PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #121 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-4, and split a two-game series in Canada … Starter Aaron Nola (W, 10-8) went 5.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts … Bryce Harper hit two home runs for the Phillies as they had a total of 7 extra-base hits on the night (4 2B, 3 HR) – they put 10 balls in play over 100.0 MPH … Matt Strahm, Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto made scoreless appearances in relief of Nola.
ZEN MASTER: Monday, MLB announced that Michael Lorenzen was named National League Co-Player of the Week (also: Matt Olson) after authoring the 14th no-hitter in franchise history on Aug. 19 vs WSH in his first start as a Phillie at CBP, and only his 2nd start with the club … Per Elias, there have been 319 official no-hitters in MLB history – of those 319, only 41 times has a pitcher faced the same team he just no-hit in his next start (last: Carlos Rodon vs CLE in April 2021) … The last time this happened to the Phils was when Tommy Greene no-hit the Expos on May 23, 1991, at Olympic Stadium, only to face them five days later on May 28 at Veterans Stadium – he would toss another complete game shutout (3 H allowed).
NATITUDE PROBLEM: Since 7/29/21 (G2), the Phillies have won 30 of their last 37 games against the Nats (.811 win %) and have outscored them 263-148 (+115 run differential) – that includes a 14-4 record at CBP and a 16-3 record here at Nats Park … In that span, the Phillies are slashing .287/.367/.551 with a .917 OPS – they have hit 83 home runs (2.2 HR per game) and are averaging 7.1 runs per game … This marks the first time the Phillies have won 30 or more games in a 37-game span against any opponent since 2008-10, also against the Nationals (also 30-7).
D.C. POWER BROKER: Since joining the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber is slashing .318/.438/.804 with a 1.242 OPS, 30 runs scored, 30 RBI and 23 walks in 28 games and 130 plate appearances against the Nationals … He has hit 15 home runs in 107 at bats, averaging a homer every 7.13 at bats … Since 2022, among all MLB players with at least 100 plate appearances against any single opponent, Schwarber’s .804 SLG and 1.242 OPS against the Nats ranks 2nd to only Aaron Judge against the Orioles (.844 SLG/1.322 OPS) … Schwarber, who spent part of the 2021 season with the Nats before being traded to Boston, has appeared in 61 games in his career at Nationals Park and has hit 24 home runs in 209 at bats, averaging a home run every 8.71 at bats … He has a 1.074 OPS in 251 career plate appearances in D.C.
SECRETARIO DE DEFENSA: Since making his MLB debut on July 15, center fielder Johan Rojas has played in 25 games and started 19, all in center field … Rojas has 188.0 innings in center field this season (T-50th in MLB, 24th in the NL) but already has racked up 8 Defensive Runs Saved which ranks T-2nd among all National League center fielders (with ARI’s Alex Thomas), trailing only COL’s Brenton Doyle (10 DRS) … Rojas’ 8 Defensive Runs Saved since his call up on July 15 are the most of any player in MLB during that time (h/t Sports Info Solutions).
RISP AND REWARD: Since July 1, the Phillies are batting .281 (94-334) with RISP and their .281 AVG in that span ranks 7th in MLB – their .362 OBP with RISP since July 1 ranks 4th in MLB and their .817 OPS ranks 6th … Overall, the Phillies rank 14th in MLB this year with a .253 AVG with RISP, however, from the start of the season through June, the Phillies ranked 25th with a .239 AVG with RISP … Since July 1, the Phillies have four qualified players with an OPS over .850 with RISP: Alec Bohm (1.078), Kyle Schwarber (.968), Bryson Stott (.933) and Nick Castellanos (.878) … Bohm is slashing .361/.407/.479 with RISP this year – his .361 AVG with RISP would be the highest by a Phillies player with at least 100 at bats in a single year since Bobby Abreu hit .427 with RISP (44-103) in 1998.
GLOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: Using Statcast’s Outs Above Average, the Phillies are tied for the second-best defense up the middle in MLB this season … The Phillies have gotten 26 OAA from the following three positions combined: second base, shortstop and center field … Their 26 OAA from those three positions rank T-2nd among all clubs in MLB (with CHI), and trails only Kansas City (33 OAA from 2B, SS & CF) … Individually, Bryson Stott has moved into the top 10 among all players in baseball with 10 OAA this season which ranks T-2nd among all MLB second baseman (with Nico Hoerner and Marcus Semien), trailing only SF’s Thairo Estrada (12 OAA) … Only three Phillies have finished a season with 10 OAA since Statcast started tracking in 2016: SS Freddy Galvis (10 OAA) in 2016, OF Peter Bourjos (11 OAA) in 2016 and OF Odubel Herrera (11 OAA) in 2017.
VIBES CHECK: The Phillies are 66-55 for the second straight season – through 121 games they have scored 560 runs and allowed 523 (+37) – last season, they were 66-55 through 121 games and had scored 558 runs and allowed 493 (+65) … This season, the Phillies were 7 games under .500 at 25-32 (.439 win %) when they entered play on June 3 – they have since gone 41-23 (.641 win %) over their last 64 … Last season, the Phillies were also 7 games under .500 when they entered play on June 1 at 22-29 (.431 win %) – over their next 64 games they went 42-22 (.656 win %).
