Focused on current and former Phillies organization players.
Games played from 12/25 thru 12/31
Australian Baseball League :
Three Phillies minor leaguers earned league All-Star notations last week -
Anthony Quirion was named at DH - “His 20 RBI is sixth in the league and he has a slash line of .366 / .435 / 1.069”
Nick Ward was named as the second baseman - “is putting up MVP-esque numbers. Ward leads the ABL in hits (35) and OPS (1.179) and is second in average (.380) and on-base-percentage (.462).”
Starylyn Castillo was named as a starting pitcher - “Castillo has been borderline untouchable the last three starts. On the season, he has a 2.35 ERA. In his last three starts the man they call “El Koala” has pitched 16.0 scoreless innings and 14 strikeouts.” - quotes from the league article.
Adelaide added former Phillies infielder Michael Martinez to the roster as well as RHP Bubby Rossman who pitched well for Reading and Lehigh Valley last season and made his major league debut with the Phillies.
This week’s games : Adelaide now has seven current Phillies on the roster and four former Phillies so we will highlight them primarily - they played Auckland four games in New Zealand and won the series 3 games to 1. All games were scheduled for seven innings.
Game One : Adelaide 4 Auckland 2 ( extra innings )
Jared Carr hit a two run home run in the top of the 8th inning in a game scheduled for seven frames to post the Giants 17th win of the season. He was 1 for 3 in the game with a walk. Anthony Quirion had two hits and two walks in four plate appearances. Rixon Wingrove hit a double earlier in the game ( he left the contest later after jamming his thumb on a tag play at first base ). LHP Jordan Fowler pitched five strong innings allowing just one run on 3 hits - he walked none and struck out three batters ( 59 pitches - 41 strikes ). Former Phillies RHP Bubby Rossman made his Giants debut with a perfect inning of work striking out one batter.
Game Two : Adelaide 14 Auckland 1
Nick Ward led off the game with a home run. He went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Jared Carr had two hits and scored twice.
Starlyn Castillo pitched three innings ( 1 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 HB, 1 K - 48 pitches - 27 strikes ) - he hit the first batter he faced and walked the next three but then retired the next eight hitters in a row including getting a double play ground ball. He combined with teammates Luke Wilkins and Riley Yeatman for a no hitter!
Game Three : Auckland 5 Adelaide 2
Nick Ward went 2 for 3 and Anthony Quirion had a knock - they had three of the team’s five hits. Former Phillies hurlers Austin Ross ( 1 + IP, 1 unearned R, 0 H, 2 HB, 1 BB - 2 of 3 inherited runners stranded ) and Josh Tols ( 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K’s - 2 inherited runners stranded ) pitched in relief.
Game Four : Adelaide 7 Auckland 2
Anthony Quirion had two hits including an RBI double, Nick Ward & Jared Carr each had hits - the team had seven in total. Rixon Wingrove returned to the lineup as the DH. Bubby Rossman pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
Outfielder Chris Burke returned to action for Melbourne this week.
Dominican Winter League :
Former Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro went 3 for 3 with a double for the Tigres vs the Gigantes on 12/27. He went 2 for 5 on 12/29 vs Estrellas.
Venezuelan Winter League :
Former Phillies minor league infielder Kevin Vicuña went 3 for 4 for Caribes on 12/27 vs the Tigres.
Former Phillies minor league RHP Luis Pacheco pitched a perfect inning for Aguilas on 12/27 vs the Leones - he’s posted a 2.20 ERA in 16 1/3 IP ( 15 games - 14 K’s - 2 BB ) for the season.
Puerto Rico Winter League :
RHP Carlos Francisco pitched 1 1/3 scoreless frames ( 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K - 12 pitches - 7 strikes ) for Mayaguez on 12/26 against Carolina. He pitched another 1 2/3 scoreless frames on 12/28 ( 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 9 pitches - 9 strikes 😳 ) against Carolina.
Former Phillies minor league outfielder Danny Ortiz went 2 for 4 for Mayaguez on 12/27 vs Santurce.
Former Phillies infielder Jesmuel Valentin went 3 for 5 with 4 walks for Ponce on 12/27 in a double header against RA12.
Former Phillies RHP Yacksel Rios pitched a perfect inning with one K for Caguas on 12/30 - he now has a 0.68 ERA in 23 games ( 26 1/3 IP ).
Mexican Winter League :
Former Phillie RHP Manuel Urias ( selected by the Astros in recent minor league Rule 5 draft ) pitched 5 shutout innings for Los Mochis ( 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K’s - 64 pitches - 42 strikes ) on 12/26 against Hermosillo.
Starlyn Castillo with no hitter mates Luke Wilkins, Riley Yeatman & Ryan January
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