PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #79 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs, 8-5, at Wrigley Field … Starter Aaron Nola (W, 7-5) failed to complete 6.0 innings for the first time in 13 starts as he went 5.0 and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts … The Phillies scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning on home runs from Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa – Josh Harrison added a homer in the 5th inning … Matt Strahm struck out four of the seven batters he faced in 2.0 scoreless innings of relief … A win tonight would give the Phillies their first sweep at Wrigley Field since July 24-26, 2015 (Hamels no-hitter).
THE VIBES ARE BACK: The Phillies have won 17 of their last 22 games (since 6/3) which are their most wins in a 22-game span since July 30-Aug. 23, 2011, when they also went 17-5 … 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 17-5 (.773 win %) with a +37-run differential (113-76) and sit a season-best five games over .500 at 42- 37 … 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 22 games with him as manager (6/3-25/22), they went 16-6 (.727 win %) with a +31-run differential (114-83) … Since Thomson was hired on June 3, 2022, the Phillies are 107-83 and their .563 winning percentage is 6th-best in MLB, behind only ATL (.679), LAD (.637), HOU (.607), BAL (.580) and TB (.572).
ROADWORK: The Phillies have won 10 of their last 11 on the road (since 6/3) and eight straight (6/13- current), which is their longest winning streak away from Philly since another eight-game streak, July 19- Aug. 6, 2011 … This also marks the first time the Phillies have won 10 of 11 on the road since August of 2011 … A win tonight would be Philadelphia’s first nine-game winning streak on the road since May of 1984 and would be tied for the fourth-longest road winning streak in franchise history … The club record is a 13- game streak from April 17-June 2, 1976 – after that a 12-game streak that spanned two seasons from Sept 15, 1887-April 25, 1888, a 10-game streak from June 25-July 11, 1969 and two nine-game streaks in May of 1984 and April-May of 1954.
I’M GIVING IT MY ALL: The Phillies have won seven of their last eight series (since 6/3: 2-1 at WSH, 3-
vs DET, 2-1 vs LAD, 3-1 at ARI, 3-0 at OAK, 0-2 vs ATL, 2-1 vs NYM, 2-0 vs CHI) … Over the last three seasons (2021-23), the Phillies are 48-27 in the month of June and their .640 winning percentage ranks 2nd among all MLB clubs, behind only ATL (.684) … Over the last two seasons (since 2022), the Phillies are 36-15 in June and their .706 winning % ranks 2nd in MLB, trailing only ATL (.804).
ON THE PLUS SIDE: The Phillies currently have six players with an OPS+ of 105 or greater (min. 200 PA): Nick Castellanos (131 OPS+), Brandon Marsh (129), Bryce Harper (114), J.T. Realmuto (110), Kyle Schwarber (108) and Bryson Stott (105) … Among all clubs, Philadelphia’s total of six players with an OPS+ of 105 or better ranks T-4th (with TOR) and trails only Texas (8 players), Atlanta (8) and Tampa Bay (7) … As a club, the Phillies have a 102 OPS+ this season which ranks 5th in the NL and 10th in MLB.
WALKING ON SUNSHINE: Over his last four starts (since 6/6 vs DET), Taijuan Walker is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA (2 ER, 26.0 IP) – he has 26 strikeouts to 6 walks while limiting the 97 batters he has faced to a .156/.216/.244 slash line (.461 OPS) … Walker is looking to become the first Phillies pitcher to win five straight decisions since Bailey Falter went 5-0 in five starts from August to September last season (8/20- 9/13) … The Phillies are 11-5 in Walker’s 16 starts this season and they have won 11 of his last 14 (since 4/14).
CASTY’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND: Right fielder Nick Castellanos has increased his hard hit rate on balls in play by 10.3 percent from a season ago – that +10.3 percent spike in hard hit rate is the fifth-biggest jump from year to year of any player in MLB – teammate Brandon Marsh ranks 1st with a +13.5% spike, Juan Soto 2nd at +12.6%, Corey Seager 3rd at +10.8% and Daniel Vogelbach 4th at +10.6% … Castellanos is batting .456 with a .647 SLG against 4-seam fastballs this year – last season he hit .270 with a .461 SLG against 4-seamers … Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 113 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, Castellanos has 14 extra-base hits and is slashing .381/.469/.619 with a 1.088 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 (24 2B) is one double shy of matching his total of 25 last season, three home runs shy of matching his total of 13 and five extra-base hits shy of tying his total of 40.
SAVING GRACE: Right-hander Craig Kimbrel is 11-for-11 in save opportunities this season and he has struck out 52 of the 130 batters he has faced (40.0%) … Kimbrel (1,150 SO) is in sole possession of 8th place in strikeouts among relievers since at least 1893 – Next up is Lindy McDaniel who is in 7th place with 1,164 … On May 26, Kimbrel earned the 400th save of his ML career and became only the eighth player in the history of MLB to reach 400 saves.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 8-3, 4.10 ERA Career: 62-53, 3.91 ERA
LAST START: 6/23 vs NYM: W, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO … Walker vs Senga … The Phillies defeated the New York Mets, 5-1, in the first game of a 3-game series in South Philly … Facing New York starter Kodai Senga for the 2nd time this season, the Phillies had 10 whiffs on 50 swings (20% whiff rate) after fanning on 38% of their swings against him in their 1st meeting on 5/30 (58 swings/22 whiffs) … Brandon Marsh had 3 hits and Trea Turner had a crucial 2-run single in the 6th … Gregory Soto, José Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel made scoreless appearances in relief of Walker.
