PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #51 RECAP: The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-4, at Truist Park … Starter Taijuan Walker (W) went a season-high 6.2 innings and allowed 3 runs … Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh both drove in a pair of runs … Bryson Stott stole a career-high 3 bases and scored 2 runs … Trea Turner doubled and scored twice … Matt Strahm worked 1.1 innings in relief an earned a hold … Craig Kimbrel sealed the win with a scoreless 9th inning and recorded the 400th save of his ML career … The win was the Phillies 4th in 2023 when being outhit by their opponent.
MR. 400: Last night in Atlanta, right-hander Craig Kimbrel earned the 400th save of his ML career in the Phils’ 6-4 win … He became only the eighth player in the history of Major League Baseball to reach 400 saves and he did so in the 730th game of his career, which is the 3rd-fewest games needed to achieve the feat trailing Hall of Famer’s Trevor Hoffman (706 games) and Mariano Rivera (697 games) … The other five pitchers achieved their 400th save as follows: Kenley Jansen (778 games), Billy Wagner reached (813 games), John Franco (837 games), Lee Smith (847 games) and Francisco Rodriguez (878 games).
IN COMPANY WITH COOPERSTOWN: The newest member of the 400 save club, Craig Kimbrel, also ranks 11th since at least 1893 with 1,128 strikeouts as a reliever … He trails Hall-of-Famers Trevor Hoffman (1,133) for 10th place and Mariano Rivera (1,135) for 9th place … Additionally, in the 400 instances when he has converted a save, Kimbrel has a 0.63 ERA (28 ER, 397.2 IP) – here are the ERA’s (in saves) for the seven current members of the 400-save club when they reached #400: Rivera (0.67), Billy Wagner (0.75), Lee Smith (0.83), Hoffman (0.84), John Franco (0.88), Kenley Jansen (0.94) and Francisco Rodriguez (1.05).
HARP ON IT: Thursday night, Bryce Harper went 3-for-4 with a home run in four plate appearances against left-handers … It was Harper’s first regular season home run off a lefty in over a year (last: 5/14/22 at LAD off Julio Urias) … Thurday night’s home run (off Dylan Dodd) traveled 445 feet which is tied for the fourth-longest homer Harper has hit off a left-hander in the Statcast era (since 2015) – four of his five longest home runs off left-handers since 2015 have come against Atlanta: 470 feet on 8/22/20 (Robbie Erlin), 460 feet on 3/30/19 (Jesse Biddle) and 445 feet on 8/10/20 (Sean Newcomb).
THEY DON’T BOO NOBODIES: Phils designated hitter Bryce Harper reached 5,000 career at bats Thursday night at ATL … When he reached 5,000, Harper had 614 extra-base hits and 891 walks and he became only the 13th player in the modern era (since 1900) with as many walks and extra-base hits through the first 5,000 at bats of a career … Harper is joined by Babe Ruth (1928), Ted Williams (1951), Mike Schmidt (1982), Barry Bonds (1995), Mark McGwire (1998), Frank Thomas (2000), Jeff Bagwell (2000), Jim Thome (2003), Brian Giles (2006), Lance Berkman (2009), Adam Dunn (2011) and Mike Trout (2022).
ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD: Center fielder Brandon Marsh currently ranks T-4th among all NL outfielders with 3 outs above average (OAA) per Statcast … Marsh is one of five NL outfielders with at least 3 OAA and is joined by WSH’s Joey Wiemer (5 OAA) and Christian Yelich and SD’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (4 OAA) … Additionally per Statcast, Marsh has more than doubled his walk rate from last year (6.1 % to 14.3%) and his 8.2% spike is the largest of any player in MLB this year … Finally, at 92.7 MPH on balls in play, Marsh has gained 3.5 MPH on his average exit velocity this season which is the 9th-largest spike of any player in baseball (up from 89.2 MPH in 2022) … In 2022, Marsh hit .188 with a .260 SLG against LHP in 105 PA – his .260 SLG ranked 50th out of 53 left-handed hitters against LHP … This season, Marsh is hitting .256 with a .513 SLG against LHP in 44 PA – his .513 SLG ranks 8th out of 45 left-handed hitters against LHP (min. 40 PA).
