High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Final Out: Phillies Win Their Fourth-Straight Game

Episode Date: June 7, 2023

Jack Fritz reacts to the Phillies' 1-0 win over the Tigers on Tuesday 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

uh-oh welcome on in it is the final out sponsored by regency furniture affordable never looks so good we're starting to find our rhythm here in the final out as soon as nick earnshaw has taken over from tucker Bagley, things have turned around. We found the correct Beatles song to celebrate wins. We are just starting to get on a roll as the Phillies are starting to find their rhythm as well. Welcome to the season. I'm not ready yet.

I have been flippant in the past of using the B word and saying and believing too hard in the Phillies. It's probably my biggest fault as a human being is that I believe too hard in the Phillies. And I am trying my damnedest to hold back from just jumping in off the deep end and believing in this team. I need the Dodgers series this weekend. Give me the Dodgers series. Give me good baseball.

I'm not asking for a split. I'm not getting out of hand. But I can be honest and say, listen, they're playing bottom feeder teams. The Nationals are a little scrappy. So, you know, I thought that was relatively impressive. I think this Tigers team is atrocious. Obviously, it's not A's bad. And frankly, I have no idea how the Tigers have the record they do.

They're definitely dealing some injuries. They're essentially going bullpen games in these last two. going bullpen games these last two there are definitely you can point to some things with the Tigers and the Nationals as reasons why not to

fully be pressing the B word yet but I'll say this it certainly feels like things are trending in the right direction welcome on in it is Jack Fritz hanging out here with you on Sports Radio 94 WIP. 215-592-9494 is how you get in if you're leaving the game. 36,000.

36,000 in there tonight. It wasn't a dollar dog night. They're not playing a top team on the schedule. They're playing the Tigers. And the Phillies have not played inspiring baseball. To get over 36,000 again tonight, it just goes to show you that the city hasn't given up on this team. And that makes my heart happy.

It really, really does. And if you're leaving the ballpark, we'd love to hear from you. Get in, 215-592-9494. Or if you watch at home like I did and did not go and sit in the ballpark. We'd love to hear from you. Get in. 215-592-9494. Or if you watch at home like I did and did not go and sit in the wildfire infested air down at Citizens Bank Park. I mean, that was insane. That was insane. It was even worse up in New York.

I mean, damn Canadians. What are we doing, Rob Thompson? So here are my big takeaways from tonight. One is obviously Tylan Walker, who is our player of the game, which is brought to you by South Jersey Gas. Committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable natural gas. Make the switch at southjerseygas.com slash lovemyhome. Heated no-hitter into the fifth tonight.

So, you know, Phil's heating up in the no-hitter category. As long as Scott Franski doesn't jinx him. You know, do us a solid there, Scott. At least give us some hope. Don't put your hex on it early in the games. But regardless, Tywin Walker was really good tonight. There was points

where against a better offense, they'd probably take advantage. There was a couple situations, runners on base, one out, that he was able to get out of, and credit to him for doing that. But when he started evaluating his start against better teams, better teams probably execute more in those situations. But it's clear some of the adjustments that he worked on in his bullpen sessions

after the Mets start clearly helped. I mean, the fastball had more life to it. He's up to 95. He even was touching 96 in the seventh, which I didn't see happening, which is a good sign. That was the hardest he had thrown all year, up from 92. I guess they were working on making sure he can get into more of a rhythm. He felt too stiff in the Mets start,

and that's why he felt like he couldn't fully unleash his fastball. But either way, the fastball being up to 95 is a good sign. You can't just be a splitter guy. You're a starter. It's a really good pitch. It's something that I think is tough for major league hitters to consistently hit. He got a lot of strikeouts on it tonight. But you can't just be predictable.

And the fastball, the life that it had, it definitely made it harder for hitters to sit on the splitter. And I just think that when you're talking about tunneling stuff and you're talking about making it tough on a hitter when you don't have a wipeout slider or a wipeout curveball, he has to rely on a little bit of rise in that fastball and throwing a splitter to the same spot and letting it fall off the table. That is the recipe to success for Tylan Walker. So the adjustments worked.