TONIGHT’S START:
- Pitch Usage: Splitter (35.6%), Sinker (24.1%), 4-Seam (19.3%), Cutter (12.6%), Sweeper (5.2%), Curveball (3.2%).
- Remember This: Walker has won at least 4 straight games for the first time since winning a career-high 6 contests over a 9-game stretch from 6/12-7/31/22. He has allowed just 1 run or less each of those starts, tied for the longest such streak of his career (5/6-29/21 & 8/21-9/6/17). He tossed back-to-back scoreless starts of at least 5.0 innings on 6/6 and 6/11 for the first time in his career.
- Summer Baby: Walker’s 2.75 ERA (56 ER, 183.1 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).
- That’s Just the Way We Roll: Walker is the 1st Phillies starter to reach 8 wins this season, a mark tied for 7th in the National League. He has recorded at least 8 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since last reaching the mark each year from 2015-17.
- Much Better: Walker has used his splitter 35.6% 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). 36 of his 71 strikeouts have come via the splitter and his 26.9 strikeout percentage and 27.9 whiff percentage with the pitch are the 7th- and 9th-best marks in the NL, respectively (min. 25 PA).
- Make it Right: In 2023, Walker has held lefties to a .201 (28-139) AVG (T-12th among NL starters), compared to .256 (43-168) against righties … Since his debut year, 2013, Walker has limited left-handed batters to a .230 AVG, 10th-best among active right-handed starters during that span (min. 1,500 LHB faced).
- vs NL Central: 6-7, 4.09 ERA (52 ER, 114.1 IP) in 21 starts.
ROAD:
- 2023: 4-3, 5.76 ERA (29 ER, 45.1 IP) in 9 starts.
- Career: 34-32, 4.12 ERA (230 ER, 502.0 IP) in 96 games (94 starts).
- Wrigley Field: 0-1, 2.79 ERA (3 ER, 9.2 IP) in 2 starts.
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.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Phillies
The Cubs and Phillies face each other in six games this season … Chicago dropped two of three in Philadelphia May 19-21 … Chicago last year picked up the season sweep of the Phillies for the first time in franchise history … the Cubs have now won four of the previous six season series against Philadelphia.
WHERE’S THE BROTHERLY LOVE?: The Chicago Cubs, looking to shake a three-game skid, play the final contest of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies … the team has dropped the first two games of this set by scores of 5-1 and 8-5, and looks to avoid its first three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies at Wrigley Field since July 24-26, 2015 (that’s the series Cole Hamels threw a no-hitter against the Cubs).
This is the third contest (0-2) of 13-straight gamedays leading into the All-Star break … following this Phillies series, the Cubs host Cleveland for three games starting Friday … the team then departs on a seven-game trip with four contests at the Brewers and three at the Yankees.
This three-game skid follows a four-game winning streak and is the first stretch in which the Cubs have dropped consecutive games since a four-game skid on the west coast at San Diego (0-1) and Anaheim (0-3) June 5-8.
Despite dropping their last three contests, the Cubs are 11-5 in their last 16 games since June 9 and find themselves 4.5-games back of the N.L. Central Division-leading Reds (43-38) … Chicago was 7.5-games back following June 8’s loss at the Angels.
Chicago is four-games over .500 (15-11) in its last 26 games starting May 29.
The Cubs are the only N.L. Central Division club with a positive run differential (+25) … Pittsburgh is at -33, Milwaukee -22, St. Louis -17 and Cincinnati -16.
THE FIRST PERSON TO TELL ME THE TITLE OF THE MONKEES’ HIT WITH “YOUNG” IN
THE TITLE GETS $5: Jared Young last night his first career home run in his first plate appearance after he was selected from Iowa the previous day … Young, who made his major league debut last season with six September games for Chicago, is just the fifth Canadian to homer for the Cubs.
Young, who is from Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, joins: Matt Stairs (17 homers for Chicago), Vince Barton (16), Fregie Jenkins (13) and Bunk Congalton (1).
OBSERVATIONS OF THE OFFENSIVE VARIETY: Nick Madrigal has reached safely in each of his last 13 games since June 11, hitting .400 (16-for-40) with four doubles, six runs scored, five RBI and a .478 on-base percentage … he also have five stolen bases in this stretch … his season average has gone up 48 points in his last 13 contests, from .235 to his current .283 mark.
Cubs hitters have coaxed at least one walk in each of the team’s last 54 games since April 28 … the last time Chicago had a longer such streak was a 106- game run that spanned from July 22, 2019-Sept. 8, 2020.
