Power punch aplenty as Phillies open series against Yankees
Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge recently reached 350 career homers, not that the impressive milestones have kept their respective teams in first place of their divisions.
While Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies are in striking distance of first place in the National League East, Judge and the New York Yankees have some work to do in their quest at returning to the top of the American League East.
The teams clash Friday night when the Phillies visit the Yankees for the opener of a three-game series.
Since June 18, the Phillies have lost their grip only briefly, with the most recent happening Wednesday when they fell a half-game back of the New York Mets.
After the Mets beat the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies were unable to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Boston Red Sox and fell 9-8 in 11 innings.
Harper hit back-to-back home runs with Kyle Schwarber in the first inning to become the youngest active player to reach 350. He is hitting .323 (20-for-62) with five home runs and eight RBIs in 16 games this month.
The Phillies squandered a five-run lead when the Red Sox scored six in the fifth inning. The Red Sox had just three total runs over the first two contests of the three-game series.
'The offense was good tonight,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said after his team took its second loss in 18 games this season when scoring at least eight runs. 'The bullpen was good. That fifth inning was just a killer, that's all.'
The Yankees still are trying to regain the form that led them to a 16-4 run in May that gave them a 35-20 record and seven-game lead atop the AL East. Since May 30, they are 21-26.
New York is returning from a 3-3 road trip through Atlanta and Toronto after the break. After taking two of three from the Braves, the Yankees struggled defensively and lost twice to the Blue Jays. They trailed by four games in the AL East heading into MLB play Thursday.
On Wednesday, Judge hit his 37th homer and 352nd of his career, but the Yankees committed four errors in an 8-4 loss. The Yankees made seven errors in the series, including two by shortstop Anthony Volpe.
Jasson Dominguez, Jazz Chisholm Jr, Ben Rice and Max Fried committed errors resulting in a pair of unearned runs. It marked the third straight game the Yankees allowed at least two unearned runs and seventh time overall.
'We haven't been playing that well on defense,' Judge said. 'We've got a lot of things we've got to clean up.'
Said manager Aaron Boone: 'Giving them extra outs, whether it's through making an error or not making a play that we need to make, that's cost us in these two series up here. We've got to obviously tighten it up.'
An improved defense would help Yankees rookie right-hander Will Warren (6-5, 4.91), who is coming off his shortest outing since May 31. Warren last pitched on Saturday when he allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings before the Yankees rallied for a 12-9 win in Atlanta.
Warren's lone previous start against the Phillies was his major league debut in 2024 when he allowed four runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings at Philadelphia.
Right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75) will make his third start since rejoining Philadelphia's rotation. He is 2-4 with a 3.77 ERA in his 10 starts this season.
After allowing one run in four innings July 8 at San Francisco, he allowed three runs on nine hits in four innings during a 9-5 win over the Angels on Saturday. Walker is 2-4 with a 4.47 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees.--Field Level Media
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
11 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Red Sox sign rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an 8-year, $130-million contact
Article content BOSTON — The Red Sox signed rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract on Wednesday, spending some of the cash they saved by trading Rafael Devers away on a player they hope will be the centerpiece of the next generation of Boston stars. Article content The 21-year-old outfielder, who has 159 major league at-bats so far, is signed through 2033, with a team option for 2034. The deal was announced with the Red Sox on a seven-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals. Article content Article content 'We're playing such great baseball. I didn't want to be a distraction to anyone,' Anthony said in a pregame news conference attended by his parents and sister and teammates along with members of the ballclub's ownership, front office and coaching staff. 'But I knew that this is where I wanted to be, and I'm having a blast. And I just wanted to continue that.' Article content Article content Anthony is batting .283 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 46 games since making his debut in June. The team is 32-16 since his call-up, including a 10-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break and seven straight wins when he signed his deal. Article content 'This is a guy who was the No. 1 prospect in the sport. We've seen the impact that he's had on our major league team in just over 150 at-bats,' Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said. 'And so when we think about the future of this organization, there's no question that it got brighter today.' Article content Anthony's nine-figure deal, which includes a $30 million team option for 2034, buys out his five or six years of team control, and at least two seasons of free agency. He could still become a free agent at 30. Article content 'I don't know what the future holds, but I believe that I will be the best version of myself every single day,' said Anthony, who received a big cheer when he came to the plate in the first inning. 'It was a deal that was obviously more than enough for me and for my family and at a place that I want to be in.' Article content The Red Sox have struggled to hold onto their homegrown stars lately, trading away 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts when they couldn't sign him and then watching Xander Bogaerts leave as a free agent. The team appeared to break the trend when it signed Rafael Devers to a 10-year, $313 million deal in 2023; instead, it traded him away this season when he refused to change fielding positions.