(UN)FAMILIAR FOES: This weekend’s series in Atlanta is just the second this year for the Phillies against an NL East opponent … Only 6% of the club’s first scheduled 49 games came against an NL East club (vs MIA, 4/10-12) … Beginning with Friday’s series opener in Atlanta through the end of the first half of the season (July 9), 22 of the Phillies 41 scheduled games (54%) will come against the NL East … The Phils are 2-3 against the NL East this year which entering today has posted the 3rd-best cumulative winning percentage (.506; 130-127) behind the NL West (.513; 132-125) and AL East (.596; 155-105) … Last season the Phils went 41-35 (.539) against the division.
TODAY’S STARTER – ZACK WHEELER RHP #45
2023: 3-4, 4.11 ERA Career: 77-61, 3.45 ERA
LAST START: 5/22 vs ARI: (L, 6-3), 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, BB, 3
SO, 108 pitches, 72 strikes, 27 batters faced … The Phillies fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3, in the first game of a three-game set in South Philly … Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott both homered for the Phils but Arizona hit two of their own, and, despite going 2-for-12 with RISP, held on for the win.
TODAY’S START:
Luck Be A Ball In Play Tonight: Wheeler has a 2.90 FIP this season which is nearly identical to his mark last year (2.89) when he posted a 2.82 ERA … This season, Wheeler has a 4.11 ERA and his 1.20 difference between ERA and FIP is the largest of any pitcher in MLB this year.
Last Two: Over his last 2 starts (since 5/16) Wheeler has allowed 17 hits in 53 at bats (.321 AVG) with a .472 SLG and .375 BABIP … Per Statcast, Wheeler has a .272 xBA and .448 xSLG in those two starts
Home Cooking: Since joining the Phillies, Wheeler has made 10 starts against the Braves – he has posted a 2.04 ERA (15 ER, 66.1 IP) with 77 SO to 9 BB (8.56 SO/BB ratio) … Wheeler has limited the 254 Atlanta batters he has faced to a .219/.253/.335 slash line … Among all pitchers to make at least 10 starts against a single team since 2020, Wheeler’s 8.56 SO/BB ratio against Atlanta ranks 1st in MLB and his 2.04 ERA ranks 3rd behind only Dylan Cease vs DET (1.26) and Framber Valdez vs TEX (1.75) … Born in Smyrna, GA, just over four miles from Cobb County and Truist Park, Wheeler resides in Dallas, GA, which is 26 miles west of Truist Park
Whiffs: Wheeler is running a whiff rate above 30% on three different pitches this year: Sweeper (38.9%), 4-seam fastball (35.1%) and slider (30.7%)
fWAR: Since 2018, Wheeler ranks 4th in MLB (Nola 5th) in fWAR among all pitchers at 23.9 – he trails only Jacob deGrom (27.1), Max Scherzer (26.1) and Gerrit Cole (24.7)
Statcast Rankings: 97th percentile in extension, 94th percentile in AVG exit velo, 85th percentile in fastball spin, 84th percentile in barrel rate, 82nd percentile in fastball velocity, 78th percentile in walk rate, 75th percentile in xSLG and 74th percentile in whiff rate & curve ball spin
10 years: Wheeler is at 9 years and 157 days of Major League service time today … He is scheduled to hit 10 years of service on June 11 vs LAD
ROAD:
2023: 2-2, 5.06 ERA (12 ER, 21.1 IP), 27 SO, 3 BB in 4 starts
Career: 40-28, 3.54 ERA (236 ER, 600.1 IP), 601 SO, 192 BB in 101 starts
2023 SEASON:
Recorded his 17th career double-digit strikeout game and 9th as a Phillie on 4/23 vs COL, and his 23 swings and misses were a new
career high
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
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
Roster Move – The Braves today recalled RHP Dereck Rodríguez to Atlanta after optioning LHP Dylan Dodd to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game. Rodríguez’s first appearance will mark his Atlanta debut, as the Braves claimed him off waivers from Minnesota on May 15.
