Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) No Howard? No Utley? No Victorino? No problem! The Phillies haven't seemed to miss a beat as they enter a three-game series tonight against the Metropolitans. Coming into play Friday, the Phillies have won three-straight and 12 of their last 14. Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz are pitching in with timely hitting, and reserve back-ups like Ross Gload and rookie Domonic Brown have come up big in the clutch. Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.86) gets the nod tonight for the Phils coming off a... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Roy Oswalt (6-12, 3.42) isn't wasting any time making his Phillies debut. One day after being acquired in a trade from Houston, Oswalt takes the mound in the first of a three-game weekend series against the Nationals in DC. Even though it's an "away" game, judging by Opening Day, it should feel like a home game for the Phillies! Entering play tonight, the Phillies have won eight straight, however they've had their share of struggles away from Citizens Bank Park. Oswalt last faced... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino has been placed on the 15-day DL with an abdominal strain on his left side. Victorino said last night that he felt pain as he dove back in to first base, and that it accelerated as he went to catch a fly ball in the top of the 7th. With Victorino on the shelf, the Phils have called up top-prospect Domonic Brown from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 22 year old Brown started the season with Double-A Reading and... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino left tonight's ballgame with a left oblique strain. He will be examined by team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti on Wednesday. If Victorino should end up on the disabled list, one would have to assume that Domonic Brown would be called upon to fill Victorino's roster spot. "I think Domonic is always a consideration" Manuel said after the game. "I don't think it's that bad, and I hope it's not that bad" Victorino said. "I won't know 'til I... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Winners of eight straight at home, the Phillies continue to inch their way closer to the Braves in the NL East standings. Yesterday afternoon, the Phils completed a four-game sweep of the Rockies to earn Charlie Manuel his 500th win as skipper of the Club. Coming in to play tonight, the Phils trail Atlanta by four-and-a-half games and just two-and-a-half behind the Giants in the Wild Card race. Tonight, Cole Hamels (7-7. 3.40) looks to extend the Phillies win streak to six straight... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow Kevin for the latest Phillies news on Twitter. The Phillies look to win their eighth straight at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon in the finale of a four-game set with the Rockies. Prior to the All-Star Break, the Phils swept the then-first-place Reds out of town. This afternoon, they'll try and break out the brooms and send the Rockies to their sixth straight defeat. On Thursday, Milt Thompson was relieved of his duties as hitting coach. Under the Greg Gross regime, the Phillies have tallied 20 runs over their last... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) The Phillies will look to salvage a win in the series finale this afternoon, and avoid being swept by the Cardinals for the first time in almost 24 years. Last night, the Phillies dropped their fourth straight and are now a dreadful 1-6 since the All-Star Break. Ryan Howard accounted for the lone Phillies run with a solo HR in the top of the fifth. For the defending National League Champs, it was the 23rd time this season they've been held to one run or fewer.... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Going in to the All-Star Break, it seemed as though the Phillies might have finally turned the corner. However, after dropping three out of four at Chicago this weekend, the Phils fell 8-4 last night in the first of four with the Cardinals. Starter Kyle Kendrick was chased after just five innings, responsible for seven runs on seven hits, three of which left the yard. Today, Kendrick was demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and replaced on the 25-man roster with righty Andrew Carpenter. Tonight, the Phillies... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter(@KevinMcAlpin) After dropping three out of four at Wrigley, the Phillies road trip continues tonight against the Central-leading Cardinals. Despite averaging just shy of five runs per game, the Cubs outscored the Phillies 28-19 and took the series three-games-to-one. Jayson Werth continues to struggle at the plate and struck out nine times in 14 at-bats over the weekend. However, the news wasn't all negative this weekend. Placido Polanco is back in the starting line-up and Ryan Howard's getting hot. Over the past nine games, Howard has... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) UPDATE: And look who gets the game winning hit! The Phillies have one of their key offensive catalysts back this afternoon, as Placido Polanco has been activated from the disabled list. Polanco had missed the past 18 games, and the Phillies offensive production has suffered. To make room on the roster, the Phillies have released infielder Juan Castro. In 54 games this season, Castro was hitting just .198 with five doubles, 13 RBI and 0 home runs. Today's line-up (courtesy of Ryan Lawrence of... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) The Phillies haven't exactly come out of the All-Star Break firing on all cylinders. The Phillies have dropped their first two games at Wrigley despite Ryan Howard's three home runs. Yesterday, Shane Victorino also notched his career-best 15th long ball of the season. Despite their struggles, the Phils enter play Saturday just five-and-a-half games out of first place in the division and two games out of the Wild Card. This afternoon, Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.78) takes the mound as the Phillies look to avoid... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) The second-half of the season didn't get off to such a stellar start last night as the Cubs thumped the Phillies 12-6. Jamie Moyer gave up six runs on five hits including two long home runs and was pulled after just three innings of work to fall to 9-9 on the season. After Ryan Howard's two-run blast in the first that landed on Sheffield Ave., the Cubs scored 12 unanswered runs en route to the rout. Jose Contreras was rocked for five runs on five hits... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Coming off a four-game sweep of the Reds, the Phillies look to carry momentum to The Friendly Confines in the first of four against the Cubs. With 75 games remaining, the Phillies find themselves four-and-a-half games behind the Braves in the NL East. Throughout Charlie Manuel's six year tenure, the Phils have averaged 46 wins prior to the Mid-Summer Classic and enter the second half with one less win 2009 at this point (48-38 in 2009). Tonight, Jamie Moyer (9-8, 4.51) looks to snap a two-game... Continue reading

