Phillies series

[LA2]

25 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

You are always a downer and seem to revel in it.

Thus the moniker

[LA2]

41 minutes ago, Rbiggs2525 said:

I think it’s good we are getting two left handed starters. A good chance today to rest some players and play McCann, Mateo, Westburg, Mountcastle, Urias. Will need big night out of bullpen.

Urías has a clear reverse-split record--.778 / .668--over the 1020 PA of his career, but you're right, the O's seem to ignore it in their lineup contruction. 

Wd be a great time for Mountcastle to step up and compensate for the absence of O'Hearn in our contra-LHP lineups. He's been fine since returning from Norfolk: 7 for 22 with 3 doubles, but career-wise, he's 0 for 9 with a BB/2 K in the Phila. ballpark (he's never faced them in OPACY).

Mateo had better reassert his defensive advantage.

McCann being able to bunt near the bottom of the lineup restores what pitchers batting 9th or Belanger used to supply.

Edited July 24, 2023 by LA2

[maybenxtyr]

It's baseball so anything can happen, but this team has earned a bit of respect. I don't think they left so much on the field in Tampa that they can't manage to get it up for Philly. As always, 2 outta 3 for me.

[ORIOLE33]

I'm interested in seeing how the O's play in this series. The O's are one of the best in MLB, but they seem to have a little trouble with teams they're not as familiar with. 

[Just Regular]

This feels like a good series for Jordan Westburg to take care of that HR (1) thing.

[dystopia]

1 hour ago, FlipTheBird said:

This post is a lie. You are always a downer and seem to revel in it.

I don’t think I am. No more than anyone else on this board anyway. 

[Jim'sKid26]

15 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

This feels like a good series for Jordan Westburg to take care of that HR (1) thing.

Well, it looks like the wind will be blowing out to RCF tonight. 

https://ballparkpal.com/Parks/Citizens-Bank-Park.php

Might be an opportunity for an Oppo-taco?

 

[Billy F-Face3]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Tonight’s starter Cristopher Sanchez has kind of come out nowhere, posting a 3.06 ERA in 7 starts after pitching to a 4.35 ERA in AAA.  He’s been super stingy with walks, giving out only 6 free passes in 35 innings after walking 29 in 49.2 innings in AAA.   My sense is that this is a guy we need to be patient with, driving up his pitch count and seeing if we can’t get some walks.  Sanchez hasn’t thrown more than 87 pitches in a game, so it would be nice to keep him to 5 innings or less.

 

A Left Handed Pitcher (LHP) who is stingy with walks sounds like a good game to utilize Ryan Mountcastle. If our usual strategy of patience isn't going to result in walks, then it pays to have an aggressive guy in there like Mountcastle who can hit hit with some power.

[bluedog]

8 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

A Left Handed Pitcher (LHP) who is stingy with walks sounds like a good game to utilize Ryan Mountcastle. If our usual strategy of patience isn't going to result in walks, then it pays to have an aggressive guy in there like Mountcastle who can hit hit with some power.

I like the O's ability to bring in multiple quality left handed PHers late in a game once a lefty starter exits.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, DirtyBird said:

Do you have stats on our offense vs bullpens? It seems like we have not been doing much damage against them recently.

I don’t have any breakdowns for recently, but on the year the O’s have a .752 OPS against starters, .726 vs. relievers.   About 58% of our plate appearances have been against  starters, but 56% of our runs have been scored against them.  So, higher OPS but proportionately fewer runs scored off starters compared to relievers.  

[Pat Kelly]

Bats need to pick it up a bit in this series.  Good feeling about Mounty, either Westburg or Cowser goes long and Adley need to step up.  Again playing without Mullins hurts.  21st ranked offense since ASB.   Need to avg 6runs/game to win this series. 

[Moshagge3]

Keep the streak of not getting swept alive. Anything better than that is gravy. Yankees and Blue Jays are next so don't ride the bullpen too hard even with the off day on Thursday. 

[FlipTheBird]

3 minutes ago, Moshagge3 said:

Keep the streak of not getting swept alive. Anything better than that is gravy. Yankees and Blue Jays are next so don't ride the bullpen too hard even with the off day on Thursday. 

You play to win the game you're currently playing. There are certainly guys in the bullpen that need and will get rest, but the attitude of "these games don't matter because they're the Phillies" is foolish.

[interloper]

We got this. 

[Just Regular]

7 hours ago, Just Regular said:

This feels like a good series for Jordan Westburg to take care of that HR (1) thing.

Yeah, I'm self-quoting here!

Hat tip to @Jim'sKid26for the prevailing winds report and oppo-taco call.