Philadelphia

Phillies

Hill became a late addition to the Phillies’ lineup after Justin Crawford was scratched with a knee issue. The 30-year-old outfielder returned to the first ballpark that he called home in the big leagues and made an instant impact, crushing a 427-foot (104.1-mph EV) solo shot off of Jack Flaherty to open the scoring in the third inning. He then tied things up at two runs apiece with an RBI single in the fourth inning. On the season, Hill is now slashing .266/.321/.460 with seven homers and 15 RBI in 137 plate appearances on the season.

Nola piled up eight strikeouts in the contest while issuing a pair of walks. All of the damage done against him came on one mighty swing of the bat by Kevin McGonigle in the third inning. Aside from that, Nola was in complete command. He got 14 swings and misses on 84 pitches on the night — six of those on his knuckle curve — registering a CSW of 31 percent. The 33-year-old righty heads into the All-Star break with a 3-6 5.75 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and a 102/31 K/BB ratio over 97 innings through his first 19 starts. Aside from the strikeouts, he has been an unmitigated disaster for fantasy purposes.

The issue isn’t believed to be major and the 22-year-old outfielder is considered day-to-day. Derek Hill will start in his place in center field on Friday evening against Jack Flaherty and the Tigers at Comerica Park.

He’s the second Phillies player to join the field in the last two days, as he and Bryce Harper are joining Willson Contreras, Jac Caglianone, Junior Caminero, and Ben Rice. There’s room for one more player. Schwarber led the league in homers last year (56) and currently is leading MLB again this year with 32 while hitting .254/.369/.571. The 33-year-old star will undoubtedly be one the favorites to win the derby.

Luzardo threw his final pitch in a scoreless game., but Justin Crawford singled in pinch-runner Derek Hill in the top of the eighth to put the lefty in line for a win. Jonathan Bowlan and Jhoan Duran then finished up. Some weren’t happy about Luzardo’s All-Star selection, and there’s certainly a good argument that teammate Zack Wheeler would have been a better choice. Luzardo, though, has allowed two runs or fewer in 13 of his 19 starts and seems well on his way to his third strong season in the last four. He ends the first half 8-4 with a 3.52 ERA and a 136/35 K/BB in 110 1/3 innings. He’s fourth in the majors in strikeouts.

Duran gave up a single and hit a batter before striking out Eugenio Suárez and Tyler Stephenson and getting Noelvi Marte to ground out to the end the game. It’s his 23rd save in 24 tries this year.

It’s the second time since early April that Realmuto’s average has dipped under .200. The last time, on June 12, he followed it up by going 4-for-8 with two homers and six RBI in his next two games. Maybe it’ll happen again.

With Tanner Banks (forearm) hitting the injured list, Shugart will get another opportunity to pitch out of the big league bullpen. The 29-year-old right-hander has registered a 4.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 34/11 K/BB ratio over 29 innings in 26 appearances with the Phillies on the season.

No word yet on the severity of the strain or how long Banks will be sidelined for. The 34-year-old southpaw holds a troublesome 7.14 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and a 32/13 K/BB ratio over 29 innings in 28 appearances with the Phillies this season.

The ball was flying in Cincinnati tonight. Schwarber’s ninth inning home run was the seventh of this game and his league-leading 32nd of the season. It’s been a banner first half for the slugger with 58 RBI, a .254 batting average, and .945 OPS to go along with those 32 dingers.