He was throwing harder. The split worked better. I like that. I like that right now you're starting to hear stories about the Phillies coaching staff, the Phillies biomechanics behind the scenes helping these guys. Trey Turner, he didn't get a hit tonight, but he smoked a couple balls. Seems like he is climbing out of this after his big night last night. Tywin Walker, they worked on stuff on the bullpen to get him to throw a little bit harder.

So you're starting to see the coaching staff get their fingerprints on this thing. And that's important when you're talking about digging yourselves out of a six games under 500 kind of hole they've been. But Tywon Walker, the adjustments worked. It's interesting with Tywon because the narrative around him is traditionally he's been up and down, been inconsistent, don't know what you're getting. And generally I feel that way. I don't think he's been up and down, been inconsistent, don't know what you're getting. And generally, I feel that way. I don't think he's been terrible. I think he's been hit or miss, but I definitely don't really have a great idea what I'm going to get when he goes out there.

But I will say this, last four starts, he has a 235 VRA. So obviously it's a four game sample size. I get it. But still, that's a good sign, and hopefully he can get on a little bit of a roll here. And we were talking about the starters in general. Ranger on Sunday, seven innings, one run. Nola ties a career high yesterday. Technically, no earned runs, even though we know what happened with the Nick Maton home run. But seven innings, no earned runs for Aaron Nola last night. And then Tywin Walker tonight, seven shutout with his season high in strikeouts. So that's a really good sign.

Get the starting staff rolling here, and you kind of shore up the one big question mark you had about them when you're evaluating if they can climb out of this. And I think getting those three rolling, Wheeler tomorrow, which should be a get-right start, get those starters rolling, and you'll see this thing start to turn. And my second big takeaway from the night is I know that there's probably going to be some reaction of like, oh, my gosh, the offense,

they went back to being inconsistent. Dude, that offense tonight was fine. They smoked some baseballs. I mean, there was three that I thought should have gotten out. The wind was blowing hard left to right. They kept some balls in. They were hitting some balls into the gap that I thought should have been down. But Akil Badu made a great play.

The second baseman made a great play. I'm just saying I'm not worried about the offense because they scored one run against the Tigers tonight. It should have been way more. It should have been way more. And I know they had to deal with the clouds overhead or whatever and the wind and the Tigers all of a sudden having gold gloves all over the field. Not worried about the offense.

I still think that they are trending more in the right direction. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94 is how you get in. Tommy is in Abington. What's happening, Tommy? Yeah, how are you tonight? I'm on the radio now. Just real quick. You know, it's great that, like, you saw the Phillies win.

They played tough. I thought it was a pretty solid game. A little concerned that they didn't move the runners three leadoff runs, leadoff singles, leadoff get on bases for like a couple innings straight. And, you know, they played smart baseball, no errors, tight game, you know, held the lead. I mean, they looked good there. The other thing that was a little nuts, I thought, was that, you know, the pitch clock is great. The game is fed up. But then you spend an hour trying to get out of the, you know,

trying to get out of the place in the lot. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Now, did you feel like it was too fast in being there? I know it was like two hours and seven minutes. Did it feel a little too quick? No, I didn't feel it was too quick. I mean, the whole thing for me is the pitch clock is like they want to make

baseball a good product. I mean, maybe, I don't know it was too quick. I mean, the whole thing for me is the pitch clock is like they want to make baseball a good product. I mean, maybe, I don't know what I'm talking about, but maybe they didn't take into account that, like, getting to and from the ballpark is part of the experience, too, you know? Yeah, I guess they just can't, you know, fix that with the pitch clock. They kind of got to, you know, take it one thing at a time. And what is interesting is that I've heard a good amount of people say well when you go to the games it feels a lot faster and it did i was that opening day it felt pretty fast um but at the same time like they're they're cutting out a lot of the fat from the game

and i think it's just gonna be an adjustment for everyone involved and if it keeps in your seat instead of going out and and waiting in line for, then so be it. I mean, that's kind of the thing you give up. So, yeah, it was a fast game tonight. I mean, over in two hours and seven minutes. And that was a game that started three minutes late. So, yeah, it was definitely a quick moving one. But either way, Phil's win. I know it was only 1-0.