ROAD WORK: The Phillies have won 21 of their last 30 games away from home since June 3 and their .700 winning percentage on the road in that stretch ranks 1st in MLB (next: CIN, 21-11, .656) … This marks Philadelphia’s best 30-game stretch on the road since another 21-9 run last year, June 7-Aug. 12 … This recent stretch includes a 13-game road winning streak (6/13-7/7) that is tied for the longest in franchise history (also: 13 G streak in 1976) … When that 13-game winning streak began, the Phillies were 10 games under .500 on the road at 13-23 – they became the first team in MLB history to be 10 games or more under .500 on the road before winning 11+ straight to get back over .500.
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: The Phillies are 41-23 over their last 64 games (since 6/3) and their .641 winning percentage since June 3rd ranks 2nd in MLB behind only ATL (45-18, .714 win %) … The Phils opened the 2023 season on the road and went 1-5 in six games through TEX (0-3) and NYY (1-2) … Since then (4/7-current), they are 65-50 with a .565 winning percentage that ranks 3rd in the National League behind only ATL (.637) and LAD (.611) and 7th in MLB.
HATS OFF TO YOU, THOMS: Since he was named manager on June 3, 2022, Rob Thomson has the Phillies 30 games over .500 at 131-101 with a .565 winning percentage that ranks 6th in MLB, trailing only ATL (.670), LAD (.654), HOU (.614), BAL (.587) and SEA (.578).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – MICHAEL LORENZEN • RHP #22
2023: 7-7, 3.23 ERA Career: 38-36, 3.94 ERA
LAST START: 8/9 vs WSH: W, 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO … Lorenzen vs Gore … The Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals, 7-0, on a historic night at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Michael Lorenzen tossed the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history, Weston Wilson homered in his first major league plate appearance and Nick Castellanos hit his 200th career home run
TONIGHT’S START:
- Lo-No: In his last start, Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history and the 13th by a single pitcher … It was the first Phillies no-hitter since Cole Hamels threw one in his last start as a Phillie on 7/25/15 … It was the first Phillies no-hitter at home since Roy Halladay tossed one on 10/6/10 and it was the second Phillies no-hitter at Citizens Bank Park … Lorenzen became the 5th pitcher in MLB history to toss a no-hitter in a home debut and the first since Don Cardwell did so for the Cubs on 5/15/60 … He also became the 6th pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to throw a no-hitter in his 1st or 2nd start with a club, joining ARI’s Tyler Gilbert (8/14/21 vs SD), SD’s Joe Musgrove (4/9/21 at TEX), BOS’ Clay Bucholz (9/1/07 vs BAL), BOS’ Hideo Nomo (4/4/01 at BAL) and CWS’ Wilson Alvarez (8/11/91 at BAL)
- First Impressions: Per Elias, Lorenzen is the 7th Phillies pitcher in the expansion Era to throw 8.0+ innings in each of their first two starts with the club and the first since Paul Byrd did so in his first two starts in 1998 … Lorenzen became the fourth pitcher in MLB to do so in the last 20 seasons and the first since Shane Greene did so for DET in 2015
- Dog Days: Since the start of July, Lorenzen has gone 5-1 with a 1.11 ERA (5 ER, 40.2 IP) … His ERA since the start of July is the best in MLB (min. 25 IP)
- Shut Down and Shut Out: Lorenzen has posted a scoreless outing in 4 of his last 6 starts … His 3 starts from 7/6-20 marked the first time in his career that he had a 3-game streak in which he tossed at least 5.0 scoreless innings and his 22.2 inning scoreless streak from 6/30-7/27 was the longest of his career… He is one of 9 pitchers this year to have a 3-game scoreless streak with at least 5.0 IP in each game and only Zac Gallen has a longer streak (4)
- Left in Charge: Lorenzen is holding left-handed batters to a .185 AVG (46-248) this season which ranks 3rd in MLB (min. 150 batters faced)
- Life in the Fast Lane: This season, Lorenzen’s .172 OPP AVG (22-128) against his 4-seamer ranks 5th in MLB and his OPP SLG (.281) ranks 7th (min. 100 PA) … His fastball is averaging 94.3 mph and he has struck out 35 batters with it … He is also in the 88th percentile in fastball spin
- In Play? No Problem: Lorenzen’s .247 BABIP is the 6th best mark in baseball among pitchers with at least 100.0 IP (best: Tyler Wells, .206)
- Pitch Usage: 4-Seam Fastball (34.1%), Slider (24.4%), Changeup (21.3%), Sinker (11.6%), Sweeper (7%), Cutter (1%) and Curveball (0.7%)
- vs NL East: 7-8, 3 SV, 3.49 ERA (56 ER, 144.1 IP) in 62 games (13 starts)
ROAD:
- 2023: 3-3, 3.04 ERA (19 ER, 56.1 IP) in 9 starts
- Career: 18-21, 4 SV, 4.25 ERA (153 ER, 324.0 IP) in 166 games (30 starts)
2023 SEASON:
- Was named to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career … Representing the AL, he tossed a scoreless 0.2 IP with 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 strikeout
- Set a career high for quality starts in a single season on 8/9
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
No team release available.
