PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS: The Phillies enter today’s game 3-3 this season at Truist Park and with a win, would secure their second winning season at Truist Park since it opened in 2017 … It would also mark their first series win in this ballpark since Sept. 17-19, 2019 (2-1) … In 2017, the Phillies went 5-4 in 9 games in Atlanta, but from 2018-2022, they were a combined 12-28 at Truist Park (.300 win %) … Following today’s matinee in Atlanta, the Phillies will head home to Philadelphia where they will open up their final homestand of the 2023 season with four games against the Mets (9/21-24) and three games against the Pirates (9/26-28) … The Phillies will wrap up the 2023 regular season with three games in New York against the Mets (9/29-10/1) … The Phils are 39-38 (.506) on the road this season, but since June 3, they are 28-16 away from South Philadelphia with a .636 winning percentage that ranks T-2nd among all MLB clubs on the road (with LAD), behind only BAL (.646) … The Phillies are 43-21 this season at CBP with a .581 winning percentage that ranks 7th among all clubs in MLB.
YOU’RE SO GOLDEN: Second baseman Bryson Stott is up to 16 Outs Above Average defensively which ranks T-4th among all players in Major League Baseball (with COL SS Ezequiel Tovar & PIT 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes) – the only players in MLB with more Outs Above Average than Stott are CHI’s SS Dansby Swanson (19 OAA), SF’s INF Thairo Estrada (17 OAA) and CLE’s 2B Andres Gimenez (17 OAA) … Stott leads all National League second baseman in games played (141) and innings at the position (1220.1), which outpaces Estrada (91 games, 761.2 innings) … Stott also has a .991 fielding percentage this season which is ahead of Estrada (.990) as well as 7 Defensive Runs Saved which is 7 more than Estrada (0 DRS)… He set a franchise record earlier this season when he began his career with 84 consecutive games at second base without an error, eclipsing the previous mark held by Tomas Perez (57 G) from 2001-02.
1,500 GAMES FOR BRYCE: Today marks Bryce Harper’s 1,500th career game in the majors … Earlier this month on Sept. 12, Harper became only the 18th player in Major League Baseball history to reach 1,500 career hits and 300 home runs before turning 31 years old … He is joined by Hall-of-Famers Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Mell Ott, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Jr. and Vladimir Gurrero … Of the 18 players in MLB history with 1,500 hits and 300 home runs before turning 31, the only ones currently not in the Hall of Fame are Harper, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Andruw Jones, Alex Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez … Of those 18 players with 1,500 hits and 300 home runs before turning 31, only four had 900+ walks at the time: Mantle (973), Harper (947), Mathews (910)
and Gehrig (909).
BALL GO BOOM: The Phillies have hit 204 home runs to date which are tied for the 2nd-most through the first 151 games of a season in franchise history (also 2004), behind only the 2009 club who hit 213 through the first 151 … Philadelphia’s 204 home runs this year rank 8th in franchise history – last year’s club ranks 7th with 205 home runs – the record is 224, held by the 2009 club … Of those 204 home runs for the Phils, 91 have come in the last 45 games since August 1 (45%) … Since Aug. 1, they are T-1st in MLB in home runs (with ATL), 2nd in extra-base hits with 182 (ATL, 189), 2nd in SLG at .506 (ATL, .516) and 2nd in OPS at .850 (ATL, .869) … The Phillies are averaging 5.91 runs per game since August which ranks 3rd in MLB behind only ATL (6.19) and HOU (6.09) … Per Statcast, since Aug. 1, the Phillies rank 1st among all clubs in baseball with an average exit velocity of 90.3 MPH (next: ATL, 90.2 MPH) and 2nd in hard hit rate at 43.7% (ATL, 43.8%).
LEADING MAN: Leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber (Phils’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award) has a career-high 120 walks this season which ranks T-7th in Phillies franchise history for a single year (with Mike Schmidt in 1979) – Von Hayes ranks 6th all-time with 121 in 1987… The franchise record for walks in a season is 129, set by Lenny Dykstra in 1993 … Schwarber currently ranks 2nd in MLB this year in both walks and walk rate (17.8%), trailing only Juan Soto in both (124, 18.6%) … Since he was moved back to the leadoff spot on June 2, the Phillies are 42-14 in the 56 games Schwarber has scored a run (.750) and they are 24-5 in the 29 games he has homered (.828) … Last Wednesday in San Diego, Schwarber set a franchise record with his 10th leadoff home run this season, eclipsing Jimmy Rollins’ previous record of 9 in 2007 … Since the All-Star break, Schwarber has posted a .947 OPS in 61 games (286 PA) with 50 runs, 23 home runs, 50 RBI and 62 walks with a 21.7% BB rate.