I know it was the Tigers. I felt like they hit a lot of balls hard. Not worried about the offense. And Tywin Walker was great. 215. I know it was the Tigers. I felt like they hit a lot of balls hard, not worried about the offense, and Tywin Walker was great. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. If you want to get in here on the final out on the other side, a major positive for this team recently and how it's going to get even better. What is that?

We'll get to that coming up next here on the final out. As Alexander deals, and the pitch is lifted high and deep. Right field. Going back. McKinstry, he's looking up at the wall. It is gone. Leadoff. Home run for Kyle Schwarber.

His first of the year. And it's 1-0 Phillies here in the bottom of the first. Ah, yes. Nothing more reliable than June Schwarber. Welcome on back. That is our play of the game, which is brought to you by Mike's Amazing. Presented by Mike's Amazing, the official mayo, mustard, and vegetable oil of the Phillies. It is the final out, sponsored by Regency Furniture.

Affordable, never looked so good. And, yeah, I think June Schwarber is probably the best bit in Philly sports right now. It just makes no sense. All of a sudden, the calendar flips, and bang, Schwarber's hit the ball bit in Philly sports right now. It just makes no sense. All of a sudden, the calendar flips and bang, Schwarber's hit the ball out of the ballpark again. I would like for it not have to wait until June. I don't need 165 in the first two months of the year. We can hit the ball out of the ballpark before that.

And he did have 13 before heading into June. But still, I mean, come on, man. So either way, uh, we'll take it. If he ends up with 46 home runs again, it's fine, but it is just,

it's, it's like clockwork. And I don't remember this really happening with any other athlete in Philly sports where it's just like they dominate one month. It's just one month. And obviously that we know the, the, the famous nicknames of like Mr. October and Mr. November and this stuff.

But we got Mr. June. So whatever. We take it. So I teased about the major positive for this team that has been happening recently. And the major positive is that Kimbrell and Sir Anthony, since Alvarado won the IL on May 10th, Kimbrell is allowed two earned and Sir Anthony has allowed one earned run. So both of those guys are pitching at a high level. I think Soto, I trust more than I don't. Strom is now back in a bullpen role. They're skipping the bullpen game this time around, which is interesting and a pretty

good sign. I know Dave said on the pregame show that Bailey Falter could be in line to come back up and be that fifth starter. We'll see. But regardless, with those guys rolling and with Alvarado probably getting

activated on Friday, this bullpen, I know for years the running joke was always about the Phillies bullpen and how much of you can't trust them and dumpster fire this, dumpster fire that. And they did have the worst bullpen ERA in the history of baseball in one of these last couple seasons. So we've seen the worst of the worst. But on paper and the way these guys are pitching, thank God Sir Anthony has kind of

turned a corner here because he was so up and down to begin the year. It was funny. It felt like we don't give him the same excuses that we give Nolan Wheeler about pitching late into the year. It seems like he is right of the ship here. He's been on

a little bit of a roll, but with Alvarado and he did allow, I think, two earned up in Reading tonight. So that's shocking, giving his double-eight baseball. I hope that it's just like going out and getting working, and it's obviously not game-planned or anything. But either way, when you get him back on Friday, and what I think is so important about the Kimbrell development here is that now Kimbrell can be your set closer.

And I know that's been something they've shot away from, but when you have a guy with 400 plus saves back there that is pitching at that kind of level again, just let him be the closer. We don't need to jostle him around and put him in the seventh or eighth. Just let him go close out baseball games. But instead of having to use alvarado to get your last three outs now you can use alvarado in the sixth seventh eighth wherever the kind of pocket in the lineup where you need to get it out and you hope you can get it out like alvarado now becomes even more valuable where he's not relegated to closing out games. And he has shown the ability. It's not like you're putting him into a new role.

