PHILADELPHIA — The Angels nightmare got even worse. Jimmy Herget gave up a three-run homer to Bryson Stott with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, dropping the Angels to a 9-7 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies that ran their streak to 11 straight losses. They last lost 11 games in a row in…
Angels blow late leads, extend losing streak to 11 games — Press Telegram
As Buck Showalter likes to say: “Tell the baseball gods your plans and they’ll laugh in your face.” Dominic Smith may have been on the chopping block, but then he crushed too many baseballs to care. 684 more words
Dominic Smith goes 4-for-4 as Mets beat Phillies for seventh consecutive series win — Boston Herald
Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in Philadelphia’s four-run fourth inning and had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth to help the Phillies snap the Atlanta Braves’ four-game winning streak with a 7-6 victory Sunday night.
Late-inning replay controversy helps Phillies past Braves — MLB | NBC Sports
The Phillies are getting ready to safely welcome a limited number of fans back to baseball for the first 19 regular season home games at Citizens Bank Park, which includes series against the Atlanta Braves (April 1, 3 & 4), New York Mets (April 5-7; April 30-May 2), St. Louis Cardinals (April 16-18), San Francisco Giants (April 19-21) and Milwaukee Brewers (May 3-6).
This “soft opening” of Phillies baseball is in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as dependent on a continuation of declining COVID-19 cases in the region. The well-being and safety of fans, players and staff will continue to be the absolute priority.
The limited return of fans also includes the addition of extensive health and safety protocols for all Phillies home games, with operational specifics to be announced prior to Opening Day. Among the protocols:
“We have been diligently working with our city and state officials to finalize health and safety protocols at Citizens Bank Park. With these important measures now in place, we are excited to safely welcome a limited number of our fans back to the ballpark experience,” said Phillies Executive Vice President David Buck. “The unmatched energy our fans bring to the game has undoubtedly been missed, and we can’t wait to hear their cheers once again come Opening Day.”
The opportunity to attend the Phillies first 19 regular season home games at Citizens Bank Park will be offered initially to season ticket holders. The public will also have the chance to purchase tickets beginning on Friday, March 12, available online only at Phillies.com. All tickets will be mobile.
Tickets for the remaining 62 regular season home games will go on sale in early April. The amount of tickets sold for these games may increase or decrease as health conditions evolve. The Phillies will continue to consult with, and take direction from, local and state officials throughout the season.
Fans are encouraged to visit Phillies.com or follow @phillies on social media for news and updates, including ticket availability for future games.I
The Philadelphia Phillies and shortstop Didi Gregorius have agreed on a two-year, $28 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal.
AP source: Phillies, SS Gregorius agree on 2-year deal — MLB | NBC Sports
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies and two-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto agreed on a $115.5 million, five-year contract, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because Realmuto’s deal was pending a successful physical. Realmuto gets $20 million next season, of which $10 million is deferred, with $5 million each payable in 2026 and 2027. He gets $23,875,000 in each of the final four years.He does not have a no-trade provision. The deal includes a $1 million assignment bonus if traded.Realmuto’s average annual salary of $23.1 million will become the highest for a catcher, topping the $23 million Joe Mauer averaged in a $184 million, eight-year deal with the Minnesota Twins that covered 2011-18.Realmuto was acquired from the Marlins in February 2019 in a trade that sent right-hander Sixto Sanchez and catcher Jorge Alfaro to Miami along with pitching prospect Will Stewart and $250,000 in international signing bonus pool allocation.Realmuto made his second NL All-Star team with the Phillies in 2019 and earned a Gold Glove. He had career-highs in homers (25), RBIs (83) and slugging percentage (.493) that season. Realmuto, who turns 30 in March, hit .266 with 11 homers, 32 RBIs and a career-best OPS of .840 last season. He earned $3,703,704 prorated for the pandemic-shortened season from a $10 million salary. His deal is the second-largest of the offseason behind outfielder George Springer’s $150 million, six-year contract with Toronto.Realmuto’s market narrowed last month when the New York Mets went for a less expensive option and signed James McCann to a $40.6 million, four-year deal.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
AP sources: Phillies, Realmuto agree on $115.5 million deal — The China Post, Taiwan
The Phillies jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning in Game 2 but couldn’t hold onto the lead.
Phillies Blow 7-Run Lead, Embarrassed By Blue Jays In Doubleheader Loss — CBS Philly
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Published 5:48 p.m. ET July 7, 2020 CLOSE What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale discusses how players are responding to MLB’s delay in COVID-19 test results. USA TODAYScott Kingery first felt the symptoms of COVID-19 on June 11. He’s still nowhere near ready to contribute to the Philadelphia Phillies. That’s the…
‘This is not a two-week thing’: Phillies’ Scott Kingery details perilous COVID-19 battle —
HomePolitics‘This is not a two-week thing’: Phillies’ Scott Kingery details perilous COVID-19 battle
NWNAdmin July 7, 2020
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY
Published 5: 48 p.m. ET July 7, 2020
What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale discusses how players are responding to MLB’s delay in COVID-19 test results.
