT’S OPENER — RHP Zack Littell will serve as tonight’s opener before giving way to RHP Yonny Chirinos…it will mark his second start of the season and the sixth of his career…in his last start on 6/29 at Arizona, he tossed 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and three strikeouts…overall, he has pitched to a 10.80 ERA (10.0IP, 12ER) in his five career starts.
A LOOK AT LITTELL — Littell was claimed off waivers from Boston on 5/12 and has made 10 relief appearances (one start) for the Rays since, pitching to a 4.38 ERA (12.1IP, 6ER)…he was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder fatigue on 5/24…since his activation from the injured list on 6/14, he has made six appearances, pitching to a 3.00 ERA (9.0IP, 3ER)…has made 157 career appearances between Minnesota (2018- 2020), San Francisco (2021-2022), Boston (2023) and Tampa Bay.
LAST TIME OUT — Chirinos earned the win on 6/29 at Arizona after tossing 6.0 relief innings, allowing one run on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts…
It marked the fourth time in his career he worked 6.0+ innings in relief and the first since throwing 6.1 innings on 9/9/18 vs. Baltimore.
UNFAMILIAR FOE — Chirinos will be making his first career appearance against the Phillies…in four career appearances (2 starts) against NL East foes, Chirinos is 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA (18.2IP, 6ER)…in nine career Interleague appearances (4 starts), he is 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA (40.2IP, 11ER), including 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA (18.0IP, 7ER) this season.
A TALE OF TWO ROLES — In eight relief appearances this season, Chirinos is 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA (33.1IP, 7ER), posting a .195 (23-for-118) opponent batting average and 1.02 WHIP…in four starts this year, he is 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA (21.0IP, 15ER) while allowing opponents to hit .284 (23-for-81) and registering a 1.48 WHIP.
For his career, Chirinos is 12-3 with a 3.01 ERA (122.2IP, 41ER) in 28 relief appearances compared to 7-10 with a 3.95 ERA (173.0IP, 76ER) in 33 starts.
PITCH MIX — Chirinos throws his split finger 16.7 pct. of the time and has held opponents to a .098 (4-for-41) average on the offering…only one of the four hits has gone for extra-bases (Jake McCarthy triple on 6/29 at AZ).
Min. 25 PA, no pitcher in the AL has produced a lower batting average on their split finger and only CIN Fernando Cruz (.067) has a lower mark in the majors.
Chirinos has had the least success with his slider, as opposing hitters are batting .314 (16-for-51) while slugging .588 in plate appearances that end with the pitch…three of his six homers allowed and only three of his 27 strikeouts have come on his slider.
EARLY SUCCESS — When Chirinos’ pitch count sits between 1-45, he is holding opponents to a .142 (17-for-120) batting average while allowing four doubles, 3 HR and 5 RBI…when his pitch count resides between 46-75, opponents are batting .393 (24-for-61) with nine doubles, 2 HR and 12 RBI.
THIS AND THAT — He has held opponents to a .170 AVG (8-for-47) with runners in scoring position, including 3-for-18 (.167) with RISP and two outs…opposing hitters are 13-for-33 (.394) with two doubles and 2 HR on the first pitch of an at bat…in two strike counts, he has limited opponents to a .163 (14-for-86) clip.
Chirinos, whose 46.0 pct. ground ball rate is the highest rate of any season in his career (excluding 2G in 2022), has benefitted from Tampa Bay’s defense, as opponents have registered a .238 batting average on balls in play, the second-lowest mark in the AL (min. 40.0IP) behind BAL Tyler Wells (.193).
His 12.0 pct. strikeout rate is the lowest mark of his career, below his 2020 campaign (19.23%), and is the third-lowest mark in the majors (min. 40.0IP) behind STL Adam Wainwright (10.7%) and TB Josh Fleming (11.6%).
GOING STREAKING — Chirinos strung together a career-long 21.2 scoreless inning streak that began on 8/16/20, resumed on 9/7/22 in his next MLB appearance following Tommy John surgery, and came to an end on 4/29 at Chicago-AL…per Elias, it marked the ninth-longest scoreless inning streak in Rays history.
