First-time ever

For the first time in the history of Major League Baseball, two guys named Cole (Irvin and Hamels) will face each other as starting pitchers tonight.

How is that even possible? I know Cole isn't exactly the most common name, but I have a feeling there are a bunch of 10-year-old in the Philadelphia area with that name in honor of 2008 World Series MVP.

This will be the first time Hamels has faced the Phillies since being traded to the Texas Rangers in 2015. I desperately wanted the Phils to make a deal to get him back last summer, but the Cubs got him instead. He's 8-3 in parts of two seasons with the Cubs, averaging just under a strikeout per inning. He'd look so good as part of the Phillies rotation. Another missed opportunity.

Irvin Walks, Crowd Goes Wild

Philadelphia fans have taken more crap over the years than any other fanbase. Some chucklehead threw a snowball at a drunk in a Santa suit 50 years ago at an Eagles game, and broadcasters mention it like its a regular occurrence.

The there's JD Drew, who spurned the Phillies and had a battery thrown at him 20 years ago. I'm not condoning the throwing of anything at players, but you'd think it was a DieHard still connected to a Chevy that was thrown from the 700 level.

So that's why you have to love what happened to rookie pitcher Cole Irvin last night. He made his first start in Philadelphia, and worked a 10-pitch walk. And he got a standing ovation for it.

Here's how it went down-with two out in the bottom of the third, Irvin came up against Rockies starter Jon Gray.
Pitch 1: Swing and miss at a high 95 mph fastball.
Pitch 2: Takes a high 77 mph curve for ball 1.
Pitch 3: Takes a barely low and inside fastball for ball 2.
Pitch 4: Takes a 94 mph fastball right down the middle for strike 2.
Pitch 5: Fouls off a 95 mph fastball.
Pitch 6: Fouls off an 87 mph breaking ball.
Pitch 7: Fouls off another breaking ball.
Pitch 8: Takes 96 mph fastball low for ball 3.
Pitch 9: Fouls off 95 mph fastball.
Pitch 10: Takes low and inside 97 mph fastball for ball 4.

Irvin takes first base with a walk in his first big league at bat and the crowd goes wild.

Fans had a similar reaction when Brett Myers worked a walk in the playoffs against CC Sabathia back in 2008. Bigger stage, bigger reaction. But what happened last night with Irvin was very cool. And to all those writers and announcers trotting out tired old tropes about Philadelphia fans being the worst, just go to the video. And use your imagination for a change.

The Defense Rests

When asked about the execution of the Phillies defense on Wednesday night, manager Gabe Kapler said he was in favor of it.

The Phillies are doing all kinds of dumb shit in the field tonight. There was journeyman and soon-to-be ex-Phillie Sean Rodriguez staring at baserunners with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third, instead of stepping on third for a force and throwing home to get the pitcher(!) at home. I hope Scott Kingery's hamstring is fully healed so Rodriguez and his mullet or ponytail or whatever the hell it is can be a distant memory.

And then there was Andrew McCutchen butchering a fly ball in center in the fifth that led to another run. It's 5-1 Brewers after 5 and I'm going to bed soon because I'm going into work early tomorrow.

Last year's Phillies team was a defensive abomination. This year's team is better, with just 25 errors on the season, ninth best in MLB. But you can't give teams like the Brewers extra outs. Ryan Braun is hitting over .400 at CBP in his career. You really want to give him an extra chance at the plate?

This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball. That's all there is. Come on Phillies. You're better than this.

Hustling Harper Hobbled

Bryce Harper did his human pinball routine last night, not once, but twice sliding into the wall in right field to catch fly balls. He appeared to injure his knee and was limping, but convinced trainers he could stay in the game.

Harper has made a name for himself by playing every game like his hair is on fire. In his eight-year career, he's missed 166 games due to injury. That's more than a full season of missed games.

It's no secret that Harper is struggling to get hits. He went 0-2 last night with two walks, dropping his batting average to .219. He's just 7-42 this month, good for a .167 average and an OBP of .315. Between the offensive struggles and the crashing into walls, a day off or two might be in order.

But Phillies manager Gabe Kapler thinks otherwise. "Unless I have a good reason, or I think this is really going to serve him well, I’m not going to do it," Kapler told MLB.com. "It’s got to be rooted in something rational. I don’t have a good reason to not have him play tomorrow’s baseball game and the next day’s baseball game and the next day’s baseball game. He always gives us our best chance to win."

