High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - FInal Out: Phillies Hang On To Sweep Rockies

Episode Date: April 18, 2024

Jack Fritz reacts to Kyle Schwarber hitting two home runs and the bullpen struggling to hold on to a 7-6 win over the Rockies on Wednesday night. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball Isn't Boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Swing and a pop-up. This should end it. Stott is out in shadow right calling for it. He's got it.

And the Phillies have got a three-game win streak. As they sweep the Colorado Rockies, they hang on for dear life in this one, 7-6 the final. Never a doubt. Welcome on in. It is the final out, sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you on this Wednesday night as the Phil's sweep, sweep the Colorado Rockies.

And it looks like we might get a Philly sweep tonight as the Sixers, after looking dead for a majority of the game, find a way to come back, and it looks like they're going to win. So a great, great, great night in Philly sports. To wrap up tonight, sponsored by Blaser Swiss Lube and Kravitz, the metalworking fluid specialists, providing professional CNC machine cleaning, coolant maintenance programs,

and waste coolant disposable, Kravits.online for more information. 215-592-9494 to get in and react to the game. Because it was one where, listen, it looked like a laugher. It was like, man, we haven't had a laughing game in a while. But unfortunately, it became a little bit too close. The biggest takeaways of the game brought to you by Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury firm. And big takeaway from the night, not all negative, but the first big thing I can't help but react to,

the last thing that we saw, which is a game that didn't need to be so tight, get tight. And where I'm kind of at is that this bullpen is not bad at all. It's one of the best bullpens in baseball. But the problem with really good bullpens and guys that have high-end stuff is that some nights they're not going to have it. And Gregory Soto is a guy who's been really good to start this year for the Phils. Didn't even come close to having it tonight.

Did not have his good stuff. Even Jeff Hoffman, who's been really good in those kind of situations. Coming in and cleaning up another guy's mess. He didn't have it either. I thought he got one of the hitters to 2-2 and really started trying to overthrow all this stuff and

added to an inning that was already kind of crumbling. They got out of it. They survived. They made it unnecessarily close. But overall, big takeaway from that is that this is a good bullpen that had a bad night. And Gregory Soto didn't have his good stuff. That's going to happen when you have a guy like Gregory Soto who is sometimes hot, sometimes cold. It's going to happen. So didn't need to be that tight. It was a laugher. Now let's get to the good stuff. Can anyone let me know where Matt and Bristol is?

I mean, Matt and Bristol called last night beyond fired up. You know, dropping F-bombs about Schwarber. They're never going to win anything with Schwarber out there. How he's completely holding the team back. What a waste of time. He's not going to hit 30 home runs this year.

He's talking about the trends, the trends, the trends. Anyone hear from him? Because Kyle Schwarber is my player of the game tonight. Sponsored by South Jersey Gas. Committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable natural gas. Make the switch at southjerseygas.com slash lovemyhome. Schwarber, two home runs tonight.

Good to see him get going from the long ball department. I know people have been loving singles Kyle Schwarber, but it was good to see him add in from the power department tonight. Listen, they go down 1-0 in the first. Bang there, Schwarber. I think that's the value in having Kyle Schwarber hit leadoff is he can

change the momentum of a game just like that. One swing of the bat, bang. And they win a lot of games when Kyle Schwarber leads it off with a home run. So that's the value. I mean, is there strikeouts? Is there not a super high batting average? Sure. But there's also a chance that he's going to give you a 1-0 lead or a 1-1 tie

or get you right back into a ball game in an instant. So Kyle Schwarber, my player of the game tonight. Trey Turner also. I mean, having a really good start to the year, I think his average is around 330 right now, which is great because obviously they paid him the big contract. He got off to a slow start to begin the year. And while it took a lot of infield hits to maybe get it going a little bit here, he's got extra base hits in five straight games.

In five straight games, he's got an extra base hit, smoked a home run tonight, and is really looking like the guy that they paid $300 million to, which is just great. Because early in the season when he was struggling, I was kind of telling and saying to people that this lineup just can't survive

if Trey is not Trey because they are pretty top heavy. And one of my big offensive takeaways so far is they really go as that big three goes. And whatever you want to make about Kyle Schwarber, to me, he's one of the three most valuable pieces to this offense. That's who Kyle Schwarber is to me. He's one of those guys where he's one of those valuable guys in the top of this lineup. Then you go Turner, then you go Harper. in the top of this lineup. Then you go Turner, then you go Harper.

Outside of that, JT has had a pretty good start to the year, but can I rely on him offensively? I think he's more of a cog to the wheel. I don't know if he's a main, main part of it, but he's a good hitting catcher. Boehm, not sure of. Stott, not sure of from the standpoint of, should they be in that big three?

I think they're important pieces to the lineup, but are they super, super difference makers? You know, Marsh set a good start to the year. It really, in watching them through the first seven or 20-ish games of the season here, it comes down to those big three. And when those big three are hitting, the offense is generally okay.

And the question is, is that good enough? Because man, I, it's, it is, it becomes a little volatile. You need some of those other guys to step up.

