Tony Gwynn Jr. is a former major league outfielder and son of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Over the last two years, he got to know new Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, whose contact skills at the plate often draw comparisons to Gwynn. Tony Jr. joined Phillies Extra to discuss his father, Arraez, and the bonds that connect them. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is returning to Philadelphia.
On Saturday, Xfinity Mobile Arena will host UFC 330, the first time the city has hosted a numbered event since 2011. Saturday’s 12-fight slate includes two title bouts. In the women’s strawweight division, Brazil’s Mackenzie Dern will defend her title against Canada’s Gillian Robertson. Then, Russia’s Islam Makhachev is slated to take on Irish challenger Ian Machado Garry in the men’s welterweight championship.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Saturday will be the first time Makhachev is putting his title on the line after winning it at UFC 322 in November.
Makhachev (28-1-0) is a two-weight world champion and currently on a 16-fight winning streak — tied for the longest in UFC history. Machado Garry (17-1-0) comes in as the underdog, but his size may prove advantageous in the Octagon. The Irishman is listed at 6-foot-3 while Makhachev comes in at 5-11.
Meanwhile, Dern (16-5) will also put her title on the line for the first time. She won the belt last October after defeating Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. Her opponent, Robertson (17-8), has won five straight fights entering Saturday.
Philadelphia’s own Jeremiah Wells will fight Kyrgyzstan’s Myktybek Orolbai in an early preliminary welterweight fight.
Wells, 39, is a West Philly native who attended Overbrook and boasts a 13-4-1 record. Before joining the UFC, Wells actually worked at the Xfinity Mobile Arena (then the Wells Fargo Center), setting up concerts and other events. Now, he is looking to get his first UFC win in the arena. He currently trains in the Poconos.
The 28-year-old Orolbai (16-2-1) will be a formidable opponent. The Kyrgyzstani has won his last three fights. Most recently, he defeated Chris Curtis via unanimous decision in March.
On Friday, the fighters will participate in a ceremonial weigh-in at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The event, which is open to the public, will start with a news conference at 5 p.m.
The weigh-in will also be streamed for free on UFC.com and UFC’s socials accounts.
In 2011, UFC drew a meager Philadelphia crowd — filling up just over half of the then-named Wells Fargo Center.
That night, Taylor Swift sold out Lincoln Financial Field across the street. Expect a bigger crowd this weekend. The UFC has exploded in popularity in recent years and UFC president Dana White won’t be competing with Swift this time.
The 11-fight card in 2011 featured former light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz. Evans knocked out Ortiz with a knee to Ortiz’s upper abdomen in the fight’s second round.
“It was a great night, I got mad respect for Tito for taking this fight,” Evans told the Inquirer at the time.
UFC’s most recent visit came in 2019 for a Fight Night card at the then-Wells Fargo Center, featuring a main event between Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza.
There have been quite a few. Here’s some notable names:
Eddie Alvarez: Alvarez (30-8) grew up in Kensington. Alvarez, nicknamed the “The Underground King,” is widely considered to be one of the best lightweight fighters ever. He has won two Bellator lightweight championships and one UFC championship. His last official fight came in 2021, a loss to South Korea’s Rae Yoon Ok.
Kyle Daukaus: Daukaus (17-5) grew up in Northeast Philadelphia. He was most recently featured on the White House fight card, where he was knocked out by Bo Nickal, a former Penn State wrestler. Before joining the UFC, Daukaus previously worked as a police officer in North Philadelphia’s 25th District.
Andre Petroski: Petroski (13-7) grew up in Chester and attended Springfield High School. When he’s not in the Octagon, Petroski moonlights as one of the Flyers’ fighting coaches. He has lost his last three fights.
Pat Sabatini: Sabatini (22-5) most recently saw action at May’s UFC 328, winning his fourth consecutive fight. He began training in Northeast Philly at 5 years old.
Sean Brady: Brady (19-2), who defeated Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision at May’s UFC 328, grew up in Northeast Philadelphia. He is a top-ranked welterweight fighter.