In 54 career appearances in the majors, including 35 starts, he has compiled a 12-16 record and a 4.27 ERA (109 ER/229.2 IP), pitching for the Giants (2018-20) and Twins (2022-23).
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Phillies tonight continue a four-game series in what is the third of 13 scheduled meetings between the clubs this season…Atlanta and Philadelphia next meet from June 20-22 in a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park.
- The Phillies beat the Braves, 6-4, last night to even the series at one game apiece.
- Atlanta went 11-8 against Philadelphia last season to win the season set, and has won the season series with the Phillies in each of the last two years…The Braves went 10-9 against the Phillies in 2021, and have now won the season set with Philadelphia in consecutive years for the first time since a five-year run, 2012-2016.
- The Braves and Phillies met in the 2022 postseason, with Philadelphia winning the NLDS, three-games-to-one, to eliminate the defending World
Series champions…Philadelphia outscored Atlanta, 24-13, in the series. - Atlanta and Philadelphia have played 51 games here at Truist Park since the facility opened in 2017, and the Braves are 33-18 (.647) here at home versus the Phillies…Atlanta went 6-3 against Philadelphia here last season, and has won 12 of the last 16 with the Phillies here dating to 2021.
- RH Charlie Morton has made 17 career starts against Philadelphia, going 5-6 with a 4.81 ERA (46 ER/86.0 IP) and 93 strikeouts…In five starts last season, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound right-hander went 0-1 with a 5.47 ERA (16 ER/26.1 IP), although Atlanta won three of his five turns… Morton pitched in four games for the Phillies in 2016, going 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA before a torn left hamstring ended his season.
- RH Zack Wheeler is set to make his 25th career start versus Atlanta, and has pitched to a 10-7 record and a 3.16 ERA (53 ER/151.0 IP) over
his first 24 turns…The 6-foot-4, 195-pound of Smyrna, GA, pitched in three games versus the Braves last season, going 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA
(6 ER/20.0 IP)…He attended East Paulding High School, located just 19 miles from Truist Park.
LOSS: The Braves allowed two runs in the third, sixth and seventh innings last night to fall to the Phillies, 6-4…Atlanta out-hit Philadelphia, 11-7, and lost for just the second time this season when collecting more hits than its opponent.
- The Braves are now 24-2 (.923) when out-hitting their opponents, with the only other loss coming on May 10 vs. Boston…Atlanta’s 24-2 record in such games is tied with Los Angeles for the best such record in the National League, and trails just Houston (24-0, 1.000) for the best record in baseball.
- Ten of Atlanta’s 11 hits came against Phillies’ starter Taijuan Walker…The Braves had won their last 25 games when getting at least 10 hits against the starter, with their last such loss coming August 26, 2017 vs. Colorado and starter Kyle Freeland.
OZUNA STREAKING: Marcell Ozuna went 3-for-4 last night, and drove his 11th home run of the season out to left-center in the eighth inning…He has homered in each of his last three games.
- His three-game homer streak is the second-longest active run in the majors, behind just former Brave Jorge Soler’s four-game run for the Marlins.
- Ozuna’s streak is the second longest by a Braves batter this season…Ronald Acuña Jr. homered in four straight games from May 14 to May 17…Ozuna has homered in four straight games just twice in his career, last in 2019 while with St. Louis.
- Ozuna is batting .366/.438/.789 during the month of May, and his 1.227 OPS is third highest in the majors for the month, trailing just the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (1.277) and Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (1.243).
- Ozuna has compiled a wRC+ of 221 during the month, fourth highest in the majors…The league-average mark is 100, meaning Ozuna has been 121 percent above league average in May.
