The Astros spent the weekend in a rough spot, dropping two of three to the Athletics and slipping back into a tie with the Rangers at the top of the AL West. The catch is that both teams are still under .500, and Houston’s run differential is the division’s best at minus-44.
Elsewhere, the Phillies kept their roll going in dramatic fashion. Their eight-game winning streak looked ready to end against the Cardinals on Sunday, with St.
Louis holding a 4-0 lead and Riley O’Brien on the mound in the ninth. Philadelphia flipped it anyway.
With two outs, Edmundo Sosa ripped a three-run double and Bryan De La Cruz followed with an RBI single to knot things up. Then Kyle Schwarber finished it off with a huge homer to center, giving the Phillies their ninth straight win and pulling them within three games of Atlanta in the NL East.
The White Sox also delivered another walk-off blast against the Mets. For the second straight game in the series, Chicago came to the bottom of the ninth tied and left with a win via home run.
Jake Rogers did it Friday night, and on Sunday it was Tristan Peters launching a Kodai Senga heater over the center-field fence, just out of reach of A.J. Ewing.
Chicago now moves into a key stretch against Texas, Minnesota, and Houston.
In Williamsport, Atlanta and Milwaukee closed out their series in the Little League Classic, and the Braves came away with a 4-2 victory. Tyler Mahle gave them five solid innings, and the bullpen had to work through some late pressure.
A Luis Lara RBI triple put the tying run at third in the bottom of the eighth, but Raisel Iglesias shut that down by retiring Gary Sanchez. Iglesias then had to escape another mess in the ninth after the first two runners reached, but he ended it with Jake Bauers grounding into a game-ending double play.
The Braves salvaged the finale and moved five games back of the Brewers for the best record in the NL. The league also announced that the Blue Jays and Cubs will play in next year’s Little League Classic.
In Other News...
Phillies Fans Just Got More Proof Their Broadcast Booth Is Special
A little more proof arrived this week that the Phillies broadcast booth still sits among the sports most respected. Awful Announcing ranked Philadelphia sixth in Major League Baseball after surveying nearly 10,000 fans, a nod that reflects the kind of steady appeal the booth has built on both TV and radio for years.
Tom McCarthy and Scott Franzke anchor the play-by-play work, with John Kruk, Ruben Amaro Jr., Ben Davis and Cole Hamels adding color that helps make the broadcasts feel as familiar as the ballpark itself. For Phillies fans, the ranking is less a surprise than a reminder of how rare it is to have a booth that draws this much praise from listeners and viewers across the board. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies May Have Found A Needed Answer For Their Overworked Staff
The Phillies added a familiar kind of safety net for an overworked pitching staff, signing former All-Star left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. to bolster their starting depth. Cortes is coming back from offseason surgery, so his path back to the majors will start slowly with the Low-A Clearwater Threshers as he builds toward game shape and sees where his arm is after the layoff.
For Philadelphia, the appeal is less about what Cortes is right now than what he could become once hes ready. The club has not announced a specific role for him, but the idea of using him as a swingman has real value, especially if he can give the rotation some much-needed rest over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Don Mattinglys Trea Turner Read Should Grab Phillies Fans Attention
Trea Turners season has not looked like the one Phillies fans are used to seeing, but he offered a reminder of what he can still do in the 12-3 win over the Cardinals. The veteran shortstop, in his 12th major league season and fourth in Philadelphia, has been working through a dip in batting average, yet Sundays performance fit the kind of production the Phillies have been waiting to see as they try to keep pace in the NL East.
Don Mattinglys comments after the game added another layer to Turners night, because they centered on the way he is approaching his at-bats rather than just the final line score. For a team that has climbed to 72-58 and sits second in the division, Turners rhythm at the plate matters well beyond one win, and the latest read from Mattingly is the sort of detail Phillies fans will want to keep an eye on as the stretch run sharpens. [Read more 🡒]