National Post
11 hours ago
- National Post
Red Sox sign rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an 8-year, $130-million contact
BOSTON — The Red Sox signed rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract on Wednesday, spending some of the cash they saved by trading Rafael Devers away on a player they hope will be the centerpiece of the next generation of Boston stars. Article content The 21-year-old outfielder, who has 159 major league at-bats so far, is signed through 2033, with a team option for 2034. The deal was announced with the Red Sox on a seven-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals. Article content Article content Article content 'We're playing such great baseball. I didn't want to be a distraction to anyone,' Anthony said in a pregame news conference attended by his parents and sister and teammates along with members of the ballclub's ownership, front office and coaching staff. 'But I knew that this is where I wanted to be, and I'm having a blast. And I just wanted to continue that.' Article content Anthony is batting .283 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 46 games since making his debut in June. The team is 32-16 since his call-up, including a 10-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break and seven straight wins when he signed his deal. Article content 'This is a guy who was the No. 1 prospect in the sport. We've seen the impact that he's had on our major league team in just over 150 at-bats,' Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said. 'And so when we think about the future of this organization, there's no question that it got brighter today.' Article content Anthony's nine-figure deal, which includes a $30 million team option for 2034, buys out his five or six years of team control, and at least two seasons of free agency. He could still become a free agent at 30. Article content 'I don't know what the future holds, but I believe that I will be the best version of myself every single day,' said Anthony, who received a big cheer when he came to the plate in the first inning. 'It was a deal that was obviously more than enough for me and for my family and at a place that I want to be in.' Article content The Red Sox have struggled to hold onto their homegrown stars lately, trading away 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts when they couldn't sign him and then watching Xander Bogaerts leave as a free agent. The team appeared to break the trend when it signed Rafael Devers to a 10-year, $313 million deal in 2023; instead, it traded him away this season when he refused to change fielding positions. Article content The roster churn has led to just one postseason appearance in the past six years, as well as a feeling among fans that the team isn't willing to spend what it takes to compete for championships. Article content 'Yes, in the past when we haven't signed homegrown players, it's hurt,' team president Sam Kennedy said.
Canada News.Net
12 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Gavin Williams nearly records no-hitter as Guardians put away Mets
(Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images) Gavin Williams was two outs away from the Cleveland Guardians' first no-hitter in 44 years as the visitors took down the New York Mets 4-1 to complete the sweep on Wednesday afternoon. After striking out Francisco Lindor to open the bottom of the ninth inning, Williams' no-hit bid was spoiled when Juan Soto belted a solo home run to dead center. Williams (7-4) struck out six and walked four before he was removed after throwing 126 pitches over 8 2/3 innings. Hunter Gaddis recorded the final out for his second save of the season. Williams was attempting to become the first Cleveland player to throw a no-hitter since Len Barker tossed a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15, 1981, a span of 6,987 games. Williams was at 75 pitches through five innings, 89 through six, 97 through seven and 111 through eight. His season high was 109 pitches on May 26 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. David Fry and Angel Martinez each homered for the Guardians, who have won seven of eight. New York left-hander David Peterson (7-5) allowed four runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two in his first loss since June 27. The Mets have lost four in a row and eight of nine to fall out of first place in the National League East. Peterson sped through an eight-pitch first inning, but Fry jumped on a 1-2 fastball to lead off the second and homered deep over the fence in left-center field for a 1-0 lead. Steven Kwan singled up the middle on an 0-2 pitch to start the third for the Guardians. Martinez then turned on a slider and lined it over the fence in left for a two-run homer, snapping an 0-for-19 skid and giving Cleveland a 3-0 advantage. Carlos Santana walked with two outs in the sixth for Cleveland, and Gabriel Arias tripled into the right-center field gap to score Santana for a 4-0 lead. Williams knocked down a line drive back to the mound by Lindor in the first and then threw him out. He then caught a soft line drive back to him from Pete Alonso to end the walked Brandon Nimmo on seven pitches to lead off the second. While a wild pitch over the head of Mark Vientos moved Nimmo to second, the Mets stranded runners on the corners. Cleveland right fielder C.J. Kayfus made a diving catch off the bat of Vientos with one out in the seventh to keep the no-hitter intact. --Field Level Media