Apparently Ryan Howard has been bumped by Dwight "Superman" Howard on the NL All-Star Roster! Follow 97.5 The Fanatic Phillies Beat Reporter Kevin McAlpin on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) It's hard to imagine anything topping last night's wild extra innings walk-off win. But then again going in to Saturday, it would have been hard to imagine Reds starter Travis Wood tossing a perfect game against the Phils. Wood nearly accomplished the rare feat until Carlos Ruiz ripped a lead-off double to the gap in left center for the Phillies first hit of the night in the bottom of the ninth. After the Phillies failed to score in the ninth, many fans began heading for the... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) For much of the night Saturday, it looked like Reds starter Travis Wood was going to completely shut down the Phillies en route to a perfect game. I'll be the first to go on the record and say I would have liked to see it happen. Why? Not because I wanted the Phillies to lose! If you read my previews and columns on the Phils, you'll know that I'm a life-long fan who is fortunate to cover the team on a daily basis. Yes, I'm a... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter(@KevinMcAlpin) Last night, the Phillies won their second-straight game on a walk-off home run. It's a feat the club has only accomplished once before when Johnny Callison hit back-to-back walk-off homers on September 13 and 14, 1962. Heading in to the ninth inning, the majority of the 45,029 in attendance were still in their seats getting ready for the second night of post-game fireworks. However, the Phillies offense put up some fireworks of their own, culminating in an improbable 10th inning 9-7 win. Earlier in the... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. Get the latest Phillies news on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) This afternoon, Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth addressed last night's encounter with a fan in the stands. Werth said he knew there was "some backlash" from the incident and that he "felt bad for the guy and kid." In addition, Werth added that he acted "out of character" and that it's something that happened and he's "moved on." Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Brian Schneider said he knew it was gone off the bat last night as the Phillies won a wild extra-innings contest in the series opener against the Reds. Schneider's walk off home run in the twelfth inning gave the Phillies a 4-3 win after Brad Lidge blew his third save in his last four chances in the ninth. One day removed from controversial comments about Phillies fans, Shane Victorino was three-for-four and tied a career high in home runs with his 14th. "We're looking... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) It's hard to classify a game in early July as a "must win." However, tonight's series finale against the Braves certainly comes with slightly higher stakes. A win would pull the Phillies within four games of first. A loss would drop them further from the top of the standings than they've been all year long. Last night, the Phillies offense mustered three runs on just three hits. In the seventh, Ryan Howard's RBI triple off the left field wall tied the game at 3-3.... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Last night officially marked the midway point of the 2010 season. After 81 games, the Phillies find themselves with an identical record to last year at this point (43-38) as the Phillies downed the Braves 3-1. Roy Halladay (10-7) threw his seventh complete game of the season which is the most by a Phillie starter since Curt Schilling did it in 1999. Halladay's 10th win also marked the sixth straight season he's won 10 or more prior to the All-Star Break which is the... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) Monday night's series opener with the Braves officially marked the halfway point of the 2010 season. The Phillies exited on the exact same pace as 2009, however find themselves in a much different position in the standings. After 81 games last year, the Phillies were 43-38 and had a two game lead in the NL East. It's been a much different story this year, while the Phils finished Monday with the same record at 43-38, they trail the Braves by five games. If you... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin) After a 2-5 roady, the Phillies return home to wrap up the first half of the season with three games against the first-place Braves. The last time these two teams met was in early June as the Braves swept the Phillies out of Turner Field. Heading towards the All-Star break, the Phils find themselves in third place in the NL East, five games out of first. Tonight, All-Star Roy Halladay (9-7, 2.42) will look to get back on track after going the distance in... Continue reading

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter(@KevinMcAlpin) Is it possible for the injury news to get ANY worse than it already is? After learning they'd be without Chase Utley for the next two months, and Placido Polanco for three or four weeks, the Phils dropped the opener of a four game series in Pittsburgh last night 3-2. Cole Hamels (6-7, 4.07) certainly pitched well enough to get a win last night, giving up just three earned runs to a Pirates club that is last in the Majors in runs scored. Tonight, Jamie... Continue reading