Now he's the fireman. And you have him, you have Sir Anthony, you have Soto. Like, that is three guys that it's just going to be hard if they do get leads, and they should, for teams to come back against them, especially with the way Kimbrel's pitching right now. So it's a massive advantage for this team. And I just, to be completely frank, I'm shocked at what Kimbrell's doing

because he was left off the Dodgers postseason roster last year. I know he always still kind of threw hard the last couple years, but the stuff didn't pop the way that it did early in his career. This is what he looked like for a majority of what those 400-plus saves were racked up like. I mean, fastball rising again. Even like if he throws to the top of the zone, they're swinging at it, even though it's going right out of the zone. I mean, that is some serious rise on the fastball.

The knuckle curve he's getting over for strikes. So, you know, if you look at Craig Kimbrell's career numbers the last I don't know, since like 2017, it's usually one great year, down year. One great year, down year. One great year, down year. And maybe we're just getting

one of those great Craig Kimbrell years because it is, I mean, he looks nasty. Hasn't blown a save yet. So, yeah, just excited for Alvarado to get back. Hopefully the Redding thing was just a mirage and they can get him back rolling and being Jose Alvarado again. But either way, this bullpen has a chance to be absolutely lights out. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94.

Jake is in Cherry Hill. What's happening, Jake? Hey, just coming off of the game here. My throat's a little scratchy from all the smoke. Yeah, I mean, what was it like? What was going on down there? I mean, I didn't even

realize until I got back in the car, but it was a little windy for a while. Started to sprinkle rain a little bit, but wasn't stopping the fields from getting to... I don't think I've ever seen as many warning track balls. That was kind of crazy. I thought they had three homers tonight, Jake.

I thought... That's a home run. Obviously, it's a home run, and they just stayed in, and that's obviously why it was only 1-0. And from my... I was sitting behind a visitor and tuck out, and, you know, you kind of feel like an idiot standing up for every single one. But, I mean, they were close.

Totally. Totally. Yeah. And I just – it's why I'm not, like, super worried about the offense. Like, I know that there's this, like, worry meter with the offense sometimes. They're so inconsistent. I thought they had pretty good approaches tonight and they should have had more runs than they ended up having. Just thank God that they were able to

hold on to a 1-0 lead because that's not something we have been accustomed to seeing with the Phils. Walker was looking good. He really was. It's good to see him. Last couple games, he's been pretty solid. At the end that night,

Kimmel coming out and just shutting it down. I'm actually one of the reasons I was at the game. Good friends with the number 59 there, Zach Short, that strikeout at the end. He made a nice... It did kind of hurt. I also felt like Nittie.

I was the only guy rooting for the one, only one single Detroit player, and then the rest was for the Phillies. But it was a good game. Very fast game, but a good game to go to on a random Tuesday. Yeah, for sure. I appreciate the call, Jake. I mean, again, 36,000 people there tonight. So people are still coming out.

I mean, I think they're the second best attendance in baseball this year. So it's a good sign that people are still coming out. I did think it was funny that Zach Short was playing second base. You know, if your name is going to be Zach Short, just let him play short stuff. 215-592-9494 is how you get in on the final out. On the other side, I will run through all of your phone calls and we'll look ahead to tomorrow before handing

things off to Jody Mac. All of that is coming up next here on the final out. Welcome on back. It is the final out sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable, never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you for the next couple of minutes before handing things off to Jody Mac. He'll take you through

the rest of the night. And real quick, like non-Philly's thing, before we get back to Jody Mack. He'll take you through the rest of the night. And real quick, like non-Philly's thing, before we get back to everything on the game and your phone calls. I mean, Luis Arias is batting over 400 on June 6th. And obviously, I think the closest that we've kind of gotten to this was, well, Maurer did it for one year. He was semi-close. But like Gwynn in 94, I guess, before the strike-shortened season.

