Whatever: Astros 3, Phillies 2

At least the Phillies were competitive in this one. Unlike Tuesday night’s 10-0 hangover-induced massacre, Wednesday’s contest against the Astros was a close game, even if the Phillies’ bats weren’t too lively. The game ended up as 3-2 Phillies loss that meant little except to set their final regular season record at 87-74.

Bailey Falter got the start for the Phillies, but because he’s going to be used in relief in the playoffs, he only went one inning. After that came recent minor league call-up Michael Plassmeyer who pitched six solid innings, giving up three runs. Plassmeyer, who came from the Giants in a mid-season trade has done well in the minors since joining the Phillies’ system and might be viewed as part of the team’s rotation depth for 2023.

The Phillies’ lineup had most of the regulars in there, but for the first five innings, they didn’t do much except strike out against Astros starter Framber Valdez. And speaking of strikeouts, one Phillies hit a milestone today.

The offensive silence continued until the eighth, when the Astros brought in Phil Maton, who happens to be the brother of the Phillies’ Nick Maton. And sure enough, we were treated to a brother vs. brother showdown.

The Phillies scored two runs in the inning, but that was all they would manage on the day.

With game 162 in the books, I’ll say thanks to all our loyal readers for following along with us through both good times and bad! Thankfully, unlike the four previous seasons I’ve written for this site, the fun doesn’t stop here. We’ve got two more games to recap, and hopefully many more beyond that!

I’ll see you on Friday afternoon. Be sure to have your game faces on!