Saturday, April 9
(6-2) Philadelphia Phillies - 10
(4-5) Atlanta Braves - 2
Phillies Catchers Doing Damage Against the Braves:
As mentioned in the game preview, the Braves seemed lucky to miss Carlos Ruiz because he was 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI in his career against Brandon Beachy. However, Ruiz still managed to do serious damage against Atlanta despite not starting or even facing Beachy.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh, Ruiz pinch hit for Roy Oswalt and launched a grand slam off Scott Linebrink for a five-run lead. The play was worth .113 WPA. Ruiz later added a RBI double in the eighth off Cristhian Martinez to push the lead to seven runs. Despite not starting and only getting two plate appearances, Ruiz totaled a .118 WPA, which was fourth-highest in the game.
Starting catcher Brian Schneider provided the biggest swing in the game when he hit a two-run home run off Beachy in the fourth to give the Phillies a one-run lead. The play was worth .253 WPA. It was Schneider's only hit, but the swing in WPA from the homer resulted in a game-high .232 WPA for the catcher. The two Philly catchers proved to be the most valuable hitters and two of the three most valuable Phillies in the game.
Stat of the Day:
Two catchers homering for the same team in the same game has happened 37 times since 1919 (h/t Baseball-Reference)
WPA Winners:
(PHI) Brian Schneider: .232
(ATL) Alex Gonzalez: .133
(PHI) Roy Oswalt: .128
WPA Losers:
(ATL) Jason Heyward: -.174
(ATL) Brandon Beachy: -.141
(ATL) Scott Linebrink: -.124
The Game Changer:
Schneider's two-run homer in the fourth gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead, worth .253 WPA.
Game graph courtesy of FanGraphs:
For more on the series, Braves fans check out Talking Chop and Phillies fans check out The Good Phight.