120 WALKS, 100 RUNS, 100 RBI, 45 HOMERS: Kyle Schwarber has 120 walks, 102 runs, 45 homers and 99 RBI this season … He is only 1 RBI shy of joining a list of 12 other players in MLB since 1920 – when RBI became official – to join the 120 walk/100 run/100 RBI/45 home run club … Babe Ruth did so eight times, Barry Bonds four times, Mark McGwire two times, and Lou Gehrig, Chipper Jones, Aaron Judge, Harmon Killebrew, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle, Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt & Jim Thome all did so once.
SCHWARBER, McGWIRE, RUTH: In his first two seasons in Philadelphia (since 2022), Kyle Schwarber has hit 91 home runs which ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Aaron Judge (94 HR) and he has walked 206 times which also ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Juan Soto (259 BB) … Schwarber is only the 3rd player in MLB history with 90+ home runs and 200+ walks through any player’s first two seasons with a club: Mark McGwire with St. Louis from 1997-98 (94 HR, 205 BB) and Babe Ruth with the Yankees from 1920-21 (113 HR, 294 BB).
TURNED HIM LOOSE: Over his last 40 games (since 8/4) Trea Turner is slashing .360/.401/.732 (1.133 OPS) with 37 runs, 11 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 41 RBI, 9 walks and 7 stolen bases in 177 plate appearances … Turner has raised his season AVG from .235 on August 3rd to .269 entering play today and his season OPS from .657 on Aug. 3 to .785 … With 97 runs, 32 doubles, 26 home runs and 28 stolen bases this year, Turner is only 3 runs, 4 home runs and 2 steals away from becoming only the third player in Phillies franchise history with a 100 run, 30 double, 30 homer, 30 stolen base season: Bobby Abreu (2x, 2001 & 2004) and Jimmy Rollins (2007).
TODAY’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
2023: 12-9, 4.62 ERA Career: 90-71, 3.74 ERA
LAST START: 9/15 at STL: ND, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, SO … Nola vs Thompson … The Phillies opened their 6-game road trip with a 5-4 over the Cardinals in St. Louis … Philadelphia jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st, highlighted by a Nick Castellanos 3- run HR off Cardinals starter Zack Thompson … J.T. Realmuto added an insurance run with an RBI single in the 6th inning … The bullpen got solid contributions from Matt Strahm (win, 0.1 IP), Jeff Hoffman (hold, 1.0 IP), Seranthony Dominguez (Hold, 1.0 IP), Craig Kimbrel (Hold, 1.0 IP) and Jose Alvarado (SV # 8) to finish off the victory
TODAY’S START:
- In the Zone: Nola has 17 starts this season with 1 or no walks … He is T-8th in the NL for such starts … Since 2018, he is T-2nd in MLB and T-1st in the NL with 96 and only 4 other pitchers have at least 90 of them … Zack Greinke (115), Miles Mikolas (96), Kyle Hendricks (94) and Zack Wheeler (92) … Nola’s 2.24 BB/9.0 IP ranks 8th in the NL and since the start of last season his 1.73 BB/9.0 IP is T-6th in MLB
- Lights Out: Nola has had 2 starts this year in which he pitched 7.0 innings while allowing 1 hit … He’s done so 5th times in his career and it’s the 1st time he’s had multiple such games in a single season … He is one of 6 ML pitchers this year to have multiple such games this season … He joins Zack Wheeler (2021) and Kevin Millwood (2003) as the only Phillies pitchers to have multiple such games in a season since 1980 … Only Steve Carlton (7) and Grover Alexander (6) have more starts with at least 7.0 IP and 1 or no hits as a Phillie
- 7 Strong: Nola has thrown at least 7.0 IP while allowing 3 or fewer earned runs in 9 games this season, which ranks 3rd in the NL and T-5th in baseball …This season, the Phillies are 9-0 in games when Nola does so
- Sharp as a WHIP: Nola has a 1.18 WHIP on the season, which is 9th in the NL… Nola’s 1.13 career WHIP is T-8th best in Phillies history (min. 500.0 IP)
- Pitch Usage: Curveball (31.6%), 4-Seam Fastball (29.5%), Sinker (19%), Changeup (12.2%), Cutter (7.7%)
- vs NL Central: 36-36, 3.56 ERA (262 ER, 662.0 IP) in 110 starts
ROAD:
- 2023: 6-6, 5.58 ERA (62 ER, 100.0 IP) in 17 starts
- Career: 40-44, 4.26 ERA (332 ER, 700.2 IP) in 119 starts
2023 SEASON:
- Breaking Records: On 9/2, Nola surpassed Curt Schilling and moved into 5th place on the Phillies all-time strikeout list … Coming into the season, Nola was 7th on the all-time Phillies list and passed Grover Cleveland Alexander on 5/3 to move into 6th … Nola trails Steve Carlton (3,031), Robin Roberts (1,871), Cole Hamels (1,844) and Chris Short (1,585)
