Maxbialystock

Nice.

Blind man with peg leg > Cordero

Good for Perez. Don't swing. Can't do any worse than Gonzalez. So that's why they called Santana up!!!!!!!!!!!

Nola's curve is way, way, way, way better than Perez's. Whoops there goes another Sox K'ing on that doggone curve.

FWIW, I'm rooting for the Jays tonight. Rays a little too hot.

What the heck is wrong with Verdugo? Why can't he takes those flies for JDM the way the Phillies centerfielder does for Harper? Plus JDM has a higher OPS than Harper.

So far in the Phillies 4th, a walk, an HBP, and a very, very lucky lineout double play for Perez.

Great pitching for that double play!!!! Perez owns the Phillies lineup.

Wow. The changeup and curve hit hard in the 3d, so neither was thrown in the first at bat in the bottom of the 4th. All cut fast balls. Other lesson learned from the 3d inning double and dinger: if at all possible, don't throw strikes.

Was that Jimmy Piersall who just ran way the heck over into RF to catch a fly hit directly to Bryce Harper? Of course Bryce is a five tool player: hits, hits with power, does wear a glove when in the outfield, does get to first when walked, and does in fact release the ball when he throws it.

Phillies hit Perez's changeup and curve ball very hard. Hmmmmm.

Nola faces the top of the Sox order in the 3d--always a good sign.

Terrible pitch to swing at, but about par for a pitcher who goes to the plate very infrequently. 39 pitches in 2 innings for Nola.

Nasty knuckle curve for 2d K this inning. Good repertoire and command. All the more credit to the Sox for scoring 2 in the 1st.

Nola is good at those breaking pitches that come in to the outside corner.

Good 3d strike by Nola.

Me, I did a jig when he got the rbi. No K and especially no GIDP. Just an ordinary plain old high hopper to bring Verdugo home.

I'm into one day at a time and will settle for a win tonight. I like that it's a NL park and that puts JDM in the outfield instead of Cordero or whoever. Yes, our pitchers have to hit (unless Cora pinch-hits), but so do the Phillies'.

Really?

Excellent laydown. Thanks. I've always like Girardi.

That's a pretty good list, but I have tell you I was living in PA in 1980 when the Phillies won the WS and that Pete Rose, whom I despise, made a big difference on that team--most hits, 2d most total bases, 2d most runs scored, etc. He was playing 1b by then and just seemed to be a leader. You might consider adding Steve Carlton to your list. That year he went 24-9, ERA 2.34, and 304 IP. Do not add Rose.

Perez (L) v. Nola ®, game starts at 7:05. You think losing the Babe to NYC was bad, how about losing a true American genius to Philly? Ben Franklin's the name, and almost anything's the game. Yes, absolutely, the First and Second Continental Congresses both met in Philly, where the Declaration and later the Constitution were both written and signed. But make no mistake, the American Revolution was born in Boston and made real by the Massachusetts Militia, which in June 1775 became the Continental Army. Months before the Declaration was signed, the Bostonians--now officially the Continental Army with GW in command-- threw the British Army (and Navy) out, never to return. Without that, it's doubtful the Declaration would have been signed. And the guys from Boston, now wearing Red Sox, are still tougher and better than the Phillies, which kind of sounds like willies or wimpies to me. Plus Bryce Harper is so over-rated. Fact: the season after he left the Nationals for the big bucks in Philly, the Nationals won the first WS ever for a Washington team. With Harper now on their roster, the Phillies won one more game than the year before.

For me, the future is now and next year completely off the radar. I still think the wind affected the play last night because MLB players are not used to that kind of intrusiveness. MLB ballparks all have at least two decks surrounding the field. It looked as though the wind was blowing from left field to right field, which would have affected Barnes' knuckle curve, the one that missed outside (to a righty batter) like 4 times. I also think the wind could have thrown Pivetta off. Matz and Pivetta both gave up 5 runs last night, but only 4 of Pivetta's runs were earned. Sawamura gave up the other 2 runs and both of those were unearned. So, to me, anyway, the position players owed. Those 3 runs in the 9th, incredible and delightful and even heroic as they were, were payback. Worth noting, therefore, is that the bullpen pitched 4 innings while giving up no earned runs. The Jays bullpen went 3 and--thank you very much, Mr. Dolis--gave up 3 earned runs. About the errors. Chavis's was the most egregious; Devers' could actually have been 2 errors because he mishandled an earlier one that was a single, and Renfroe was the victim of a weird situation in right center trying to recoup a ball Hernandez couldn't get to.

I'm not going to say "you gotta believe" because hat was the 1969 Mets. On the other hand, as with them, this team so far has indeed been amazing.

Are you kidding? It's been a great team so far and a great season. And I do not allow myself to forget that the Sox play in the toughest division in MLB with the best overall W-L record. Nothing is easy.