PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: Dating back to Sept. 13, 2022, Jose Alvarado has pitched 20.0 innings – he has 40 strikeouts and 1 walk in that span (19 G) – he has multiple strikeouts in 17 of those 19 games (89%) and has multiple strikeouts with 0 walks in 16 of those 19 (84%) … 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.
PHILS LOVE L.A.: The Phillies return to Dodger Stadium for the first time since taking three of four from the Dodgers, May 12-15, 2022 … In that series, the Phillies scored 33 runs (8.3 per game) and had 20 extra-base hits (10 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR) as they posted a .910 OPS over the series … Philadelphia scored 29 runs against the Dodgers in the first three games of that series which marked the second most ever against the
Dodgers in a three-game span in this ballpark, shy of only 31 runs by the Giants over three games from 2013-14.
JERRY, IT’S L.A.! NOBODY LEAVES: Tonight, Trea Turner returns to Dodger Stadium for the first time since singing a signing an 11-year contract with the Phillies that will take him through the 2033 season … Last year with the Dodgers, Turner was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career, was named All-MLB First Team and won his first career Louisville Silver Slugger Award after slashing .298/.343/.466 with a 121 OPS+ and 27 steals in 30 attempts … Per Statcast, his average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second ranked 5th out of 582 qualified players … Acquired by the Dodgers along with Max Scherzer in July of 2021, Turner appeared in 212 games for Los Angeles over two seasons and slashed .307/.353/.490 with a 129 OPS+.
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 15-10 (.600) with a +21 run differential in their 25 games since (4/4-current) … Philadelphia has won seven of their last nine (since 4/21), eight of their last 11 (since 4/19), 10 of their last 14 (since 4/16) and 12 of their last 16 (since 4/14).
ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD: Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh enters tonight’s game slashing .329/.418/.647 with a 1.065 OPS that ranks 3rd in major league baseball behind only Matt Chapman (1.152) and Max Muncy (1.070) … Marsh has reached base safely in 25 of his 27 games played this season … Since being acquired by the Phillies via trade from the Los Angeles Angels for Logan O’Hoppe at last year’s deadline, Marsh is slashing .304/.360/.530 with an .890 OPS that ranks 15th among 223 MLB players with 200+ plate appearances in that span.
JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 12-3 (.800) in 15 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 3-11 in 14 games when they score three runs or fewer … Dating back to the start of last season, the Phillies are 83-26 (.761) when they score four or more and 19-63 (.232) when they score three or fewer.
CASTY’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND: Phils right fielder Nick Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 41 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, Castellanos is slashing .472/.537/.778 with a 1.314 OPS and seven extra-base hits – his .472 AVG after 1-0 ranks 2nd in MLB, his .537 OBP is 10th, his .778 SLG ranks 10th and his 1.314 OPS ranks 6th … 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.
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.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last 14 games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 43.1 innings pitched with only 4 ER allowed (0.83 ERA), with 54 strikeouts and six walks (9.00 SO/BB ratio), while averaging 15.3 pitches per inning … During this span they have allowed 1 HR and held the 161 batters they have faced to a .431 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 – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 2-1, 4.97 ERA Career: 56-51, 3.92 ERA
LAST START: 4/26 vs SEA: ND, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR … Walker vs Gilbert … The Phillies defeated the Seattle Mariners, 6-5, at CBP in South Philly … Following a 20-minute rain delay, Nick Castellanos put the Phils ahead 2-0 with an opposite field blast in the 1st … The Mariners plated 5 runs in the 2nd to take a 5-2 lead … With runs in the 3rd and the 5th, the Phillies entered the 8th down 5-4 – after four singles, the Phils had a 6-5 lead and turned it over to Jose Alvarado who picked up his 4th save with a scoreless 9th.
TONIGHT’S START:
• To the Left: Walker has allowed only 5 hits to the 41 LHH he has faced this season (5-33, .152 AVG) and 2 XBH (2B, HR) … Among the 95 RHP in MLB to face at least 40 LHH, his .152 OPP AVG is 9th-lowest (lowest: Graham Ashcraft, .071) … LHH are batting 17 points lower than RHH against him in his career (.230 vs .247)
• Doing the Splits: Walker has used his splitter 31.1% of the time in 2023, by far the highest rate of his career (previous: 27.6% in 2022) … He has thrown it more often than any other pitch (141 times, next: 4-seam 107 times) and has surrendered only 1 XBH (3B) on it
• From the Ground Up: Walker’s 59.2% ground ball rate is 7th highest among all ML pitchers (min. 25.0 IP) … Max Fried (64.7%) leads all ML pitchers
• Hit Me: Opponents have batted just .223 (21-94) against Walker this season … He has not allowed more than 5 hits in any of his 5 starts this season … Per Statcast, the AVG exit velocity of 85.9 mph off Walker is the lowest of his career (previous: 88.4 mph in 2020) and is in the top 85% of the league
• Can’t Dodge the Dodgers: Today will be Walker’s 12th career start against LAD, more than any other team he has faced aside from HOU (14) … It will also be his 7th at Dodger Stadium, also trailing HOU’s Minute Maid Park (9) for most at any park in his career in which he didn’t play home games
• vs NL West: 12-10, 3.27 ERA (66 ER, 181.2 IP) in 32 starts
ROAD:
• 2023: 2-1, 3.78 ERA (7 ER, 16.2 IP) in 3 starts
• Career: 32-30, 3.95 ERA (208 ER, 473.1 IP) in 90 games (88 starts)
2023 SEASON:
• Made his season and 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 World Baseball Classic, making one 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
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: The Dodgers matched their season-high three-game winning streak for the third time yesterday, sweeping the Cardinals with a 6-3 victory. The win also gave the club its’ first three-game sweep of the season and the Boys in Blue have now won seven of 10 overall. Noah Syndergaard (5.1 IP, 3 R, 8 H) picked up his first win in Dodger Blue and the offense was situationally effective, despite going 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Chris Taylor had two hits, David Peralta drove in two runs and Jason Heyward scored two runs for Los Angeles, which pulled into a tie with the Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West. This evening at 7:10 p.m., the Dodgers welcome in former shortstop Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies for the first of three games. Following their 1:10 p.m. matinee to close out the series on Wednesday, the Dodgers will be off Thursday, before beginning a six-game road trip with the first of three vs. the Padres at Petco Park on Friday night. The trip will also feature three games in Milwaukee against the Brewers next week. The Dodgers finished March/April with a 16-13 record and a share of first place. In 2022, the club had 13 wins in April and in 2021, the Dodgers went 16-11. The Dodger bullpen was stellar yesterday, firing 3.2 scoreless innings while scattering just two hits and striking out five without walking anyone. The Dodger ‘pen has given up just 34 walks this season, which is the second fewest in the National League, behind Atlanta (28). Los Angeles dropped four of seven games with Philadelphia last season, including three of four at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are 12-8 vs. the Phillies since 2019.
RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL: The Dodgers stole three bases yesterday, matching their season high for the third time. After a very slow start, the Dodgers have stolen 14 bases in their last 10 games, which is the second most in Major League Baseball, trailing only the Pittsburgh Pirates (20) during that stretch. Freddie Freeman and James Outman are tied for the club lead with four stolen bases apiece.
BACK IN THE FOLD: Prior to the game tonight, the Dodgers activated shortstop Miguel Rojas, who missed the last 10 games with a left hamstring strain. Rojas made two rehab appearances with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, batting .333 (2-for-6) with a homer and two RBI. On the season, he has played in 11 games for the Dodgers, hitting .125 (4-for-32) with one double and three walks. The native of Venezuela was acquired on January 11, 2023 from the Miami Marlins in exchange for infielder Jacob Amaya. In order to make room for Rojas on the roster, the Dodgers designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment.
MAY DAY: The first 40,000 ticketed fans in attendance tonight will receive a Dustin May bobblehead, presented by Security Benefit.
THE ROOK: Rookie James Outman went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk yesterday, and his 20 RBI are tied for ninth in the National League. The native of Redwood City has hit safely in nine of his last 13, batting .320 (16-for-50) with four doubles, four homers and 10 RBI during hat span. He currently leads all rookies in homers (7), RBI (20), slugging (.615), triples (3), extra-base hits (14), OPS (.991) and total bases (59) while tying for third in runs scored (17). Outman’s seven homers in April/May tied for the most by a Dodger Rookie since Will Smith clubbed eight homers in August of 2019. Last Saturday, Outman became the first Dodger rookie ever to club 6+ homers in March/April, passing Alex Guerrero and Joe Ferguson for the all-time mark in those two months.
Most Rookie Homers – March/April
2022 James Outman 7
2015 Alex Guerrero 5
1973 Joe Ferguson 5
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers haven’t homered in two straight games for the first time all season, but continue to lead the National League with 47 home runs, one more than the San Francisco Giants. Tampa Bay leads the Majors with a whopping 61 long balls. The Dodgers have recorded 3+ homers in nine games this season, which ranks second in baseball, trailing only the Rays (11). The Dodgers are second in the League with 22 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (26), who have homered in all but three games this season. Dodger third baseman Max Muncy was named National League Player of the Week from April 17-23 after hitting .389 (7-for-18) on the week with five home runs, seven RBI, nine walks, one stolen base and five runs scored to go along with a 1.222 slugging percentage and a .593 on-base percentage. He led NL hitters that week in homers, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, tied for first in walks and was tied for second in total bases (22). Muncy leads all Major Leaguers with 11 home runs this season and ranks second with a 1.070 OPS, trailing only Matt Chapman (1.152). His 22 walks on the season are tied with Adley Rutschman for second in the Major Leagues, trailing only Juan Soto (27).
WELCOME BACK, TREA!: Former Dodger All-Star shortstop Trea Turner will pay his first visit to Chavez Ravine since signing a long term contract with Philadelphia over the winter. Turner was acquired at the 2021 trade deadline from Washington and hit .307 with 31 homers, 56 doubles, 38 stolen bases and an .843 OPS in 212 games as a Dodger
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. PHILLIES: RHP TONY GONSOLIN (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
• 2022 All-Star made his first start in Pittsburgh…tossing 3.1 innings, allowing two hits with three walks in the no decision
• In his rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 20th, he hurled three innings, allowing one hit, two earned runs, two walks while sitting down seven
• Made one Spring Training start, tossing 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out two
VS. PHILLIES
• This will be his second career start at Dodger Stadium against the Phillies…and his third career start against Philadelphia
• He is 0-0 with a 1.86 ERA (2 ER/9.2 IP) and 12 strikeouts against Phillies in his career