- Winning DNA: On 8/16, Nola earned his 10th win of the season … It is his 5th, 10-win season of his career and he became 1 of 19 Phillies pitchers to earn at least 5, 10-win seasons in their career … The only Phillies with more 10+ win seasons are Steve Carlton (13), Robin Roberts (12), Grover Alexander (7), Cole Hamels (6), Kyle Kendrick (6), Curt Simmons (6), Bill Duggleby (6) and Al Orth (6)
- Innings Eater: Since the start of the 2018 season, Nola’s 1052.2 IP are the 2nd -most in the majors … This season, Nola has gone at least 6.0 IP in 20 of his 30 starts (66.6%) … His 20 instances of 6.0 or more innings are tied for tied for the 11th most in the majors
- Philly Value: Since 2018, Nola is one of two pitchers in baseball to accrue more than 20.0 fWAR (24.9) and pitch for only one team (other: Shane Bieber, 20.2) … In that span, he ranks 5th overall in fWAR behind only Max Scherzer (27.7), Zack Wheeler (27.6), Gerrit Cole (27.6) and Jacob deGrom (27.2) … His 33.3 fWAR as a Phillie is 7th most in franchise history trailing Curt Simmons (33.5) for 6th place
- What Is It Good For: Additionally, since the start of the 2022 season, Nola’s 9.6 fWAR is tied with Zack Wheeler for the most in the NL and they trail only Kevin Gausman (10.5) for 1st in MLB
- Road Scholar: Since the start of the 2022 season, among all ML pitchers in road games, Nola has recorded the most SO (221), the 2nd
-most IP (208.0) and has the 7th best SO/BB ratio (5.53) … Nola’s 33 starts on the road in that span are tied for the 3rd most in MLB - 7th Heaven: On 8/10, Nola made his 227th career start … Nola now holds sole possession for the 7th most starts in Phillies history … Nola trails Steve Carlton (499), Robin Roberts (472), Chris Short (301), Cole Hamels (294), Grover Alexander (280) and Curt Simmons (263)
- Phils’ Ranks: Recorded the 30th double-digit SO game of his career and 3rd of 2023 on 7/4 at TB … Is now in sole possession of 3rd place in club history (Curt Schilling is 2nd with 48)
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
DAY GAMES
The Braves and Phillies are set to conclude the series with a 12:20 first pitch this afternoon, and Atlanta (30-19, .612) and Philadelphia (34-24, .586) enter play today with the two best day-game records in the National League. Atlanta’s record is second-best in baseball, behind just Baltimore (34-20, .630), while Philadelphia’s is fifth in the majors. The Braves’ 49 day games this season are tied for third fewest in the league, more than only the Angels (48) and Dodgers (45). However, Atlanta’s 89 homers during the daylight are most in the majors, five more than second-place Tampa Bay. The Rays have played 65 day games on the year.
TODAY’S GAME: The Braves and Phillies today conclude a three-game series with what is the 13th and final scheduled meeting between the clubs this season…Atlanta and Philadelphia last met last week, with the Braves taking three-of-four at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves beat the Phillies, 9-3, last night, and Atlanta has won 8-of-12 games with Philadelphia this year. Atlanta went 11-8 against Philadelphia last season
to win the season set, and has now won the season series with the Phillies in each of the last three years…The Braves went 10-9 against the Phillies in 2021, and have now won the season set with Philadelphia in three 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 is 3-3 with Philadelphia here at Truist Park this season, and the Braves are 35-20 (.636) against the Phillies here since the facility opened in 2017… Atlanta has a losing record here at home against Philadelphia just once since 2017, going 4-5 in the stadium’s inaugural season…In the six seasons since, the Braves are 31-15 (.674). RH Bryce Elder has made just one career start against the Phillies, pitching 7.0 scoreless innings at Citizens Bank Park on June 22 earlier this season…The 6-foot-2, 220-pound right-hander today makes his 30th start of the season, and is 12-4 with a 3.50 ERA (65 ER/167.1 IP) over his first 29 starts. RH Aaron Nola has pitched against the Braves more than any other team in his career, compiling a 15-10 record with a 3.41 ERA (76 ER/200.2 IP) over 32 total starts…The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Baton Rouge, LA, has faced Atlanta twice this season, pitching to a 3.75 ERA (5 ER/12.0 IP) without a decision.