“I think [Philadelphia fighters are] just really gritty, tough, hard workers,” Brady told the Inquirer in 2025. “And anyone who’s ever seen us train at our gym, they just see how hard we train and we wear that as a badge of honor”
Tickets are still available to purchase from Ticketmaster and other verified secondary markets.
The UFC has an exclusive deal with Paramount+, meaning that any viewers must subscribe to the streaming platform to watch Saturday’s fights. Plans start at $8.99 per month.
UFC is hosting a fan experience event outside of Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday. The event will run from 2 to 6 p.m.
Attendees can take a photograph with the UFC Championship belt, buy merchandise, and take a swing at the “UFC Striking Challenge.” There will also be opportunities to meet select UFC athletes from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Tonight, assuming the weather holds out, Phillies players will emerge from cornstalks and onto a field in Iowa, just like the characters in the iconic 1989 film Field of Dreams — and just like some legendary Phillies on Bryson Stott’s custom cleats for the game.
One of the film’s most memorable characters was “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who was banned from baseball for life after the 1919 Black Sox betting scandal but maintained until his death that he did not throw the World Series. Before Jackson, played by Ray Liotta, jogs back into the outfield and disappears into the cornfield, he famously asks Kevin Costner’s character, “Hey, is this heaven?”
“No, it’s Iowa,” a stunned Costner replies.
While Jackson is best known for his time with the White Sox, his big-league career actually got its start in Philly a year after he earned the “Shoeless” moniker. But he likely never confused the city with heaven.
Despite manager Connie Mack’s best efforts to get Jackson to leave his hometown of Greenville, S.C., the then-minor leaguer just didn’t want to move North — so much so that after signing with the A’s, he hopped off a Philly-bound train overnight to avoid it. Jackson, who couldn’t read or write, went to work at a cotton mill instead.
Mack didn’t give up, sending a man named Socks to land a player called Shoeless, and Jackson eventually arrived before the end of the 1908 season. But he only played 10 games in Philly over two years before moving on to fame in Cleveland and ultimately infamy in Chicago.
New rules will allow Jackson to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as early as 2027, and if when he does, it won’t be as a member of the A’s. But his major-league career started right here. Although if you’ve been paying attention, that probably doesn’t shock you — there’s always a Philly angle.
— Matt Mullin, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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Johnny Mundt was not the Eagles’ most heralded offseason signing, but he’s a critical symbol of the team’s new direction.
The veteran tight end’s familiarity with the new offensive scheme ushered in by coordinator Sean Mannion — he was also Mannion’s teammate once upon a time with the Rams — is a big reason why he’s here. The Eagles are asking their tight ends to do new things, with returnees including Dallas Goedert asked to block at the point of attack more than they ever have. Nick Sirianni has used the term “marrying the run and pass” so often that he’s probably at this point ordained to officiate a wedding.
“We’re huge in that,” Mundt said. “Being attached to the line of scrimmage, being the point of attack on a lot of these blocks, you can do a lot of play-action stuff off that. The marriage of the run and the pass has been core to this offense ever since its start.”
It’s a brand-new era for the tight ends.
Next: The Eagles visit the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday (7 p.m., NBC10) for their preseason opener.
For four innings on Wednesday, Zack Wheeler looked back to form. Coming off a rough stretch, Wheeler had allowed one run against the Cardinals in the series finale in St. Louis.
But then came the fifth inning: Four consecutive two-out hits turned into four runs and ballooned his ERA since the All-Star break to 6.04.
So what gives for one of the Phillies’ aces?
Said catcher J.T. Realmuto: “It looks like he might be fighting his mechanics a little bit.”
Next: The Phillies travel to Dyersville, Iowa to take on Minnesota in the Field of Dreams game tonight (7:30, Netflix). Aaron Nola (3-9, 5.47 ERA) is scheduled to start against Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.76).
