The Show 20 Phranchise Episode 5

If you didn’t log in to the Twitch stream on Sunday evening, you owe yourself an apology.

A big thank-you goes out to those that joined us for the stream (roughly a dozen people over the course of the game) and in the comments section. Frankly, this game continues to impress me. The fans are very lifelike (you can hear them jeering the umpires, rallying the team, and heckling the opponents), the dugout celebrations are entertaining, the managers are calling out signals from the dugout, players are chatting each other up, and catchers are settling down their pitchers from behind the plate. The game has a ton of tiny details that bring it to life. Even the concessions prices are accurate:

That being said, it was also an AWESOME game, with one viewer stating “I’m genuinely on the edge of my seat” after a clutch extra-inning base hit. Do yourself a favor and join us next time!

Speaking of next time, since most of us just had our calendars cleared until May due to extended social distancing guidelines, we’ll go ahead and air games more often (hey, you’ve got nowhere to be and neither do I). The next Twitch broadcast will be on Wednesday, April 1^st (no foolin!) at 7 PM Eastern as Zach Wheeler (2-0) takes on Yu Darvish (1-0) from The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field.

“But Dan, it’s not the same” you say as you watch Roy Halladay burn through the same lineup for the sixth time this week. That’s fair. Make it realistic for yourself if it’ll help you feel like you’re there; sit in your car on your driveway for an hour like you’re in traffic, miss a few innings while you cook up some hot dogs, and ask your significant other to walk around the house with a cooler yelling “Beer here!” and tell them “Change is yours” while you slip them some Monopoly money in exchange for a lukewarm brew.

Creativity is key in these troubling times, my friends.

4/17/2020: Phillies 6, Marlins 5 (F/11); W: David Robertson (1-0), L: Sterling Sharp (0-1)

This was one heck of a total-team effort to pull out the W. Nola struggled early and left the game with the good guys trailing 3-0, but the bullpen stepped up and the bats came alive after Didi‘s 5^th inning solo shot (6). He would homer again (7) in the bottom of the ninth to force extras, which is where the fun really started. Adam Morgan got into trouble in the top of the 10^th and an unexpected suicide squeeze from Jonathon Berti put the Fish ahead, but a Realmuto sac fly in the bottom half extended the game. David Robertson came in for a shutdown inning in the top of the 11^th and Jean Segura drove in Roman Quinn with a two-out base knock to send the fans into a late-night frenzy. Check out the photo gallery from the broadcast game!

4/18/2020: Marlins 4, Phillies 3 (F/11); W: Ryne Stanek (1-0), L: Roberto Osuna (1-1)

There’s nothing better than free baseball… Except winning. We only got one of those two things in this outing. The Marlins capitalized on 16 hits and were able to push across the winning run against Osuna in the top of the 11^th as Steckenrider stepped in to close the game out.

4/19/2020: Phillies 6, Marlins 2; W: Jake Arrieta (2-1), L: Pablo Lopez (1-4)

The bats were loud today, y’all. Gregorius (8), Harper (5), and Realmuto (5) all went yard to propel Jake Arrieta to his second win on the season. He went 7 strong innings giving up just 2 runs and the bullpen stymied the Marlins to secure the win. It seems like Arrieta may have turned a corner! The Phillies end the series 1.5 games up on the Fish for first place in the N.L. East.

4/21/2020: Rangers 6, Phillies 4; W: Mike Minor (1-0), L: Zach Eflin (1-1)

The Phillies struggled against a poor Rangers team coming off of an off day as the Rangers pushed across 4 runs in the first 3 innings to give themselves a solid cushion. Kingery legged out two triples while Cutch (3) and Hoskins (5,6) each had a great day at the plate, but it was too little too late as Eflin’s hole was too big to dig out of.

4/22/2020: Phillies 7, Rangers 2; W: Spencer Howard (2-1), L: Kyle Gibson (0-3)

That’s more like it! Spencer Howard got plenty of run support as McCutchen homered in his second straight game (4) with Kingery and Haseley each adding RBIs of their own. Howard lasted 7 innings giving up just two earned runs and Peacock gave up just one hit in the final two innings to secure the rookie his second win on the young season.

Let’s take a quick look at the stats through roughly 25 games:

The Phils go into the next roadtrip a game up in the N.L. East as they prepare to face the Cubs (11-14) and the Giants (12-14).

Be sure to join us for our next Twitch stream on Wednesday night, and keep throwing suggestions in the comments!