WIN: The Braves beat the Phillies, 9-3, last night, to stop their season high-tying losing streak of four games…Atlanta has not lost five straight games since September of 2017. Atlanta has now gone 859 games since its last losing streak of at least five games, which ended on September 30, 2017…Per Elias, that is the third-longest streak of its kind in MLB history, behind two runs by the Yankees…New York went 1,243 games between five-game skids from from 1930- 38, and 877 games between such streaks again from 1946-52. The Braves collected 10 of the 11 hardest-hit balls in last night’s game, amassing an expected batting average of .355…Philadelphia, which put two balls in play over 100 mph, recorded an expected batting average of .173.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
2023 Record: 12-4, 3.50 ERA • 2022 Record: 2-4, 3.17 ERA
vs. RHB: .240 (73-304), 7 HR • vs. LHB: .241 (77-319), 10 HR
Home: 7-1, 2.99 ERA (29 ER/86.1 IP) • Away: 5-3, 4.05 ERA (36 ER/80.0 IP)
Today’s Game
- Set to make his second start against Philadelphia this year and 30th on the season. Will become the 21st pitcher in Braves franchise history to make at least 30 starts in their first two seasons at age 25 or younger. Elder is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA over his last six starts. Earned his 12th win of the season in his last outing, beating Pittsburgh 8-2. Atlanta has won 20 games with Elder as the starter; tied for the sixth-most wins by a team in a single pitcher’s starts in 2023…Strider leads the league with 24. Elder’s 3.50 ERA on the season is the seventh lowest in the NL among qualifiers. His ERA on the year leads the Braves starters. Sported a 1.92 ERA in 11 starts prior to June 1. Pitching to a 4.51 ERA over his last 18 starts since the beginning of June. Opponents are hitting .204 against Elder with runners on base; the second lowest mark in the majors (among QS). Elder’s 6.25 ERA with ROB is the fifth lowest in the NL among qualifiers. Owns a 75.5 left-on-base percentage. His groundball rate of 51.1% of balls put in play is the fifth highest in the majors among qualified starters. Has recorded an out on 58.5% of those grounders put in play. The average launch angle of balls put in play against Elder is 8.00; fifth lowest in the National League. Elder is pitching to a 2.83 ERA while holding opponents to a .236/.301/.371 line the first two times through the lineup. Conversely, owns a 5.86 ERA and hitters have a line of .255/.320/.408 the third time through the order and on. Is 13-5 with a 3.19 ERA over his last 34 games started after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, dating to August 14, 2022. He has six starts in his career of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run, the most such games in Braves franchise history (since 1900) in a player’s first 25 starts…Irv Young (1905), Clif Curtis (1909-’10) and Ian Anderson (’20-21) each had five such starts.
2023 Recap
- Held the Yankees to one hit over 7.0 shutout innings on August 15. Became the 10th pitcher in Atlanta franchise history to spin 7.0 scoreless innings while limiting an opponent to one hit or less at the age of 24 or younger. Teammate Spencer Strider also did it earlier this season. Named to the 2023 National League All-Star Team, his first selection. Joined Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz and Michael Soroka as the only starters in Atlanta-franchise history to make the All-Star team in their second year playing. Joined Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz, Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran as the only Atlanta-era pitchers, age 24 or younger to post a 2.40 ERA or lower through their first 15 starts to a season. Elder has 20 games of at least 5.1 innings pitched in 25 career starts; the most in Atlanta franchise history through as many games started. Elder’s 2.30 ERA through 20 career starts is the lowest in Atlanta franchise history to begin a career. His 117.1 innings pitched through his first 20 games started were the most by an Atlanta player to begin their career since Julio Teheran in 2011-13. His 30 earned runs allwed are also the fewest during that span. Elder has held opponents to one run or less in nine games this season while pitching at least 5.0 frames in every outing. His 13 appearances of at least 5.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to one run or less are the most through a player’s first 25 outings in Atlanta franchise history