The minute the Sixers landed LeBron James, Philly artist Chenlin Cai knew what his next mural would be. On Wednesday, two and a half weeks later, Cai was at the corner of 10th and Arch Streets in Chinatown applying the seal coat to his new mural, which he hopes can shine a positive light on and draw more business to the area.
The mural pays tribute to Philadelphia (and LeBron’s) history with a bronze William Penn playing the role of Dwyane Wade in a recreation of the famous meme from their time together in Miami. More importantly, it honors his Chinese heritage with the wave on the right cresting to form an ancient Chinese legend known as the “Dragon’s Gate,” which symbolizes hard work, bravery, and good fortune.
As pedestrians passed by and fist bumped Cai, some stopping to chat about their excitement over the upcoming season, he encouraged them to post on social media and continue to spread his message.
“I am just so happy with the attention this has been getting,” Cai said. “It means so much for me and my family, and this is the true purpose of my art, to bring more traffic to Chinatown and help the small businesses here.”
Luigi Suigo has only been on campus for a few weeks, but he’s already had his Villanova rite of passage.
Suigo, a 7-foot-3, 19-year-old from Italy who goes by “Gigi,” went to Campus Corner, the longtime pizza shop on Lancaster Ave., and had his first cheesesteak. He thought it was “crazy good” and said he may “have them in secret” after being warned not to eat too many.
He better get them in while he can. Suigo’s stay on the Main Line is not expected to be long. The freshman big man, who played professionally in Serbia last season, is expected to join the short list of modern Villanova players who are on campus for one season before being selected in the NBA draft. His journey starts now.
On Aug. 13, 1972, 67-year-old daredevil Karl Wallenda completed his tightrope walk across Veterans Stadium between games of a Phillies doubleheader.
“In the early ‘70s, we didn’t win a lot of games,” Larry Bowa said in 2022, on the 50th anniversary of the stunt. “So we had to get people in there. It was like a circus.”
And indeed it was. In addition to the high-wire act, there was Kiteman, Cannon Man, Benny the Human Bomb, and a first pitch dropped from a helicopter. And while not everything went as planned, Wallenda successfully completed his walk.
Despite his implication that American hero Dr. Anthony Fauci somehow acted improperly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite his denials that he was considering retiring over the winter (he was), Vic Fangio is a compulsive truth-teller — at least, in his own mind. He dogged the Dolphins when he was there, he’s told us that Jalen Carter has been out of shape, and he said last year that Adoree’ Jackson was playing so badly he might not start.
On Tuesday, Veritas Vic revealed a truth about 2025 that had been self-evident: Jalen Hurts lost a step.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Matt Breen, Devin Jackson, Antony R. Wood, Jeff Neiburg, DeAntae Prince, Gina Mizell, Conor Smith, Lauren Jones, Becca O’Reilly, Lochlahn March, and Marcus Hayes.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Luigi Suigo has only been on campus for a few weeks, but he’s already had his Villanova rite of passage.
Assistant coach Ricky Harris took Suigo to Campus Corner, the longtime pizza shop on Lancaster Ave., and Suigo, a 7-foot-3, 19-year-old from Italy, was overwhelmed by all the menu options.
Harris asked: “Have you ever had a cheesesteak?”
Suigo didn’t know what it was, he said, but let Harris lead the way. The cheesesteak was “crazy good,” Suigo said, though he said Villanova general manager Baker Dunleavy playfully cautioned against having too many of them.
“Maybe I’ll have them in secret,” said Suigo, who goes by “Gigi.”
He better get them in while he can. Suigo’s stay on the Main Line is not expected to be long. The freshman big man, who played professionally last season with Serbia’s Mega Basket, is expected to join the short list of modern Villanova players who are on campus for one season before being selected in the NBA draft.
Cam Whitmore did it in 2023, but before that was Tim Thomas all the way back in 1996. Suigo arriving at Villanova has rivaled the excitement of those players and even Jalen Brunson, who was a McDonald’s All-American before he played at Villanova for three seasons.
