Showdown of NL’s two best — Dodgers at Phillies, July 9 – 11

The Philadelphia Phillies return home for a three-game midweek matchup with the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and all-star Shohei Ohtani, following a mixed bag of a weekend in Atlanta.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber will be returning, too.

On Sunday the Philadelphia Phillies, and to a degree their MLB best winning percentage, received recognition well deserved this year. The team found out before the game that day that they had seven guys total (3 position players and 4 pitchers) selected to represent them at the 2024 All-Star Game, on Tuesday, July 16th from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, you can read more on the All Stars below. That is where the good news stopped Sunday for the Phillies, the Braves then proceeding to pound four home runs en route to a six nothing victory and a two-games-to-one series win. The Phillies were able to get to Max Fried Friday (6 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 4 K, 1 BB) while the Braves got to Philadelphia’s starters to the tune of 13 earned runs over 12 2/3 innings, Ranger Suarez (5 IP) and Michael Mercado (1 2/3 IP) each allowing five earned runs.

While this Dodgers/Phillies series may be missing some of baseball’s best for each squad, it is still a significant series for both teams, not only to show themselves as the NL alpha just before the break but to widen or narrow this 3.5 game gap depending who you’re rooting for.

The Dodgers come in having taken two of three versus Milwaukee, Will Smith‘s four home runs, three in one game Friday, helping to lead the way. The Dodgers have been getting a blend of contributions offensively this past week, with veterans Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez both hitting over .333 but combining with Ohtani for only three homers. Smith’s four home runs have been his only hits in the past week while Miguel Vargas has two homers, three RBI, and four runs to help out. On the mound, the Dodgers have been decimated by injury (Yamamoto, Kershaw, Buehler) but youngster Gavin Stone has been excellent and veteran James Paxton has helped stem the tide a bit with eight wins. Stone has pitched to a 9-2 record with a 3.03 era on the season while the near-36-year-old Paxton has a 7-2 record with a 4.24 era. Tyler Glasnow has given up five earned runs in three of his last 5 starts with two seven-inning performances (1 run, none earned) sandwiched in the middle.

The Phillies enter this series after being on the road for six straight, having taken 2 of 3 at Wrigley before losing 2 of 3 in the Braves series. With Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and JT Realmuto still on the mend, the other bigger guns in the lineup are trying their best though fighting an uphill battle. Turner hit two mammoth blasts against Fried Friday to propel the Phillies while Nick Castellanos has at least one hit in all but 3 games since June 17th (14 of 17 games). Philadelphia’s pitching, which was superb across the board earlier this season, has fluttered a bit recently leading to the team’s minor regression. Ranger Suarez has given up 11 earned runs in his last two outings combined while Cristopher Sanchez was responsible for seven earned runs in his most recent outing.

All-Stars galore

The Phillies had seven players selected for the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, two more than the previous high of five (Harper, Turner, Bohm, Suarez, Wheeler, Strahm, Hoffman)

Four are making their first All-Star appearance (Suarez, Bohm, Hoffman, and Strahm). Harper is making his 8th but 1st with the Phillies. Wheeler, surprisingly to me, is only making his second while Turner is his 3rd.

It is the first time ever the Phillies have had two relievers make the all-star team

Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Trea Turner were voted starters by the fans, the first time since 1982 that three Phillies infielders were all-star starters (Rose, Trillo, Schmidt)

It is the Phillies’ first SS/3B starting combo since Jimmy Rollins and Scott Rolen in 2002 while Bohm is the first Phillies third baseman to be elected a starter since ’02 according to CBS News.

Harper may not participate due to his hamstring strain while Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start right before against Oakland and may have to miss the game.