So, you know, of all the – so I've always believed in the unbreakable records of baseball. I always felt like 56 games was possible. 400, I would be really surprised if someone could hit it again. But I-Rise is like the perfect guy to do it. I mean, he doesn't hit for a ton of power. He's up there looking for base hits. I know he doesn't play every game at Marlins Park, but he plays 81 of them at least. And I mean, talk about a perfect kind of ballpark built for the ability to do this.

So I've long thought baseball needed one of these kind of streaks to get people into it and caring throughout the summer and something that can kind of get people talking about the sport in a positive way. Even though I'll say this, I think the discussion around baseball has changed a lot with the new rules. You don't hear as much complaining.

The lazy sports radio hosts, they can't do the whole, like, ah, baseball is dead and, oh, the games are so boring and, oh, they can't do the whole, like, ah, baseball's dead, and, oh, the games are so boring, and, oh, they don't move along very well. So that's pretty much been taken out. And I think that having a nice little streak is something that I think would get casual people checking in on. I guess the unfortunate part is that he's a Marlin. You know, if he was a Yankee or if he was in the Northeast kind of power machine of media machine, you'd be

hearing a lot more about it, but he's unfortunately in Miami, but still it's definitely something to keep your eye on. June 6th Luis Iriz still batting over 400. I've loved him for a couple years now. He's been a professional hitter for a little bit.

Man, 400 is something I never thought we'd see again. It's been a professional hitter for a little bit. Man, 400 is something I never thought we'd see again. It's cool to see a guy at least trying for it. 215-592-9494. Let's go back to the phones. Nick is in New Jersey. What's happening, Nick? Hey, Jack. How's it going? It's going great, buddy. It's going great.

How are you? I'm great. What more can I ask for? I'm on the phone with the great Jack Fritz after four straight Phillies wins, you know? Never a doubt either. It's not like everyone was jumping ship last week. Everyone stayed strong with this baseball team and believed they were going to pull it through.

Yeah, absolutely. I just want to talk about the expectations for this team. You know, the expectations we had going into the season that they're going to be a World Series contender. I don't want to be a wet blanket. This has been a great five games, I would say. But you said at the top of the show that you don't

expect a split with the Dodgers this weekend. And that bothers me. I hope they can take two or three. I didn't expect a sweep, I think I meant to say. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah, just like I can't expect a sweep with the Dodgers. I think it's asking a little bit too much. I would I meant to say. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yeah, just like I can't to expect this sweep of the Dodgers, I think

it's asking a little bit too much. I would take 2-3 and I think 2-3 would definitely get people believing more, obviously, than beating up on the Tigers and Nationals. No, that's fair. Sorry, I thought it was a four-game series, but yeah, I just think this team has the potential to play great and I want them to live up to that

potential. I don't want to sneak into the playoffs, although with the season running out, that might be what has to happen. But I want this team to live up to their potential and play great against great teams. Yeah, and Nick, that's been the unfortunate part at the beginning of the season. It's like, yeah, they're only a couple games out of the wild card. They're under.500. They're starting to play better now. But what I had envisioned for this summer was a lot like the summers of of 9 10 11 where it's just like great baseball night in night out and like winning 90 plus games rather than winning

high 80s now there's a lot of games left i still think there's over 100 left so um they should like there's plenty of time to kind of right the ship here. But, yeah, I'm with you. Like, it's disappointing that we're kind of having to do the same thing they did last year over again. Like you said, plenty of time to turn it around, but I don't want to be embarrassed on national TV Sunday night baseball. I want it to be competitive. I don't want to get swept by the Mets.

You know, I'm still frustrated, but I'm excited to see that they might turn it around. Yeah, I appreciate the call, Nick. And, yeah, that Mets series was disheartening. And a couple of these last couple of series have definitely been disheartening. And the way they've played has definitely given you some life, I think. But they still have to go out and beat some better teams before I think a lot of people are fully back in and fully

invested. It's great to see the ballpark filled up. That's awesome. That makes me happy. But to kind of rid themselves of the conversation of have they turned a corner? Are they on their way to getting back to playing good baseball? They still need to prove a lot from that standpoint. playing good baseball. They still need to prove a lot from that standpoint. All you got to do at this point is keep racking up series wins. Tomorrow's a chance to go for a sweep.

