Phillies postseason notes: Matt Vierling’s moment, Seranthony Domínguez’s mindset, Rob Thomson’s future

The Philadelphia Phillies have been on the cusp of very big things the last two seasons. In 2022, they took the Houston Astros to six games in the World Series, then last season they had a 3-2 lead in the NLCS before dropping Games 6 and 7 at home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Back-to-back pennants were within reach. Instead, the Phillies have a…

The Phillies appear to be taking the same approach in spring training as their hungry (for hot dogs? ) fans are: World Series or bust. In back-to-back seasons, the Phillies made deep and loud postseason runs but neither has yielded a third ever championship. Philly currently carries+1500 odds to win the World Series in 2023, the sixth best odds via…

A long time ago, in an era that was both different and the same, an old ballplayer said something to me that I've never quite forgotten. "Hardest thing to do in sports," he said, "hitting a big league pitcher." The sentiment wasn't all that novel. Borderline cliché. For whatever reason, it stuck with me. Here was a guy who'd hit plenty of big…

The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies are reaching the top of the hill of the 2023 National League Division Series. There is no more after Tuesday between these two rivals. It is win or go home for the D'backs and the Phillies, as they make their final attempt to secure a seat in the 2023 World Series. With that said, here are…

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies homered their way past the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first two games of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia hit six long balls in the first two games to take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS. The Fightins have also gotten dominant performances from aces Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola…

PHILADELPHIA - Reality hit the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks quickly, with a crack and a roar, with Kyle Schwarber greeting their ace, Zac Gallen, with a line drive that soared into the rollicking hordes beyond the right field wall so quickly not a single Arizona infielder even turned his head. It smacked them again a few moments later, when Bryce…

It's an NL East showdown. No matter what happens, the loser of this series can still point at the Mets and laugh. Maybe that's all that matters. While the balanced schedule prevented these teams from seeing each other several times every month, they still played 13 games this season. The Marlins won 7 of the 13 games, but the Phillies outscored…

The 2022 Philadelphia Phillies single-handedly "justified" the expanded Postseason format when they finished a distant third place in the NL East with 88 wins, but secured the final Wild Card spot and proceeded to make it all the way to Game 6 of the World Series. Perhaps realizing that they've suddenly got a window of opportunity here, the…

With Kyle Schwarber - the June version, no less - on deck, Stubbs' goal was to simply extend the game. Technically, he failed. And thus, the bat spike was born. "It was an original move right when I did it, and it was fun and a genuine reaction of just as much excitement as possible," Stubbs said, a few minutes after hitting a single while wearing…

HOUSTON - Most of the Phillies locker room was working on hunches when the postseason started. They'd heard about how things would be different. They'd inferred from what they'd seen on television and extrapolated from the regular season to speculate what it might mean. But until they got under the bright lights of playoff baseball, few of the…

HOUSTON - Most of the Phillies locker room was working on hunches when the postseason started. They'd heard about how things would be different. They'd inferred from what they'd seen on television and extrapolated from the regular season to speculate what it might mean. But until they got under the bright lights of playoff baseball, few of the…

The Philadelphia Phillies are not the same team from a month ago. The personnel didn't change; the players, coaching staff, and front office are identical. But they're somehow a different club anyway. How exactly did that happen? They've morphed from a team that fired its manager in June and finished the regular season 87-75 - losing eight of its…

PHILADELPHIA - Throughout the playoffs, I've been taking the time to thank players when they come through on our picks. We've been very successful and a lot of that thanks has gone to the likes of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Bregman and Framber Valdez. This time around, however, I'm going to shame someone. We were right there. We were just…

The World Series begins Friday, featuring a matchup that might not be exactly what it appears to be. The Houston Astros have dominanted all season, winning 106 games and running through the playoffs without a loss. The Philadelphia Phillies used a late-season run to sneak in as a Wild Card, riding that wave to a pennant. But this series anything…

With the 2022 World Series set to get going Friday night, now is the best time to get familiar with what FanDuel has to offer. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a 2022 World Series cheat sheet. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres in the NLCS. The Phillies' offense is hot right now and they are actually the last team…

It's a refrain baseball bettors have been uttering from coast to coast all week: Start the World Series already! Unfortunately, nobody in commissioner Rob Manfred's inner circle has taught him the phrase "flexible schedule". So bettors have to wait another 48-plus hours before the Phillies and Astros finally get it on Friday in Game 1 at Minute…

Kyle Schwarber had just hit a home run in his first plate appearance as a member of the Phillies, and Francisville's Matt Maslanka was texting with a friend. "They're gonna be the team to beat," his friend texted, and it was time to get a World Series bet down while the odds were long. So Maslanka logged on to his FanDuel account and put $20 on the…

Two teams with championship aspirations will face off in an inter-league duel just days before the postseason begins. With that being said, it is time to take an exclusive look at our MLB odds series, where our Phillies-Astros prediction and pick will be revealed. After blanking the Astros by a score of 3-0 in game one of this series, the NL Wild…

The St. Louis Cardinals are close to clinching the NL Central division title and a trip to the postseason. St. Louis has seen their World Series odds rise during the second half of the season as they caught fire over the last few months. The team's strongest unit for most of the season has been the lineup, that ranks top 5 in MLB in runs scored,…

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryson Stott leaned back and watched. He said he never pimps home runs because he never hits them far enough, but he could not help but admire the one he hit Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Stott's sixth-inning grand slam locked up a 7-1 victory over Miami in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. It secured a rematch with…

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Phillies reliever Matt Strahm had just cracked open a can of Red Bull on Monday night, looked up from the bullpen, and on the first pitch of the game, there was a home run sailing over his head. Four pitches later, there was another one flying deep into the night, traveling 420 feet, clearing the bullpen and clanking off…

PHILADELPHIA -- Be ready, everybody. Kyle Schwarber is up. He crushed a first-pitch fastball from D-backs starter Zac Gallen for a leadoff home run in the first inning of Monday night's 5-3 victory over Arizona in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. It was a 117.1 mph rocket that crashed into the video board hanging from the second…

This story has been buried in my tape recorder for four months. Now, with the Phillies looking to nail down their first postseason berth in a decade, feels like a good time to tell it. Back on the final weekend of May, the Phillies were near the end of a dreadful road trip. Four hours before the final game of the trip, Rhys Hoskins was out on the…

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies, stealing a page out of a Rocky Balboa screenplay, played rope-a-dope Saturday night, lulling the San Diego Padres to sleep and then came back with a furious flurry that left the Padres dazed. The Phillies, in stunning fashion, dropped the Padres, winning 10-6, and are now just one victory away from…