Dansby Swanson has hit .344 (11-for-32) with two homers and five RBI, hitting safely in each of his last eight games at Wrigley Field since June 13 … he’s recorded a hit in his last seven contests against N.L. East opponents dating to May 20 in Philadelphia.
NICO AT THE DISH: Nico Hoerner is batting .294 (20-for-68) with four doubles, two triples, one homer, 14 RBI and three stolen bases in his last 16 games since June 9 … he’s hit safely in each of his last seven games, scoring runs in four of those contests, one game shy of his career-long, eight-game hitting streak in June of 2022.
Hoerner leads the Cubs with 40 RBI this season, seventh-most among major league second basemen … the last time a primary second baseman finished the season leading the Cubs in RBI was in 2018 when Javier Baéz drove in 111 RBI.
HE’S A WINNER!: Dansby Swanson’s 3.1 WAR are the most among N.L. shortstops and second among all shortstops, according to Fangraphs … Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco
has a 3.4 WAR to pace the position.
Swanson is hitting .300 (45-for-150) with a .367 OBP in 38 games at Wrigley Field … he has hit .274 (23-for-84) in June after batting .248 (28-for-113) in May … Swanson has hit .323 (21-for-65) with runners in scoring position along with a .937 OPS in that situation.
Swanson is one of 16 players in the National League with an average of .300 or better at home in 2023.
STARTING STUFF: Cubs starting pitchers have posted a 3.96 ERA (182 ER/414.1 IP) this season, the third-best mark among N.L. starting rotations and seventh-best in the majors … the rotation’s 49 home runs allowed is tied for the fifth-lowest total in the majors, while the 1.22 WHIP is eighth.
Tonight’s starter, Kyle Hendricks, has pitched to a 2.08 ERA (7 ER/30.1 IP) since May 30, the eighth-lowest mark in the N.L. during that span.
Marcus Stroman is second in the N.L. with a 2.47 ERA while Justin Steele’s 2.62 ERA ranks fourth.
Chicago has recieved 35 quality starts, third-most in the N.L. and eighth-most in baseball.
RUN PREVENTION: Saturday’s 9-1 victory over St. Louis marked the Cubs 32nd game in which they allowed two or fewer runs – those are tied for third-most in the majors behind only Tampa Bay (36) and Toronto (33) … Chicago’s 29 victories while allowing two or fewer runs are fourth-most in the majors behind Toronto (32), Tampa Bay (30) and Miami (30).
BULLPEN BITS: Adbert Alzolay has posted a 0.93 ERA (2 ER/19.1 IP) in his last 16 games since May 6, walking three, striking out 18 and posting a 0.78 WHIP … Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 0.98 ERA (3 ER/27.2 IP) with one win and allowed 22 hits and 14 walks with 41 strikeouts in 28 appearances.
Mark Leiter Jr. has averaged 13.22 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (48 SO/32.2 IP), the sixth-best mark among N.L. relievers (min. 25 appearances).
Michael Fulmer has allowed one earned run in his last 13 appearances since May 28, tossing 13.2 innings with a 0.95 WHIP (0.66 ERA) … he has walked six and struck out 15 in the span.
Starting Pitcher – #28 RHP Kyle Hendricks (3-2, 2.60)
Last Time Out
Kyle earned a win in his third-straight start June 21 at Pittsburgh … is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA (3 ER/19.1 IP) in his last three starts … allowed one earned run or fewer for the third time this season … has posted a quality start in three of his last four outings … walked three batters after allowing just one in his three starts prior … received six runs of support, his highest mark this season.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
6/21 @PIT W, 8-3 6.1 2 3 1 3 2 88-55 6-1, 3 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 1-1 3.77 3 3 14.1 17 8 6 5 9
Road 2-1 1.77 3 3 20.1 8 7 4 4 9
AVG vs. LHB: .173 (13-for-75) / AVG vs. RHB: .231 (12-for-52)
Kyle will make his seventh start of the 2023 campaign, his fourth at Wrigley Field … will look to earn the win in four-straight starts for the first time since winning eight-in-a-row May 16, 2021-June 22, 2021 … since May 30, has posted a 2.08 ERA (7 ER/30.1 IP) in five starts, the eighth-lowest ERA in the N.L. (min. 5 GS) during that span … in his last outing vs. Philadelphia Sept. 16, 2021, allowed seven earned runs, his most allowed against them in his career … has held opponents to a .130 average (9-for-69) with 13 strikeouts against his changeup.
June 10 in San Francisco, carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning … the 7.2 IP no-hit bid was the second-longest of his career (Sept. 12, 2016 at St. Louis, 8.0 IP).
Became the 12th pitcher in Cubs history to pitch for the Cubs in at least 10 season (last Kerry Wood).
Made his season debut May 25 vs. Mets (3 ER/4.1 IP), his first major league start since July 5, 2022.
Made five rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa, going 2-1 with a 5.75 ERA (13 ER/20.1 IP) … allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three rehab starts, posting a 1.69 ERA (3 ER/16.0 IP) during those outings.
