The Phillies won 4/6 games during their home stand, sweeping the Pirates over the weekend. The sweep puts the Phillies just half a game out of first, which is huge, but other major storylines put a damper on the weekend.
The major news is that the Phillies are losing one of their top relievers in Jose Alvarado, for the majority of the season and playoffs. On Sunday, Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies announced that Jose Alvarado has been suspended for 80 games for the use of PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs). The drug he got caught taking is known as exogenous testosterone, which Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski said is related to a weight loss drug that Alvarado was on. Regardless, this suspension is going to be upheld and will also make Alvarado ineligible for the postseason.
So what do the Phillies do now? Truthfully, I have no idea. There aren’t enough solid bullpen arms available yet, despite the Phillies desperately needing bullpen help. The team has already needed to add one more high-leverage arm to the bullpen, and now will need to replace another high-leverage reliever. Once the trade deadline gets closer, everyone around the league should be expecting the Phillies to add another arm to the bullpen.
The biggest bright spot out of the bullpen this week was Jordan Romano, who has looked like a completely different pitcher over the last two weeks. After fixing a mechanical issue in his wind-up that was tipping his pitches, Romano has looked like the former AL All-Star closer he was just two years ago.
If Romano can return to form and Strahm and Kerkering can continue to have better seasons, the bullpen will be an improvement from the start of the season. However, losing Alavardo is going to be a major void that the Phillies will have to replace.
Bring Out the Brooms
The Phillies swept the Pirates over the weekend, giving them a record of 28-18 and reaching 10 games over the .500 mark. They finished off the sweep Sunday afternoon, beating the Pirates 1-0. Not only did the Phillies complete the sweep, but pitching prospect Mick Abel made his Major League debut. Abel was a 2020 first-round pick whom the Phillies have been very high on. Due to Aaron Nola being placed in the 10-day IL with an ankle sprain, the Phillies called up Abel.
Abel went head-to-head with Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who made his first start since announcing he will be pitching for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Skenes would throw 8 innings, striking out nine batters, and only allowing three hits and one run. That one run would be the difference, as Mick Abel pitched a gem in his debut. Abel threw six innings, giving up just five hits, and striking out NINE batters, tying a franchise record for strikeouts in a Phillies MLB debut.
The Race For First Place
The Phillies now have an amazing opportunity ahead for this upcoming week. They go on the road to Colorado to face a Rockies team that is currently 8-38 and by far the worst team in baseball. A four-game series with the Rockies before they had to Sacramento to take on the Athletics for a three-game weekend series. If the Phillies can once again win 6/7 or even 5/7, they have a chance to take over first place in the NL East this week. They are currently .5 games back of first place following the Mets losing the Subway Series this past weekend.
If the offense can keep it going and the starting pitching remains hot, then this team should be able to sweep a lowly Rockies team.
Predictions for the week: I was one win off last week after saying they would win 5/6 games, but I’m doubling down and saying they will sweep the Rockies and then take 2/3 from the Athletics. The Phillies will be in first place by next Monday.
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