Himbos: Phillies at Mariners Series Preview
Invasion of the himbos (Welcome! Get comfortable! Feel free to stay a while)
After a supremely satisfying (and necessary) sweep against the White Sox, the Mariners unfortunately fared less favorably against the crimson counterparts. A handful of injuries (some hopefully only minor) didn’t help the vibes and Seattle limps back home for a three game series against the excellent but catastrophically slumping Phillies.
Let me be very clear here, before we proceed further: I love the Phillies. Time spent in Pennsylvania and a firm belief that the 80s powder blue uniforms were the peak of baseball fashion laid good ground work, but one day a gangly, baby-faced third baseman made three throwing errors in three innings, was caught on a broadcast saying “I fucking hate this place,” and I’ve been bought in ever since. It hasn’t hurt that they’re a team of himbos (that’s male bimbos, for those who might be wondering) who wear matching overalls and scandalously unbuttoned jerseys, raucous clubhouse celebrations and are hellbent on enjoying the game (and each other), alongside an owner who says things like “Nobody cares about whether I make money or not. If my legacy is that I didn’t lose any money owning a baseball team on an annual operating basis, that’s a pretty sad legacy. It’s about putting trophies in the cases.” Can you imagine?
This season, they’ve surprised everyone - most notably, perhaps, their comically nihilistic fanbase - by authoritatively leading the highly competitive NL East. For a good portion of the year, they were the best team in baseball, though in recent weeks they’ve floundered in nail-biters and large-scale catastrophes alike.
For the vast majority of the season, the Phillies have bashed and bopped their way into victory after victory, but since returning from London the bats have cooled and the team has struggled mightily. They’ve lost seven of their last 10, and superstars Trea Turner and Bryce Harper have gone 1-for-17 and 1-for-20 respectively. There’s still plenty of upside in the lineup, though the trade deadline certainly didn’t provide any substantive jolt (sorry not sorry, Austin Hays).
Probable Pitchers
The longtime Phillies fan is coming off a complete game shutout at Citizens Bank Park, and in the face off of handsome young’uns will take on Bryan Woo to try and secure his fourth W in as many major league starts. Phillips works with a four-seamer, sinker, curveball and sweeper, with the latter generating the most swings and misses and a core part of what helps him minimize opponents’ hard hit rates. Phillips has maintained a 3.44 xFIP and an obscene 94.6% strand rate, albeit with the hearty “small sample size” caveat.
He’s not Ranger Suarez, and that’s a real bummer for Phillies fans (and probably for Kolby), but is promising for Seattle. Philadelphia signed him to a one year, $1 million deal as rotation depth this offseason and called him up at the end of July. Allard has made just one start for the Phils - a four inning outing against Cleveland, which saw him give up three earned runs on six hits with a single strikeout. He’s there to be a body on the mound at the start of the game, and to ideally not let the game get out of hand by the third inning.
This is about as good a pitching match-up as you could dream in 2024, with two legitimate potential Cy Young winners squaring off on a Sunday matinee. Wheeler, whom the Phillies signed to a three-year, $126 million deal this offseason, had a four-pitch mix up until Spring Training this year, where he debuted a splitter designed to help him against lefties. That, alongside his four-seamer, sweeper, curveball and sinker, has made for a potent mix. Both Wheeler and Gilbert are coming off of uncharacteristically abysmal starts, with Wheeler imploding against the Yankees - including giving up his first home run off a sweeper this year (after throwing 227 of them). Wheeler also continues to be plagued by lower back tightness, which flared up earlier this season.
The Big Picture:
For as much as you may be rooting for the Mariners, I will once again recommend you begin rooting fervently for whomever the Astros are playing too. Seattle remains .001 percentage point behind in the division as Houston embarks on a three game series against the Rays - including sleepy old friend Yusei Kikuch making his ‘Stros debut. Dropping the series to the Red Sox has not been particularly helpful for the M’s wild card standings and, again, it really is AL West or bust (West or Be Bested? Needs some work…)