The San Francisco Giants came into Philadelphia as one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. Their July record of 19-6 was the second-best in the history of the Giants, only behind the 1913 NY Giants who had a 25-6 July.
The Giants also faced the dilemma of whether or not to sell during the trade deadline. Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith would bring back nice prospect packages if traded.
So did the Phillies stop the feel-good atmosphere in San Francisco? Did anything happen at the trade deadline?
Let’s recap.
Game 1: It’s Always Smyly in Philadelphia
Do you remember when Drew Smyly came to the Phillies? He had 8.42 ERA in 51.1 IP when he was with the Rangers to start the season.
That seems so long ago now.
After 7 scoreless innings on Tuesday, Drew Smyly has a 0.69 ERA in 13 IP with 13 K for the Phillies. The proclaimed Cliff Lee look-a-like is actually performing like the former Phillies ace. In Lee’s first 2 Phillies starts, he had a 1.16 ERA in 16 IP with 15 K.
The Phillies felt like putting up some run support behind Smyly. It started in the 4th inning. JT Realmuto and Cesar Hernandez had back-to-back singles to start off the inning. Maikel Franco grounded out for the RBI, 1-0 lead Phillies. Rookie Adam Haseley would add on with a double of his own, making it 2-0.
In the bottom of the 5th, Rhys Hoskins hit his 23rd home run with Harper on base to make it 4-0.
Nick Pivetta tried to make things interesting in the 8th inning, giving up 2 homers. Hector Neris kept our nerves at bay as he had a clean 9th inning on route to his 19th save.
Phillies win 4-2.
Game 2: Sixth Inning Sadness
July 31, 2019. The one and only trade deadline ends at 4PM. Could the Giants sell off all of their pieces? Could the Phillies add some interesting pieces?
The Giants would mostly sell, casting off bullpen pieces Drew Pomeranz and Sam Dyson. They would add second baseman Scooter Gennett.
The Phillies would add hot-hitting Pirates left fielder Corey Dickerson for the low low price of almost nothing!
Now to the game, Vince Velasquez was really good(?!) for 5 innings. He had 6 K in that 5 innings and then our expectations came crashing down to reality. A walk and a home run in the 6th ended Velaquez’s day and the tie.
Adam Morgan came in relief and gave up 3 hits; a homer, a single, and another homer. No relief here. Mike Morin would end the inning.
Phillies scored once.
Phillies lose 5-1.
Game 3: That Aggressive August Offense
The win that the Phillies needed for weeks happened as the calendar flipped to August. A 3-run 2nd, 2-run 3rd, 4-run 4th, and 1-run 5th added up to a 10-run day for the Phillies.
JT Realmuto shined like the star that we know he is. A single, double, and home run in his first 3 at-bats put Phillies fans on cycle watch.
It didn’t happen, but it was exciting to think it could!
Phillies had 5 extra-base hits and 12 total on the day. On the pitching side, Arrieta made it through 4+ innings with his time bomb of an elbow. Blake Parker made his Phillies debut, striking out 2 and allowing 2 hits in an inning pitched.
Phillies start off August in winning style, 10-2.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
