7/20/23

Well, I’ll give this as much effort as the Phils did against the Brewers; strong in the beginning, weak towards the end. Nola looked like the guy we needed all year (where have you been pal?) going 7 1/3 k’ing 6 and no walks. It’s his second start in a row without walking anybody but the previous start was in Miami and he blew up so I believe this is a sign of improvement. I’m no longer on the ‘trade Nola train’ because if/when we reach October, he is gonna be a vital part of this rotation. By the way, have to note the web gem by known elite defender Kyle Schwarber. Did not think he had the hops for that one! Game two was not great but at least they battled back, kind of. Strahm gave up the double to Contreras which was a total killer. I know it was Hoffman who was charged with the run but Strahm hasn’t exactly been shutdown lately. My guess is it’s due to the overuse in the beginning of the season when our 5th starter was nonexistent and we had to have a bullpen game and Strahm was the de facto starter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an at bat as weird as what Harper did against Milner. He looked like a high school kid facing a dude throwing 90 and too scared to swing the bat (been there). I heard it was said that he had inly faced Milner once before but that’s not a good excuse. You’re in the 21st century! Go look at video man! Hopefully we can bounce back against the Guardians.