Zach Wheeler on the mound versus Reese Olsen. Again, I've never heard of Reese Olsen. Looking at the numbers, he had a 638 ERA AAA. That was in 10 starts. That's AAA. Now the big leagues. He had one start.

His ERA in the bigs is 3.8. So I expect the Phillies to go out tomorrow and get a job done, especially with Zach Wheeler on the mound against that Tigers lineup that I don't think is going to get an influx of talent before tomorrow. So Zach Wheeler tomorrow. And I know he wasn't great against the Nationals on Friday, but I do think there was a good amount of bad luck in that game as well.

Some bad defense, and some bleeders that kind of fell in, so I expect Zach Wheeler to bounce back tomorrow night and be back to how he was pitching before the Nationals start, but either way, you know, everyone heads into series and they say,

just take 2-3. You've got to sweep tomorrow. Just sweep, end it, and head into the Dodgers series feeling really confident and riding a good high. But tomorrow, that's not a game you should lose. It's not a game you should lose at all. And then this weekend, it's interesting.

They skipped the bullpen game. So we get Ranger Nola and Tywin Walker this weekend. So obviously not they skipped the bullpen game so we get ranger nola and tywin walker this weekend so obviously not having zach wheeler stinks but they are throwing three of their better pitchers and three guys that have pitched really well recently uh ranger seven innings one run on sunday coming off of his good outing before that so he's getting into a rhythm nola seven innings zero earned runs um and tied for career high in he's getting into a rhythm. Nola, seven innings, zero earned runs, and tied for a career high in Ks. Obviously, Tywon Walker, really good

tonight. 235 ERA in his last four starts. Getting those four rolling. Zach Wheeler, hopefully he can keep it rolling tomorrow. One phone call before handings off to Jody Mack. Dave is in Maryland. What's happening, Dave? Hey, what's up? Big week tonight.

Just got to get the job done.. Dave is in Maryland. What's happening, Dave? Hey, what's up? Tonight, you know, just got to get the job done. I love the bullpen, the way they're kind of rounding in shape. Even the guys like Vasquez, Marte, Hoffman, they're doing a job and kind of giving Thompson some extra options to close games out.

Tonight, obviously, Kimbrell was unbelievable. That's the difference between this bullpen and the last couple years. The last couple years, they would have Sir Anthony, or they would have one guy that you trusted, and then everyone else was a big kind of question mark. I mean, right now, the guy that is a question mark is Brogdon. I think Marte is probably still more of a question mark than a solid.

Hoffman's just been such a revelation. I mean, Jeff Hoffman, I think, is someone that smart teams would have figured out and turned into a stud, and I'm just happy that it's the Phillies, and they've turned the guy with the big stuff into a real weapon for them. And I assume as we go along here and we roll through the middle of summer that Hoffman's probably going to start getting more high leverage spots. Yeah. Another point, and I'll let you go on this one.

I was at the game last night, and 640 start, love it. Pitchcock, great. Is there a reason the Phillies are only letting fans in like an hour and five minutes before the game? It seems like it used to be that you can come watch some batting practice. When you get in, batting practice is over. Part of the ballpark experience is over. And, you know, the games being shorter are great.

But some people do like to go to that, you know, atmosphere before the game. Yeah. Well, it's great for kids. I mean, it's great for kids too. Yeah. I wish I had an answer for you, Dave. I honestly just don't have an answer. I don't get down to games like an hour before usually.

But, yeah, I'm sure they have the reason. And, again, tomorrow, games at 6.05, because, like I said, the post-game concert. So 6.05 to start tomorrow. Zach Wheeler versus Reece Olsen. Marks and Reece, we will have you covered for leading off. I will have you for postgame in what should be, should be, a series sweep against the Detroit Tigers.

That's going to do it for me tonight. Here on the final out, coming up next, Jody Mack. He'll take you through the rest of the night here on Sports Radio 94 WIP.