Suigo went through the draft process this offseason and participated in the NBA draft combine before ultimately deciding to remove his name from the field and sign to play at Villanova. He likely is the highest-paid Villanova player in the nascent era of paying players. (Villanova, like all schools, does not publicly disclose the terms of player contracts, but it’s not hard to guesstimate that Suigo is making more than $3 million this season.)
This makes Villanova seemingly a temporary stopping point for Suigo, but it is a rather critical one. Suigo was projected to be selected in the later stages of the first round of the 2026 NBA draft, though there was no guarantee. He is a talented big man with a versatile skill set whose shooting range stretches beyond the three-point line, but there are elements of his game that need to improve if he’s going to be worthy of the “Italian Wemby” nickname.
That process already has started. Since arriving at Villanova at the end of July following a delay in his visa paperwork, Suigo has been working on conditioning. Suigo, who wants to be a lottery pick in next year’s draft, averaged 18.8 minutes in 26 games last season with Mega Basket. Working on his physique is a big part of what he’s doing right now on campus.
It is a bit of a lonely time on an empty campus, Suigo said, but he’s in the gym most days running and dunking on the court, pedaling on the bike, jumping, and doing “everything to get me back in shape.”
Besides his body, Suigo said he wants to expand the things he’s already good at, but also add an improved face-up element to his game from the perimeter. The NBA draft process also taught him about having a strong mindset, he said.
“Even in workouts with NBA teams, they’re just trying to see if you’re weak and you give up, or if you’re strong even if you’re dead tired,” Suigo said. “You just keep going. I learned to be tougher, stronger with my mind before even my body.”
Kevin Willard said in June that with some more development, the “sky is the limit” for Suigo, whose addition near the end of the offseason catapulted Villanova into discussion for a preseason top 25 ranking. With Suigo in tow, the Wildcats have a formidable front court and a versatile roster that can play big or small.
“I think he maybe would have gotten drafted late in the first round, but he doesn’t want that,” Willard said. “He wants to make sure when he gets drafted he’s going to play. The big thing is I think he needs to get Americanized a little bit, to American basketball. I think that’s why college will be really good for him. Get in shape a little bit, just kind of get used to American basketball.”
Willard flew overseas to see Suigo at least twice. Willard first went to see him with Dunleavy in Belgrade, Serbia, before he signed, and Suigo said Willard visited him again this summer in Italy.
Suigo is from Tradate, in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of the country, and this is his first time living outside of Europe, but he said he’s not worried about the distance from home. He has lived away from Tradate before. Suigo described himself as a guy who can meet new people easily, who likes to play video games or go bowling, but also a guy who likes to sleep and recover from basketball and doesn’t mind being alone.
Plus, he said, “I have my guys here.”
He’s still getting to know his new teammates, but Suigo has been impressed by returning leading scorer Tyler Perkins.
“Perk, he’s a machine, man,” Suigo said. “He’s that type of guy that works every day without saying nothing and he’s never tired. He just keeps working. I’m trying to be like him and be more tough.”
Suigo, who will open his college basketball career in his home country when Villanova takes on Notre Dame in Rome on Nov. 1, said he expects to get along well with Willard, who he called “a good man and a good coach from what I’ve seen.”
The visits from Willard are part of the reason why Suigo was sold that Villanova is the place to help him get to where he wants to go next. There’s money, sure, but it’s “the people, man,” Suigo said.
“I like to be around these people,” he said. “I think they were more honest with me and it’s just a feeling. You have to feel it. When you make new friends or meet new people, you have to have a feeling for those types of people. I think they’re the right people to push me through everything and try to get me better, and also the type of people you can have dinner with and have fun.
“I love it over here.”
When local caddie Conor McGinley first heard the U.S. Amateur Championship was coming to Merion Golf Club, he didn’t want anything to do with it.
“I’m just going to go out to the Hamptons and I don’t need to deal with this stuff,” he said.
But then he saw Stuart Grehan, an Irish golfer, win the 131st British Amateur Championship on June 20, and thought, “Hold on a minute.”