USA TODAY
Scott Kingery first felt the symptoms of COVID-19 on June 11.
He’s still nowhere near ready to contribute to the Philadelphia Phillies.
That’s the message the 26-year-old third baseman imparted after a nearly monthlong battle with the virus – a struggle that included an inaccurate test, a draining bout with severe flu-like symptoms and an enduring concern about his long-term welfare.
Kingery was among a group of seven Phillies who were delayed in reporting to the team’s “summer camp,” though due to privacy concerns, the team did not confirm nor deny the health status of the group. Tuesday, general manager Matt Klentak announced Kingery and pitcher Tommy Hunter tested positive last month, while outfielder Mikie Mahtook tested positive upon intake testing in Philadelphia.
Tuesday, Kingery opted to tell his story to NBC Sports Philadelphia, detailing a hellish month that began with a cough at his home in Phoenix.
“I tried to play it off but it didn’t go away,” he told NBC Sports of the symptoms that began on a Thursday. “Saturday around 10 a.m., I got chills so bad I couldn’t move without my whole body shaking. That night, my fever spiked so high that I sweated through my sheets. It left an imprint of my body. My fever broke Sunday morning and I actually felt a little better. But then three or four days later, I lost my sense of taste and smell for a few days. That was really annoying.”
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“For a week, I was so tired. Low energy. Fatigue. Then I experienced shortness of breath for a week. I felt like I laid on the couch for three weeks without moving. I was tired just going up the stairs.”
Kingery, 26, is one of nearly 40 major league players publicly identified to test positive for the coronavirus before or on their way into camps as Major League Baseball aims to launch a 60-game season beginning July 23.
According to data collected by USA TODAY Sports, 16 teams have at least one player who has been identified as testing positive, while at least two other teams have acknowledged positive tests without the player self-identifying.
Tuesday, two left-handed pitchers – Jesus Luzardo of the Oakland Athletics and Eduardo Rodriguez of the Boston Red Sox – were reported to test positive, which at the least will probably prevent them from starting the season on the active roster.
Kingery, like Atlanta Braves All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, provides a cautionary note that the virus that has killed more than 130,000 Americans is not like any other injury, even for elite athletes.
He told NBC Sports someone among a group of ballplayers with whom he worked out in Arizona tested positive and Kingery got tested at an urgent care facility. Five days later, and in the throes of the aforementioned fever, he still didn’t have his result; he eventually called and was told it was negative.
The Phillies shipped him a test kit and this test turned up positive. He recently tested negative for the virus and must pass one more test before joining his teammates in Philadelphia.
As MLB struggles to meet the health and testing protocols it laid out to stage this season, Kingery understands why the precautions are so detailed – because the consequences are significant.
“I want people to know this is not a two-week thing if you get it,” he told NBC Sports. “You’re not supposed to do any physical activity for 10 to 14 days after a positive test. That could be a month. That’s a huge part of the season so you don’t want to get it. You have to take the precautions and protocols seriously.”
The Phillies and Blue Jays placed a handful of players on the 10-day injured list, inviting speculation about which players might have COVID-19.
Phillies, Blue Jays place players on IL, COVID-19 speculation ensues — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
With ‘summer camp’ about to get under way, MLB.com’s transactions log is back up and running. As of this writing, two teams have placed players on the injured list: the Phillies and Blue Jays. For the Phillies, Héctor Neris, Tommy Hunter, Ranger Suárez, and Scott Kingery are on the 10-day IL. The Blue Jays have Brandon Drury, Jonathan Davis, Hector Perez, and Elvis Luciano DL’ed. None of the players have reasons listed for their appearance, so speculation about which players might have the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has ensued.
On Tuesday, I discussed the tricky spot MLB teams are in regarding disclosure of players affected by COVID-19. Due to the Basic Agreement, teams aren’t allowed to disclose their players’ medical issues if they aren’t employment-related (consider a cancer diagnosis versus a torn UCL). The lack of transparency — whether for nefarious reasons or not — for COVID-IL players will simply invite rampant speculation, and that is what we have seen early on. Fans and members of the media alike are wondering which players, if not all of them, are suffering from the virus. Since a player’s placement on the IL typically comes with a reason for said placement, it won’t be difficult to parse which players are there for COVID-19 and which are not.
The most important thing is that players have privacy and control over their medical information. That being said, the highly public and competitive nature of their jobs has resulted in transparency regarding their medical information. One wonders if the headaches caused by the speculation might result in the current policy being amended. Players could have generic reasons listed for their placement, or teams could simply reveal which players have COVID-19. There isn’t an easy fix, but the current system doesn’t appear to be the solution.
On the 10-year anniversary of his perfect game against the Marlins, ESPN will air a documentary about former Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay.
ESPN to air Roy Halladay documentary on May 29 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
The view from left field 