Phils bounce back after a loss in return from ASG ’23

The Phillies have again bounced back after looking a bit on the bad side going into the All-Star break, losing to the Marlins in the two games preceding the break, then losing the first game after they were back on the diamond against the Padres on Friday night. It looked a bit on the bad side. Cristopher Sanchez got his 3rd loss on the season, he is 0-3 now, he gave up 2 HR and 3 ER on the night.

Well, this team is still unpredictable, following what they showed in 2022. The Phils take a doubleheader over the Padres on Saturday to again look like they might have a chance to make the playoffs. The Phils whipped up on the Padres in Game 1 on Saturday after losing the lead a couple of times during the game to finish on top, 6-4 in that game. Kyle Schwarber hit a 3-run HR in Game 2 of the doubleheader yesterday to help seal the Game 2 victory, 9-4.

So are the Phillies gonna be buyers for the trade deadline? A case for this could be the fact that the Phils are now 8 games over .500 at 50-42 and they appear to be on pace with last year’s team when on this date, the Phils were 48-43. So a case can be made that the Phils have a good possibility of making the playoffs. Should this team be bolstered? Nick Castellanos has put in an All-Star season so far this year, can he continue the great play that we’ve seen from him? Bryce Harper broke his homerless streak of 38 games during the doubleheader, believe it or not, this is the 5th season for Harper on the Phillies.

Ok, that being said about the good things about the Phils for the case to bolster this lineup. Now, the not-so-good. Trey Turner still hasn’t broken out of the funk that he has been in since the beginning of the year. On Friday night, he was lunging at pitches and just doesn’t look like a guy that signed a $300+ million dollar contract by the Phillies. $300 million for what? So, that in combination with a few other facts about this team are negatives for an ownership group, to again open their pockets to spend even more to try to produce a winning combination that is consistent.

It’s the Sunday game as I am writing this, and the game has started off in a rain delay although it looks like the game will be played. Can the Phillies end up winning this one? It would be great for them to win this series against the Padres. The Phillies will send Zack Wheeler to the mound, arguably the Phillies ace, 7-4 on the year.

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