PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #27 RECAP: The Phillies opened their six-game road trip with a 3-1 victory over the Astros in Houston … Starter Aaron Nola (2-2) earned the win and went a season-high 8.0 innings, holding the Astros to a single run … Kyle Schwarber got the Phillies offense started with 1st-inning solo HR off Houston starter Framber Valdez … Cristian Pache delivered the game-winning RBI with his run-scoring double in the 5th inning … Brandon Marsh added an insurance run with an RBI single in the 7th … Jose Alvarado closed the door with a perfect 9th inning to earn his 5th save of 2023.
ROSTER MOVES: Prior to today’s game, the Phillies placed OF Cristian Pache on the 10-day injured list with a right knee meniscus tear … To fill his spot on the 26-man roster, OF Dalton Guthrie was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley.
YOU AGAIN: Today the Phillies and Astros will continue their series, a rematch of the 2022 World Series which ended 175 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.
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 14-9 (.609) with a +17 run differential in their 23 games since (4/4-current) … Philadelphia has won six of their last seven (since 4/21), seven of their last nine (since 4/19), nine of their last 12 (since 4/16) and 10 of their last 14 (since 4/14).
FOR STARTERS: Over their first 13 games of the season (4-9 team record, .308 win pct), Phillies starting pitchers recorded just two quality starts and had a 4.64 ERA … Over the last 14 contests, the rotation has posted eight quality starts and played to a 10-4 record (.714) with a 4.10 ERA.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Four of the Phillies last six wins have been one-run decisions and five of the last six have been decided by two runs or less … Overall this season, Philadelphia’s 5-2 (.714) mark in one-run games is tied for 3rd best in the NL with PIT and T-6th best in MLB … Among NL clubs this year, only MIA (1.000), MIL (.857) have higher winning percentages.
JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 11-3 in 14 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 3-10 in 13 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 19-62 (.235 win %) when they score three or fewer.
THREE TO GO FOR 400: In Thursday’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.
RELIEVER OF THE MONTH??: In last night’s 3-1 win at Houston, LHP Jose Alvarado worked a perfect 9th inning with 2 SO to earn his 5th straight save … In 12 appearances this month, the Venezuelan native has posted a 0.73 ERA (1 ER, 12.1 IP) with 24 SO and a 0.49 WHIP (6 hits, 0 BB) … Alvarado has recorded 5 SV in 6 chances in April and has limited opponents to a slash line of .140/.140/.256 … Alvarado has never received Reliever of the Month honors in his major league career.
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: Dating back to Sept. 13, 2022, Alvarado has made 19 appearances – he has multiple strikeouts in 17 of those 19 games (89%) and has multiple strikeouts with 0 walks in 16 of those 19 (84%) … Alvarado, who has faced 43 batters this season, has 24 strikeouts and 0 walks … Since his last walk on Sept. 21, 2022 vs TOR, Alvarado has faced 62 batters and has struck out 36 of them (58.0% SO rate) with 0 walks.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last 12 games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 36.2 innings pitched with only 3 ER allowed (0.74 ERA), with 46 strikeouts and six walks (7.67 SO/BB ratio), while averaging 15.1 pitches per inning … During this span they have allowed home runs and held the 137 batters they have faced to a .417 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.
TODAY’S STARTER – ZACK WHEELER • RHP #45
Height: 6-4 Weight: 195 Age: 32 (born: 5/30/90)
2023: 2-1, 4.73 ERA Career: 76-58, 3.45 ERA
LAST START: 4/23 vs COL: W, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO … Wheeler vs Urena … The Phillies defeated the Colorado Rockies, 9-3, as they took their second straight series victory … Offensively, the Phillies mashed four home runs (Stott, Turner, Marsh, Clemens) and had five walks to five strikeouts.