Harper has always had cold streaks as a hitter. Phillies fans are just getting to experience it first-hand. 

Sitting Pretty After 40 Games

The Phillies are 24-16 at the quarter-point of the season, and so far, so good. They're in first place in the National League East, 3.5 games ahead of the Braves, 4.5 up on the Mets, and 8 games ahead of the Nationals.

They're 15-7 at home and 9-9 on the road, which is a recipe for October baseball. They're 15-9 against teams in their division, another big indicator of success. As long as they keep winning two out of three at home and play no worse than .500 on the road, this team will make the playoffs.

In power rankings that come out on Mondays, the general consensus is the Phils are one of the top 10 teams in MLB. Here's where the different sites rank the Phils.

Sporting News - 6
Bleacher Report - 6
CBS Sports - 7
USA Today - 7
ESPN - 10
MLB - 11

The Phils have the seventh-best record in all of baseball. And on that fact alone, you have to wonder what ESPN and MLB are thinking rating the Phils so low. The Phils took two of three from the Cardinals last week, and ESPN has the Cardinals one spot ahead of the Phillies, and MLB has the Cardinals four places ahead. It makes no sense.

Sure there's room for improvement on this team. Aaron Nola apparently pitch in cold weather. And even though Bryce Harper is hitting just .222, his OBP is .367 and his OPS is .805. He has 25 RBI and has scored 25 runs. And his catch in last night's game against Milwaukee saved the Phils. Harper will be fine.

So long story short, the Phils are playing well. Let's keep it rolling.

A Cole Gets the Call

The last time a left-handed pitcher named Cole started a game for the Phillies, he pitched a no-hitter and then got traded to the Texas Rangers. Well, a lefty named Cole is getting a start today, but it will be his major league debut.

Cole Irvin earned the promotion after Vince Velasquez was sent to the injured list with an arm injury. The move comes after VV's last start, a shaky one where he repeatedly shook off pitches called by catcher JT Realmuto. VV was called out by his catcher and manager for not going with the game plan and you have to wonder if he's really injured or if the Phillies are trying to send him a message.

Nick Pivetta was sent down a few weeks ago after a series of poor starts and his replacement, Jerad Eickhoff, has been excellent in his place.

Irvin has earned his promotion, going 30-14 in parts of four minor league seasons. The 25-year-old has allowed just 347 hits in 394.1 innings, with 309 strikeouts and 89 walks. Irvin throws between 88 and 94 mph and is known for pitching in the strike zone and just getting guys out.

Velasquez has made 82 major league starts and the Phillies have been waiting for him to fulfill his potential. He's a lot like Bull Durham's Nuke LaLoosh, owner of a "million-dollar arm with a five-cent head." It looks like they got tired of waiting and shaking off Realmuto was the last straw.

It's good to see the Phillies give a shot to a deserving guy like Irvin, who has one of the better Twitter handles in baseball - @Swirvin_irvin19. And it's good to know there are plenty of solid pitchers in the minors for the Phillies to turn to when the need arises.

Strikeouts and Stranded Runners

Maybe they were looking ahead. After all, it was just the lowly Kansas City Royals. The Phils are in the Midwest for what should be an easy weekend against a really bad team. Instead, they lost 5-1.

Down 2-1 in the fifth inning, Jean Segura and Bryce Harper each singled. The Royals pulled starter Homer Bailey and replaced him with Scott Barlow, who promptly fanned Rhys Hoskins. JT Realmuto worked a walk to load the bases. But then Barlow struck out Odubel Herrera on a 1-2 fastball. Cesar Hernandez struck out swinging on three pitches to end the threat. And that was the last serious threat the Phils could muster. Barlow struck out six of the seven hitters he faced and has fanned 28 in 18.1 innings.

Jake Arrieta gave up three homers and took the loss. The Phils struck out 12 times last night and were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They need to be a lot better against bad teams like the Royals.

The rest of the month of the May will be nothing short of hellish for the first-place Phils. The have seven against the Brewers (tied for first in the NL Central), three against the Rockies, four against the Cubs at Wrigley (tied with the Brewers), three against the Cardinals and a game in LA to start a West Coast trip against the Dodgers. Those teams are a combined 30 games over .500.

The Phils are still in first place with a three-game lead over the Braves. But that lead won't last for long if they keep striking out and leaving guys stranded in scoring position.