Bryce Returns to the Bank—Series Preview: Red Sox at Phillies, May 5 – 7
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It is Philadelphia versus Boston weekend in sports, and two long awaited milestones will be hit tonight. Not only will the Sixers play their first home game in 18 days, but Bryce Harper will have his first home at-bat of 2023 after being sidelined for the first month due to Tommy John surgery. Harper returned to the Phillies’ lineup in the Dodgers series, going 3-7 in two games. Per reports, Bryce Harper will get extra time in his first at-bat to allow the fans to welcome him back to The Bank with a well-earned standing ovation.
This past offseason, the Red Sox’ front office made an attempt to deepen the organization, and so far in 2023, their 19-14 record reflects a vast improvement compared to their 78-win 2022 season. At the forefront of the Red Sox’ headlines is Masataka Yoshida, one of baseball’s most recent big international signings.
Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Corey Kluber were also picked up via the free agent market to bolster the Sox’ pitching. Adam Duvall and Justin Turner were signed to deepen the lineup, and the Sox traded left-handed reliever Josh Taylor to the Royals in exchange for speedy shortstop Adalberto Mondesi.
Duvall, 34, and Mondesi, 27, are both on the injured list coming into the Phillies-Red Sox series.
While Yoshida and Turner are having inarguably good seasons, much of the Red Sox’ current success can still be credited to their veterans, such as Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo. Despite his low batting average, Devers’ 11 home runs put him at the very top of the American League home run leaderboards, and he is also tied with Rangers’ Adolis Garcia for the most RBI in the AL. Verdugo boasts a .315/.382/.515 slash line through 32 games in 2023 but is not in the lineup for game one of the three-game set in Philadelphia due to the stomach bug.
Seasoned closer Kenley Jansen, who has been solid in his nine appearances this season, had minor back tightness the past few days but is fully available for the series, barring any further injury.
Here are three Phillies-related headlines ahead of the weekend series:
It is time for Alec Bohm to step up
Just like he did in 2022, Alec Bohm got off to a hot start at the plate, bringing in runs left and right and hitting for a high average consistently. However, as of late, Bohm has slowed down in the lineup, resulting in him dropping down toward the bottom of the lineup with the return of Bryce Harper. In his last 7 games, Bohm is hitting just .160. Even more concerningly, Bohm is slugging .236 over his last fifteen games played.
Bohm claimed to have added fifteen pounds of muscle in the offseason, which showed early on when he recorded seven total bases and homered on Opening Day in Arlington, Texas. Now, Bohm has not hit a home run since April 10—the first game of the Phillies’ fourth series of the season (today marks the eleventh series).
Amid his up-and-down start to the season, Bohm still leads the team in RBI with 23 and is slashing .269/.336/.403 in 119 at-bats.
Bench guys get opportunity under Friday night lights
With left-hander Chris Sale on the bump for the Red Sox in game one, Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson is giving Phillies’ left-handed hitters Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh the night off.
With that, Josh Harrison and Dalton Guthrie will start at second base and in centerfield, respectively, for the Phillies. Harrison is hitting just .209 in 17 games with the Phillies in 2023, but Harrison had a .278 average against the fastball in 2022, and Sale’s opponents are already hitting .341 against his four-seam fastball and .368 against his sinker.
Dalton Guthrie is making his first start of the season after being recalled from triple-A on April 29 after Christian Pache was put on the ten-day IL. In 14 games in 2022, Guthrie had seven hits in 21 at-bats but has yet to record a hit in his two plate appearances since being recalled. Guthrie is batting ninth in his first start of 2023.
Jeff Hoffman recalled from AAA, Marte optioned
Following the Phillies’ game-three loss in Los Angeles, the Phillies recalled right-handed reliever Jeff Hoffman from triple-A and optioned Yunior Marte back to Lehigh Valley. Between two stints in the big leagues in 2023, Marte allowed ten runs in five innings, with his most recent four-run outing earning him this demotion.
Hoffman struggled in nine innings with AAA Lehigh Valley, but he posted a 3.83 ERA with the Reds in 2022 and has seven years of major-league experience under his belt.
Game times and broadcasts
- Friday, May 5, at 7:05pm ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP
- Saturday, May 6, at 7:15pm ET on FOX, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP
- Sunday, May 7, at 1:35pm ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP
Pitching matchups
Game 1: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 3-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (LHP, 2-2, 6.75 ERA)
Game 2: Bailey Falter (LHP, 0-5, 5.01 ERA) vs. Corey Kluber (RHP, 1-4, 6.44 ERA)
Game 3: Taijuan Walker (RHP, 2-2, 6.91 ERA) vs. Tanner Houck (RHP, 3-1, 5.34 ERA)
The numbers
- Run Differential
- Phillies: -29
- Red Sox: 25
- Runs Scored Per Game
- Phillies: 4.28
- Red Sox: 5.91
- Runs Allowed Per Game
- Phillies: 5.19
- Red Sox: 5.15
Game coverage will be available on Philly Sports Reports’ Twitter page.
