Rise and Phight: 5/3/2021

The Phillies planted the seeds of their own demise last night. Inning after inning the defense gave the Mets extra opportunities. Sometimes the plays were routine gaffes (like Bohm’s on the slow grounder) and sometimes they were plays winning teams make (like Hoskins on the line drive) and sometimes they were completely forgetting the game state (like Hoskins flipping the ball to Maton). When a team strews this many gratis runners, plate appearances, and bases, it will uproot their best pitching from the game earlier than necessary and eventually harvest many runs against. Perhaps the Phillies should let that field lie fallow and demand a new strain of seeds from their agricultural corporate overlords.

Phillies news:

• Leo does his best Benoit Blanc impression in recapping last night’s felony.
• Jose Alvarado has been suspended for inciting the bench clearing incident on Friday night. He’s appealing.
• Another run-down of prospects as the MiLB gets underway. This one has official placements($).
• That beanball is seared into Harper’s brain($).

MLB news:

• Jesus Luzardo is the first known player to hit the IL for a rage quitting injury.
• David Laurila’s Sunday Notes is always a pleasant potpourri of baseball.
• Itching to do a deep dive into park factors? Baseball Savant has you covered.

Now let’s all remember that the season is still early and the bizarre things like the Mariners being over .500 won’t last.