Phillies news and rumors 5/11: Kevin Gausman says Phils have ‘best lineup in NL’

Kevin Gausman diced the Philadelphia Phillies up on Wednesday. He threw six shutout innings, walking none and allowing just three hits while striking out nine in an eventual extra-inning Blue Jays loss.

It did not come easy for the accomplished righty, however — if his own postgame comments are any indication.

“I think they’re the best lineup in the National League,” Gausman told the collective media, including MLB.com‘s Paul Casella, “from top to bottom.”

That statement might be truer on paper than it is in practice, at least so far this season. The Phillies rank third in the NL in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage and a subpar ninth in runs.

But much of that relative underperformance is due to slow starts from Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, as well as a monthlong Bryce Harper absence. Once those first two get going — which history strongly suggests they will — there’s no reason the Phillies can’t produce like a top-of-the-NL lineup, particularly if Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott revert back to their April ways.

It’s probably a good sign that Gausman, one of the better pitchers in baseball and a top-10 Cy Young finisher the past two seasons, had that takeaway even after mowing the Phillies’ offense down like he did. And even on a day where the bats went relatively silent, the group demonstrated it’s always somewhat of a pain in the neck, stringing together a few clutch hits against Jordan Romano to tie it up in the ninth before the eventual walk-off an inning later.

“Going in, you know you’ve gotta be pretty fine,” Gausman said of facing the Phillies. “You’re gonna have to throw good pitches in good counts.”

Must-Read (Or Watch) Phillies Content

• Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer featured Phillies farm director Preston Mattingly’s relationship with his mother Kim, who’s five years sober after a long battle with alcoholism.
• The Athletic‘s Matt Gelb wrote about the Phillies’ bullpen in the wake of Jose Alvarado’s upcoming absence …
• … But that absence shouldn’t be long. The Phillies got “good news” on Alvarado’s elbow on Wednesday.
• Nick Castellanos tugged at the heartstrings after the series-opening win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday:

Before Nick Castellanos steps into the batter’s box, he always writes something in the dirt with his bat. I asked him last night what it is. pic.twitter.com/SR9xleDyPY

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) May 10, 2023

Former Phillies Watch

• New York Mets closer David Robertson — of 2022 and (kind of ) 2019 Phillies lore — on Wednesday earned his seventh save of the season in as many opportunities. He has a 0.59 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP with 20 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings, because of course he does.

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