Phillies wear strange jerseys, lose strange ballgame

Bailey Falter started the 2023 season 0-7 with a 5.13 ERA before the Phillies traded him to the Pirates for Rodolfo Castro.

Falter hasn’t performed much better for Pittsburgh, posting a 5.54 ERA since the trade.

So naturally, Falter held the Phils to one run on four hits over five innings as the Pirates won Friday’s game, 5-2. Any longtime Phillies fan saw this appalling result coming.

Judging by reactions on social media, most longtime Phillies fans were also appalled by the Nike “City Connect” jerseys the team debuted in this game. Personally, I think the blue and yellow coloring (a nod to the colors in the Philadelphia flag) is a fun way to mix it up. But the font on “Philly” across the chest…

The loss certainly won’t help change fans’ opinions on the jerseys. But let’s not place all the blame on Nike: Phillies pitchers allowed nine hits. Phillies fielders made two errors. Trea Turner did whatever this is.

The Fightins didn’t get much luck, either. Bryce Harper hit a 402-foot bomb to dead center for an out in the fourth inning. The Pirates made nice defensive plays on a few other balls that looked like hits. Brandon Marsh crushed a bases-empty double in the fifth, but struck out with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth.

The night could have been worse. There was a scary moment in the seventh, when J.T. Realmuto and Yunior Marte got crossed up and Realmuto took a 98 mph sinker on the wrist. All indications, however, are that the catcher will be okay. He stayed in the game and Thomson said afterwards that Realmuto won’t need an x-ray. “The trainers are gonna check on him, as always,” noted Thomson.

The Phillies, 7-7 overall, will continue their series against the Pirates on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Spencer Turnbull is scheduled to start against Pittsburgh LHP Marco Gonzales.