RILEY STREAKING, TOO: Austin Riley singled in last night’s first inning, and has hit in a season-best nine straight games dating to May 17…He is batting .382/.405/.706 with five doubles and two homers in that span.
- Fifteen of the 26 balls he has put in play during his streak have been over 100.0 mph (58%), including a flyout last night that would have been a homer in 20 other ballparks.
- In the 15 games prior to his current run, Riley batted just .219/.275/.328 with one double and two homers.
- Since the start of his streak, he has raised his batting average by 25 points (.239 to .264) and his OPS by 66 points (.722 to .788)
CHARLIE MORTON: Makes his 10th start of the season this afternoon, and has gone 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA (21 ER/52.1 IP) over his first nine turns…He has taken the decision in all nine starts.
- Just one pitcher in the majors, the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw with 10, has more decisions this season.
- Morton has thrown 402 curveballs this season, second most in the majors, and is averaging 3,070 rotations per minute on the pitch…His curve spin ranks in the 96th percentile in the majors.
- He has recorded 37 strikeouts via curveball this season, tied for the most in baseball, and his 286 strikeouts on the pitch since joining the Braves in 2021 are easily most in the majors…Houston’s Framber Valdez ranks second with 237.
ATTENDANCE: Atlanta drew 40,533 fans last night, it’s 17th sellout in 27 home games this season.
- The Braves passed 1,000,000 fans in attendance for the season last night, and have welcomed 1,028,509 total fans to date.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #50 Charlie Morton RHP 2023 Record: 5-4, 3.61 ERA • 2022 Record: 9-6, 4.34 ERA vs. RHB: .257 (27-105), 2 HR • vs. LHB: .270 (27-100), 4 HR Home: 2-2, 4.30 ERA (11/23.0) • Away: 3-2, 3.07 ERA (20/29.1)
Today’s Game
- Set to make his 10th start of the season and first against Philadelphia.
- Surrendered a season most six runs while allowing seven hits and two walks in his loss to Los Angeles (NL) during his last start.
- Morton has struck out 310 hitters with his curveball since the beginning of the 2020; the most in the majors.
- During that span hitters are missing on 52.8% of curveballs thrown, the second highest rate in the majors…The MLB average is 11.8% (among QS).
- Over the last two seasons he has thrown his curve on 40.0% of pitches, also the most in baseball among qualified starters.
- Utilizing his curveball on 46.5% of pitches thrown this season.
- Morton’s 958 strikeouts since the 2018 season are the fourth most in baseball.
- Prior to the 2018 season, Morton threw his curveball on 21.3% of pitches throughout his career.
- Since the beginning of 2018 he has thrown his curve on 36.1% of pitches.
- Enters play with only 19% of balls put in play against him registering as line drives this season.
- Tied for the fourth lowest mark in the majors.
- Hitters are registering a .327 batting average on balls in play against Morton in ’23.
- The MLB BABIP this season is .299 for qualified starters.
- Batters are hitting 39.2% of balls 95 mph or higher against Morton while the MLB average for qualified starters is 38.8%.
- In his age 39 season, Morton is the sixth-oldest active pitcher in the majors.
2023 Recap
- Struck out 10 hitters over 6.2 scoreless innings in his win against Texas on May 15.
- Has now struckout at least 10 hitters in six games since turning 38, passing Hall-of-Famer Cy Young for the ninth most such games dating to 1901.
- Morton is the first player with at least six games of 10 or more strikeouts at his age since Hall-of-Famers Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.
- Made his first start of the season against St. Louis.
- Only struck out one hitter through 5.1 innings pitched against the Cardinals, marking just the ninth time in his career Morton pitched at least 5.0 frames while failing to record at least two punchouts and the first since June 5, 2015 against Pittsburgh.
- Struck out San Diego’s Jake Croneworth on April 8 to record his 1,700th career punchout.
- Is one of 16 active pitchers in baseball with as many strikeouts
