Jeff Hoffman is one of the Phillies’ best relievers. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire) ANAHEIM — Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas had just provided perhaps the most thrilling moment of the Phillies’ young season and Jeff Hoffman had to calm down. So he channelled his inner SEAL. “SEAL-type breathing” is a method the 31-year-old reliever employs before high-leverage outings, a tool he’s picked up from guest speakers — including Navy SEALs — over the course of his career. The goal is a low heart rate, because pitching is hard enough without one. It allows him to execute his game pla ..read more

Johan Rojas (center) and Nick Castellanos (right) each hit clutch home runs in the ninth inning on Tuesday night. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire) Final score: Phillies 7, Angels 5 ANAHEIM — Sometimes you win games because your best players play well, you make routine plays and you hold on to the comfortable lead those things gave you. Other times, you win games because you are the West Coast Phillies, and for the West Coast Phillies, mayhem rules. Mayhem came in two exceedingly unlikely forms on Tuesday night in Anaheim: Nick Castellanos, whose struggles have sent him toward the bot ..read more

Mike Trout will miss extended time after tearing his meniscus. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire) ANAHEIM — No one raised an eyebrow at Mike Trout during the Angels’ 6-5 win over the Phillies on Monday night. There was no reason to. Trout went to the plate all four times the leadoff spot came up for Los Angeles. Manned center field all nine innings. Stole a bag. Scored from second on a wild pitch. The biggest abnormality for the future Hall of Famer was the zero in the hit column.  That was Monday. Tuesday brought news that stunned everyone, his own manager included. “It’s like you just leav ..read more

Brandon Marsh is off to a strong start in 2024. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire) ANAHEIM — There aren’t many trades in sports history that qualified as win-wins once hindsight offered its two cents. On Aug. 2, 2022, the Phillies and Angels completed one of them. Now, with Brandon Marsh returning to Anaheim for the first time since that trade, and with Marsh and Logan O’Hoppe each established as productive regulars for their respective club, everyone involved would be hard-pressed to say they’d have it any other way.  “It was a good trade, I think, for both sides,” Phillies manager Rob Thomso ..read more

Seranthony Dominguez has struggled in 2024. (Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire) The Philadelphia Phillies have a problem with reliever Seranthony Domínguez, but a solution isn’t so simple. While Domínguez was initially a victim of some bad luck on soft contact by Los Angeles Angels hitters in Monday night’s Phillies loss, he eventually unraveled in the bottom of the seventh inning. The play that ultimately allowed the winning run to score came on a wild pitch by Domínguez, which after an errant flip by catcher Garrett Stubbs brought home two runs. The Phillies would lose the game 6-5. we're soari ..read more

Alec Bohm had a big hit early but couldn’t come through late against the Angels. (Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire) Final score: Angels 6, Phillies 5 ANAHEIM — It was too good a script. The Phillies had two men in scoring position with one out in the ninth, a single away from tying it. First chance: Alec Bohm, the NL Player of the Week who’s built the best start to a season of his career largely on the strength of hitting with runners in scoring position. Second chance: Brandon Marsh, returning to Anaheim for the first time as a visitor since he was traded to the Phillies in 2022. But wheth ..read more

Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are off to strong starts. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation) The Phillies rotation is off to a truly special start. Through 29 games, the staff ranks second in the league in ERA (2.36), third in strikeouts-per-nine innings (9.44) and first in FanGraphs WAR (4.4). The rotation is also first among all MLB teams in innings pitched at 175 1/3, 12 1/3 more innings than the second-place Kansas City Royals. As the rest of baseball yearns for the days when starters consistently threw six or seven innings, the Phillies are turning back the clock. They lead all of baseball in ..read more

George Klassen is in Single-A Clearwater. (Cheryl Pursell) Phillies fans may want to remember the name George Klassen. Because if he pitches anywhere near the way he has through four professional starts, the young right-hander will certainly make an impact on the organization in one way or another. Klassen, a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft, has excelled as a starter for Single-A Clearwater so far this season. The hard-throwing 22-year-old has yet to allow an earned run through four outings while displaying a repertoire that should encourage those within Philadelphia’s organization. Fourt ..read more

Brandon Marsh is in his third season with the Phillies. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire) Sometimes the best thing you can do to make sure an issue is addressed is complain. And keep complaining. And then complain some more. That strategy appears to have worked in regards to the much-maligned Nike Vapor Premier jersey template that MLB switched to this season, which has been widely panned by players, fans and pretty much everyone not collecting a paycheck from one of those two corporations. ESPN’s Jeff Passan obtained a memo from the MLB Players Association to its members informing them th ..read more

Bryson Stott hit two home runs Sunday. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire) Final Score: Phillies 8, Padres 6 Taijuan Walker was an important piece to the puzzle for the Phillies last season. He started 31 games, covered 172 2/3 innings and kept the team in games when he pitched. The Phillies went 21-10 in his 31 starts a season ago. The right-hander didn’t pitch in the postseason, though. Then, the start to his 2024 season was delayed after being diagnosed with an impingement in his throwing shoulder late in spring training. The veteran finally returned to the mound for the Phillies on Sunday after ..read more