But when those three are clicking and firing on all cylinders, it's a really good offense. And then there's Chris Sanchez. My, my final big takeaway here before we get to the phones, which is great tonight. I mean, it's as simple as that. Actually, his changeup has been graded out as really, really good.

If you go by, now, Buzz, again, I don't want to break the WIP airwaves or break our transmitter out there, but by Stuff Plus, he's got the best changeup in baseball. Buzz, I know you're a huge, huge fan of Stuff Plus. I think that's one of the stats you can see on the out-of-town scoreboard now. Yes. Oh, great. Awesome. But, yeah, I'm so glad they have that instead of velocity. I'm glad they figured out a way to get velocity in there. They shoehorned that in.

But the changeup's really good. I actually thought the slider was the best we've seen so far this season tonight. Just was in total command. And it's funny because him and Ranger both kind of have the same feel to them where they're both lefty, both work pretty quick, both seem to not be rattled by anything.

Obviously Ranger has a bunch of competitive pitches and Sanchez really has that changeup that's an equalizer. But starting pitching this week has allowed one earned run in the entire series. of competitive pitches, and Sanchez really has that change-up that's an equalizer. But the starting pitching this week has allowed a one-earned run in the entire series. So it's been a really, really good run for this

Philly starting staff, and Christopher Sanchez definitely added to that tonight. 215-592-9494. If you're leaving the Phils game, we'd love to hear from you. We'll get to your phone calls, plus a bright spot in the lineup that's not one of the big three coming up next on the final out on Sports Radio 94 W94. If you're leaving the Bills game, we'd love to hear from you. We'll get to your phone calls, plus a bright spot in the lineup that's not one of the big three coming up next on the final out on Sports Radio 94 WIP.

Hey, fantasy football owners. The road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from Reception Perception. Join me and James Coe as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share, and all the metrics that matter, giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers.

As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. He winds up and is 1-2 on the way. Swing and a miss. He struck him out. There's 10 for Christopher Sanchez tonight to tie his career high. A 1-2-3-6 inning for the left-hander,

and we'll head to the bottom of the sixth. Phillies 5 and the Rockies 1. Welcome back. It is the final out, sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you. Reacting to a Phil sweep, a city sweep tonight as the Sixers take down the Heat tonight. And if you told me that in the first half, I probably would have said you were crazy.

So it was a good night down in the Philadelphia Sports Complex over at Citizens Bank Park and over at the Wells Fargo Center. So a lot to react to here on WIP. But, you know, the pitch count tonight is sponsored by the Plumbers Union. Local 690, protecting the health of the sponsored by the Plumbers Union Local 690, protecting the health of the nation. Visit Plumbers690.org. 97 pitches for Christopher Sanchez tonight, 10 strikeouts,

and again, this starting staff is just absolutely rolling right now. It's funny, the guy who's pitched the worst in the last turn through the rotation is actually Wheeler, and Wheeler's been, you know, utterly dominant so far this year. So, you know, Christopher Sanchez, he's one of those guys, when he gets on a roll, he can rattle off these 10-strikeout games. We've seen

that from him. And for your fourth starter, I think he's going to have, obviously, some starts where it's more four and two-thirds, four runs. I feel like Ranger, you don't really see him ever get lit up, lit up. I think Chris Sanchez could, but Sanchez also has a really high upside. And it's interesting because both Ranger and him, I feel like people question how high their upsides are, and they just go out there and pitch. And I think that's

the biggest difference between this Phil's rotation and a lot of the rotations around baseball and people will be like, well, why are the Phillies so high? Because these guys know how to pitch. They're a good mixture of stuff. You know, Wheeler has stuff. Nola has stuff. Ranger's funny because it's just all pretty good,

but he's so relentless. He's so old school in the way he pitches. You know, I think it's more his competitiveness that gets it out of him. Chris Sanchez has stuff. That slider's a weapon. The changeup is, again, one of the best pitches in baseball, if not the best changeup in baseball from a starting perspective. And turnball's been really, really good.

But they do a good job of mostly filling up the strike zone. They're not going to go out there and go four innings generally unless things go bad. It's a really good staff. They go five deep. Now, again, official position. Taiwan can take his time. Take your time, Taiwan. I'm enjoying this current rotation. So, either way, good stuff from Chris Sanchez

tonight. 100%, 97 pitches, 10 strikeouts. I guess a Rockies lineup that is feeble, but still, they escaped with a win tonight. 2-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. We'll get to another bright spot in the lineup here in one second. At first, Dave's in Maryland. What's happening, Dave?

Hey, Jack. Just a great job by the Panthers tonight. Could have been a tough first inning. You know, limited it to one. The bats got going. Just a great, great night. I'm not concerned about the bullpen. No.

I mean, Jeff Hoffman's usually good with the dirty inning, and he struggled tonight. But, you know, and Soto. Soto's the only one I really do get concerned about just because he can lose his command so quickly. Yeah, I guess the good part with that, Dave, is that it's not like they need him every night from a left-handed perspective. Like, Strom and Alvarado are pretty locked down at this point.

