Rise and Phight: 4/19/2022

Last night was a bummer. The Phillies have now lost 6 of their last 7, which is as poorly as they’ve performed in a 7-game stretch since June 2019, when they went on a 7-game losing streak.

Aaron Nola looked good, but the bats were stymied by Rockies starter Chad Kuhl, who threw six shutout innings for just the fifth time in his MLB career (which dates back to 2016).

It’s a battle of the Kyles tonight in Colorado, as Kyle Gibson takes on Kyle Freeland. Perhaps we’ll get our first glimpse of Kris Bryant in a Rockies uniform. He’s not the kind of player you ever want to see in an opposing lineup (i.e. he is good) but I’m still looking forward to watching him pla

My apologies for not posting Rise and Phight yesterday. As this blog’s resident Canadian, I forgot that Easter Monday is not a national holiday in the US. My bad.

Phillies news:

• Joe Girardi has announced that J.T. Realmuto will be the leadoff hitter going forward. Bryce Harper will hit second and Kyle Schwarber moves down to the five-hole so that righties Nick Castellanos and Rhys Hoskins will separate lefties Harper and Schwarber. Matt Gelb wrote about these adjustments on Sunday for The Athletic ($).
• Bryce Harper has a sore elbow.
• Mickey Moniak is doing his best to stay involved and support the team while he recovers from a hand fracture.
• What’s up with Zack Wheeler’s fastball velocity?
• Alec Bohm finally returned to third base for the first time since his 3-error game on April 11.

MLB news:

• I just like this title from MLB.com: “Option 1A for Mets is Alonso at DH, but he prefers 1B.”
• As much as I hate to say it, the Mets made a very smart baserunning play on the weekend.
• The Phillies have been struggling, but at least the Braves haven’t been too hot either.
• Longtime Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez, who first joined the team as a player in 1981, is stepping away to begin treatment for cancer.