July 30, 2025
Matt Marton/Imagn Images
Chicago White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa (50) high fives Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) after they score on Sosa’s two run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Rate Field.
After a rain delay lasting over three hours, the Phillies and White Sox finally played the rubber match of their three game series Wednesday at Rate Field in Chicago, on the eve of Major League Baseball's trade deadline. Both teams have been heavily mentioned in trade talks – for opposite reasons – as the 6 p.m. Thursday deadline nears.
It seemed apropos that in the middle of a game the Phillies would eventually lose because of another bullpen meltdown, news broke that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had pulled off a trade for one of MLB's best relievers, acquiring Jhoan Duran from the Twins in the most impactful trade deadline move to date of the Dombrowski era in Philadelphia.
The Phils have carried one of MLB's worst bullpens all season and in this series alone allowed 12 runs in total from the seventh inning on against the toiling Sox, who entered Wednesday's game 30 games under .500 and headed for their third consecutive sub-60-win season.
On Wednesday, the Phillies and Sox were tied at 2-2 going into the seventh when Phils relievers Max Lazar and Seth Johnson combined to allow seven runs on eight hits, with Lazar serving up a three-run homer to Miguel Vargas and Johnson surrendering a three-run blast just a few batters later to Edgar Quero as the Philes eventually lost 9-2.
Although the Phillies and White Sox are done trading leads, perhaps they can still be partners in transactions. The Phils could still use a right-handed power bat for the outfield and one of Chicago's top commodities, outfielder Luis Robert Jr., showcased his ability Monday night with a 351-foot homer in the fourth off an unusually erratic Cristopher Sánchez for his 11th homer and 43rd RBI in a 6-2 Sox win.
Here's a recap of the series:
Duran can't get here quickly enough. Lazar had actually been pitching decently and earned a more high-leverage role until his implosion in the third game. In the opener, Lazar entered the game with the Sox up 4-2 and a runner on third before inducing a two-out groundout to extend his scoreless streak to four innings going back to July 11.
But entering a 2-2 game in the seventh on Wednesday, he allowed a leadoff double in the seventh Wednesday followed by three straight singles and then a 378-foot homer to Vargas for the 6-2 Sox lead. He allowed to more singles before being replaced by Johnson, who had already allowed two runs on three hits in the Game 1 loss before giving up the two-run shot to Quero.
The Phillies' 4.33 bullpen ERA going into the game, ranked 23rd in MLB, only got more inflated. Their 17 blown saves are fifth-most in the NFL. If they could cut their blown saves in half, they'd have the best record in baseball.
On the plus side, Phillies lefthanded batters stayed hot in this series, especially against right-handed pitching. Bryce Harper went 4-for-11 with two doubles and two RBIs. Kyle Schwarber walked three times and hit a two-run homer – his 37th – in Game 2. Brandon Marsh went 6-for-12, scored three times, homered twice and drove in three. Schwarber's homer was the main blast in the Phils' 6-3 win in Game 2.
From the mound, left-hander Jesús Luzardo rebounded from his last dreadful start to toss seven scoreless innings in the Phillies' only win of the series, allowing just two hits. He struck out four and walked one, putting past last week's disastrous outing against the Red Sox when he walked five and allowed two hits in five innings, giving up six runs.
One would think if the Phillies were planning to trade their top prospect Andrew Painter, the eighth-ranked overall MLB prospect per MLB.com, they wouldn't have let him make his scheduled start Wednesday afternoon and risk any kind of injury to the hard-throwing right-hander who's coming back from Tommy John surgery.
Making his 14th start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Painter allowed just one run on seven hits over 6.1 innings, striking out four and walking two in what could be his last start before a promotion to the big leagues. Aaron Nola is on a rehab assignment and Taijuan Walker's days as the fifth starter could be coming to an end if the Phils decide to call up Painter while Nola is still rehabbing.
Walker hasn't pitched poorly, as his 3.82 ERA is fine for a fifth starter, but he can help the Phillies as a long man in the bullpen. Painter, after some struggles earlier this month, has allowed just three runs in his last two starts, spanning 12.1 innings.
The Phillies are in the midst of a 21-game interleague streak coming out of the All-Star break and start another three-game series on Friday at Citizens Bank Park against the AL Central-leading Tigers, who entered Wednesday tied for MLB's most wins along with Toronto and Milwaukee.
The Phillies opened the streak by dropping two of three to the Angels but rebounded to take their series against the Red Sox and Yankees before losing two of three to the White Sox, which means the Phillies are 5-4 in their last nine games and 6-6 overall since the break. They finished Wednesday's action a half-game behind the Mets for the NL East lead.
The Mets have also been busy at the trade deadline, bolstering their bullpen.
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