Yeah, absolutely. And just what the starting staff has done for the bullpen as far as rest. Now you have a day off, and everybody's kind of full rest into the weekend, you know, ready to go. I thought Rojas put some good swings on some balls tonight. We're just going to bring them up, yeah. And, I mean, it's frustrating that he can make it. You see him making adjustments and doing little things to, you know, try to get better.

But Castellanos is just so bad right now. I don't know what's going on there. Dave, I don't know if I've ever seen on April 17th or about 20 games into the season, a player with the same slugging percentage as batting average. For qualified hitters, he's the only one that doesn't have an extra base hit. It is crazy. Yeah, I mean, it's just, he just, I don't know.

I'm worried about, is he cooked? Or is he just, you know, is it just, you know, a bad stretch? But this is just, usually when he has a bad stretch, he runs into one, hooks one down the left field line for a double. But he just isn't doing anything. Yeah, I appreciate the call, Dave. This is a lot of first year Castellanos. This is what Castellanos looked like in that first year of the free agent contract.

And last year, bounced back. Still really up and down, but at least there were some highs. I mean, this is just lows on lows on lows. So Castellanos is not great, but Johan Rojas, you know, he looked so overmatched the first two weeks of the season. Slowly but surely, starting to maybe have the game slowed down for him. I'm not getting ahead of myself. I promise I'm not calling him the next Acuna. But smoked the ball of the wall tonight. Smoked the ball of the opposite field. Actually, he had some power behind it.

It wasn't like a little slap hit. Some encouraging stuff. Again, if he can just hit a little bit, it doesn't have to be a lot. Just be competent. Don't be an automatic out. Don't be a pitcher batting ninth. There's a really good player there. That defense is just, just special.

So Rojas starting to show some signs of life. Good to see Marsh get a hit tonight. Castellanos, though. Again, I just, at some point, point they gotta just put Pache out there to give him a little bit of a breather he's played every single game I get that you want you want to have him play through stuff but man it is just brutal

brutal right now thank god the top three have been doing their thing these last couple of nights 215-592-9494 we will close out the final coming up next your phone calls if you'd like to get in. Leaving the ball game. After that, obviously, Tom Kelly and Ashlyn

Sullivan, they got full Sixers reaction to get to with you as well. Play the game and we'll look ahead to this weekend coming up next on the final out on Sports Radio 94 WIP. Swarbrick rips it deep down the right side. Hooking in the corner. It is gone. It's off the facing of the second deck.

And it's a two homer game for Kyle Schwarber. He smoked that pitch. Yes he did. Welcome back, it is the final hour, sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you on this Wednesday evening. never look so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you on this Wednesday evening. That is our play of the game, sponsored by Mike's Amazing, the official mayo mustard of mayo and mustard

of the Phillies. I didn't want to think it was mayo mustard, because I don't think that could be a thing. But regardless, the mayo and mustard, because that one, listen, it made 7- 7-1 at that point, I guess. And had he not hit that, the Phillies might have lost tonight. So we'll go with that for our play of the game.

I promised Tom Kelly, I was going to get to my Threshers report, but I figured there's probably more important things to talk about. He didn't learn to go for a four today. So everything's fine. He's, he's out of the drought deal. So they,

it's a good weekend for the Philz. Obviously they just swept the Rockies. Rockies, one of the worst teams in baseball. Well, a team with somehow a worse record than them. The 3-15 Chicago White Sox are coming to town this weekend. Problem is, the guy they face on Friday night has been ridiculous. He's got the most strikeouts in baseball in Garrett Crochet.

So they got their work cut out for them. I know the White Sox stink. They're signing guys in the middle of the season. I guess not middle of the season, but early of the season to minor league deals that are just competent major league players. They stink. It's time to definitely take advantage of that. You got Crochet

versus Spencer Turnbull on Friday night. Mike Sirocco, the former Brave on Saturday against Zach Wheeler in a bounce-back spot for wheels. And Nick Nastrini on Sunday versus Aaron Nola. So you got two of the aces

and Spencer Turnbull. I mean, I guess Spencer Turnbull could be like the 2011 Joe Blanton to this rotation. Because once again, Taiwan, take your time. But still, the rotation is in such a groove right now.

Does it help? They're facing the Rockies, sure, but one earned run from a starting staff in a series is pretty damn good. This rotation, I think it's safe to say, is the best they've had since 11. If you want to go top

to bottom, just the whole pitching staff, I know they didn't have a good night tonight. This pitching staff might top them. So it's a really, really good staff. Good to see the bats come along a little bit, show some signs of life against some bad pitching. Still think it's very much dependent on the Schwarber, Turners, and Harpers of the world.

Everyone else, hopefully you can just step up and do a job in any single night. But still, it was a good series versus the Rockies. Good to get a sweep. Good to get three games above.500. They hadn't been three games above.500 last year until June 17th. June 17th, they weren't even above.500. Unbelievable. So they are officially Scorching

Obviously no leading off final tomorrow The Phillies are off but we'll be back Friday Reacting to it all But listen enjoy your night Go Sixers go Phils Enjoy Tom Kelly and Ashlyn Sullivan As they take you through the rest of the night Here on Sports Radio 94 WIP