TODAY’S START:
• Swing and a Miss: Wheeler’s 23 swing and misses his last start were a new career high (previous: 22 twice, last 8/8/21 vs NYM) … It was also a season high by a Phillies pitcher, which he had set by the end of the fourth inning with his 18th (previous: 17 by Wheeler on 4/1 at TEX) … Since pitch tracking began in 2008, his 23 swings and misses last start were T6th most by any Phillies pitcher, only 4 fewer than Cole Hamels in his 7/25/15 no-hitter and Vince Velasquez in his 16-strikout game on 4/14/16 … Wheeler struck out 11 batters, marking his 17th career double digit strikeout performance and 9th with PHI
• Best in the Biz: Wheeler’s 1.0 fWAR thus far is 3rd among all NL pitchers, behind only Zac Gallen (1.7) and Spencer Strider (1.3) … He ranks T-8th among all major ML pitchers
• Extend It: Wheeler ranks in the 97th percentile in release extension (how far the ball is released relative to rubber), averaging 7.1 feet …
Because of this, Wheeler, who ranks T-25th among starters in AVG 4-seam velocity (95.7 mph), ranks T-8th among starters in AVG perceived 4-seam velocity (97.2 mph)
• Space City: Wheeler has never made a start against HOU in the regular season in his career, but he made 2 starts against them in the 2022 World Series, in Games 2 and 6, both at Minute Maid Park … He allowed 5 runs (4 ER) in 5.0 IP in Game 2 and in the ultimate Game 6 HOU clincher he went 5.1 IP with 2 runs on 3 hits
• In The Yard: Wheeler has not allowed a HR in his last 4 starts, 2 shy of his career-best homerless start streak (6, 6/10-7/7/21) … He has surrendered just 1 HR this season and is 1 of just 6 NL pitchers with at least 25.0 IP to surrender 1 or 0 HR
• Ace True Value: Since joining the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler’s 14.2 fWAR is the 2nd-highest in MLB, trailing only Corbin Burnes’ 14.7 and is nearly a win over the 3rd place pitcher (Aaron Nola, 13.3)
• vs AL West: 4-3, 4.22 ERA (25 ER, 53.1 IP) in 10 starts
ROAD:
• 2023: 1-1, 7.71 ERA (8 ER, 9.1 IP) in 2 starts
• Career: 39-27, 3.55 ERA (232 ER, 588.1 IP) in 99 starts
2023 SEASON:
• Made his 200th career start on 4/23 vs COL
• On 4/12 vs MIA extended his streak of home starts without allowing a HR to 4 and his streak of 5 or fewer hits allowed at home to 9
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Astros and Phillies will continue a three-game series today in Houston in what is a rematch of the 2022 World Series, won by Houston in six games…RHP Cristian Javier, who had a memorable 2022 World Series start, will get today’s start opposite RHP Zack Wheeler, who the Astros tagged for two losses in the 2022 Fall Classic.
ABOUT THE 2022 FALL CLASSIC: The Astros won the 2022 World Series, defeating the Phillies in six games…it was a true team performance, with contributions from all parts of the roster, including a dominant pitching staff and in particular an untouchable bullpen…the staff allowed just three runs per game, with the relievers working to a 0.84 ERA (2ER/21.1IP)… the Astros pitching staff recorded 71 strikeouts in the series, the most ever in a World Series.
FALL STARS: The Astros were led in the 2022 World Series by LHP Framber Valdez (2gs, 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.
LEGEND OF THE FALL:RHP Cristian Javier was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Majors last season, as evidenced by his .171 opponent average, 0.97 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in his 134.1 innings pitched in the regular season…he followed that up with a huge performance in the postseason, making two scoreless starts for Houston, including an incredible performance in Game 4 of the World Series…trailing 2-1 in the series, the Astros started Javier in Game 4 in Philadelphia and he proceeded to toss the first 6.0 innings of a no-hitter in the Astros 5-0 series-turning win…the Astros went on to win Games 5 and 6 to clinch their title…the Astros Game 4 no-hitter marked just the second no-hitter in World Series history.
UNIQUE START TIMES: Take note, today’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…tomorrow’s game will begin at 6:10 p.m. CT to accommodate ESPN’s telecast.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros were handed a 3-1 loss last night despite a quality performance from starter LHP Framber Valdez (3ER/7IP) and a solo homer by SS Jeremy Peña… the story of the game was the Phillies pitching staff, which stymied the Astros offense, holding them to just three hits and no walks on the night.
RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros have won six of their last eight games and are 11-6 in their last 17 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 11-8 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).
STREAK SNAPPED: Last night, 2B Mauricio Dubón had his 20-game hitting streak snapped…his hit streak is still the longest in the Majors this season and ranks as the longest in franchise history before May 1…it was also the longest streak by an Astro since OF Hunter Pence posted a 23-game streak in 2011…Dubón went 29×85 (.341) during the streak with just seven strikeouts…he has made all 22 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 four games with neck discomfort.
• 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 2×11 with three walks and two RBI in four stats (3 in LF, 1 at DH) for the Space Cowboys.
• OF Chas McCormick, on the IL with lower back tightness, is scheduled to begin an injury rehab assignment with Double A Corpus Christi today.
TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
LAST START – 4/23 at ATL: picked up his 2nd quality start of the year, striking out a season-high 10 batters through 6.0 innings while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits in a 5-2 win over the Braves…struck out a career-best 7 consecutive batters during the win… was one away from matching the Astros franchise record, which has been accomplished on several occasions…the last Astros player to strike out eight consecutive batters was RHP Justin Verlander, doing so on October 4, 2022, vs. PHI.
‘22 CAMPAIGN: was one of the most effective pitchers in the AL in ‘22….among pitchers with 140+ innings pitched, posted the lowest opponent batting average in the AL (.170), which was 16 points lower than 2nd-place finisher RHP Justin Verlander (.186), who won the AL Cy Young…also ranked 2nd in K’s per 9.0 (11.74) and 4th in WHIP (0.95) in 2022…his 11.74 K’s per 9.0 ratio trailed only RHP Shohei Ohtani (11.87) (min. 140IP).
POSTSEASON HEROICS: delivered one of the most historic starts in MLB postseason history in Gm. 4 of the ‘22 World Series, throwing 6.0 hitless innings to begin the Astros combined no-hitter in a 5-0 win…also struck out nine batters to just two walks in the start…was the second no-hitter in World Series history and first combined no-hitter.
• Became the 10th pitcher in W.S. history with a no-hit bid of 6+ innings and was first to do so since Jerry Koosman (NYM) (6 IP) in Gm 2 of the 1969 W.S. at BAL…was followed by RHP Bryan Abreu, RHP Rafael Montero and RHP Ryan Pressly to complete the no-hitter, with each pitcher contributing one inning.
• has recorded a 2.20 ERA (8ER/32.2IP) in 14 postseason games (2 GS) during his postseason career, dating back to ‘20…it’s the 2nd-lowest ERA of any postseason pitcher (min. 30 IP) since the beginning of the ‘20 postseason, trailing only Braves RHP Ian Anderson (1.26 ERA)…has held opponents to a .127 average (14×110) in his postseason career…is the lowest postseason opponent’s batting average of any MLB pitcher (min. 30 IP) since ‘20…the Astros are 11-3 in postseason games Javier has appeared in.
INVISIBALL: has held opponents to a .183 average (216×1183) throughout his MLB career… it’s the lowest opponent’s batting average (min. 300 IP) of any MLB pitcher since entering the league in ‘20…the next-closest players are CLE Triston McKenzie (.196) and LAA Shohei Ohtani (.197).
NO-NO: contributed 7.0 innings to a combined no-hitter vs. the Yankees on June 25 at Yankee Stadium…it was the 14th no-hitter in Astros history and the third combined no-hitter…Javier struck out a then-career high 13 batters…it was just the 2nd no-hitter tossed against the Yankees since 1959, with the Astros also delivering the other one (2003).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: finished 3rd in the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year voting after leading all AL rookies in ERA (3.48)…marked the highest finish by an Astros rookie pitcher since Roy Oswalt finished second in the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year voting.
• was named the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019…recorded a 1.74 ERA (22ER/113.2IP) with a career-high 170 strikeouts between three levels in the Astros system