McGinley, who has been a caddie for 24 years and is a golf fanatic, knew only four people in the history of golf had ever won the British Amateur and U.S. Amateur in the same year, and one of them was Bobby Jones in 1930 at Merion Golf Club.
McGinley was put in contact with Grehan by a mutual friend on Facebook, got on a phone call with him, and made his case for why he should be Grehan’s caddie.
“I’ve caddied for every level, so I’m more than capable of caddying for you,” he recalled saying to Grehan. “But this is all up to you now. Instead of bringing your father-in-law or your brother or whoever, come and go with a proper local caddie because that is huge, especially at Merion.”
Forty-four local Merion caddies were on the bag for the world’s best amateur this week, with 11 advancing to match play. For many of those caddies, they believe it is a major advantage.
“You can see it right away because you’re walking with guys who aren’t Merion caddies and you can see them taking lines and you can see them missing putts and you can see them even misreading all types of greens,” said LaRue Temple, who has caddied at Merion for 29 years and for athletes ranging from Eli Manning to Rachel Kuehn, a member of Team USA who won the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion. “You can see them doing things that a local caddie would be like, ‘That is not a good idea.’”
The major edge for golfers using local caddies is their understanding of the grain in the greens and the layout of each hole. The caddies at Merion know where to miss each shot and what targets and line to take off each tee. They have seen almost every hole location during their rounds at Merion, Temple said, so they are able to tell players the right part of the green to aim at.
Many of the local caddies grew up in the area or have been working at Merion for almost 30 years.
Sean McConnell, who started caddying at Merion in 2021, graduated from Haverford High School in 1992 and watched the 1989 U.S. Amateur when Chris Patton won at Merion.
“I grew up around here and was like, ‘Maybe I’ll get to play Merion one day,’ and now I walk it every day,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted.”
His son, Austin McConnell, got him the job. Austin, who is a sophomore at Penn State and an Evans Scholar, started caddying at Merion in April 2021 and knew his dad had some knowledge of the sport since he played at Methodist University and graduated in 1997.
Both Sean and Austin caddied in the championship, with Austin advancing to match play, caddying for 17-year-old Dawson Lew from Canada.
When most golfers come to Merion, they aren’t aware that the greens have grain that impacts the way the ball breaks and rolls, caddie Kevin Shindler said.
“It definitely helps with the reading of the greens,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize that this course has a lot of grain. They associate that with just Bermuda grass down in Florida. It’s not as strong as it is down there, but it’s very real and people don’t always realize that. Having a caddie who has been here a while knows you can’t really see the grain, but just [knowing] what it’s doing on each hole is helpful.”
Shindler caddied for Tianyi Xiong, who advanced to the Round of 64, but lost his match on Wednesday.
For McGinley, being a caddie in major amateur championships is more than being a “bag carrier.” It’s also about building a relationship with the golfers to help them succeed in match play.
“You’re saving at least a couple strokes by having a local caddie that actually knows the course, but it’s not just knowing the course, it’s knowing how to manage people and deal with their emotions,” he said.
Many of the Merion caddies whose golfers didn’t advance to match play were out supporting the ones who did on Wednesday.
“I don’t care who it is, I just want to see one of our guys in the final match and maybe prove that point of having a local caddie is beneficial,” McGinley said. “But at the end of the day this is golf, and golf doesn’t care.”
The offseason heading into LeBron James’ 24th season has already been full of fireworks, and his latest social media post added to the anticipation for his 76ers debut later this fall.
James, who has enjoyed a long partnership with Nike throughout his career, teased the release of his 24th signature shoe Wednesday on Instagram, which he called “the lightest LeBron’s ever.”
Wearing his new signature shoes during what appears to be a morning workout, the low top LeBron XXIVs include an aqua blue base color with a black lining tracing the midsole, sockline, and lace panel, and gold accents with his signature crown logo on the shoe’s tongue. The material on the shoe, which looks like a mesh fishing net, is reportedly called “KingKnit,” according to Nick DePaula, and the outsole has an outline of a crown.
In the last slide of his post, James appeared to give a sneak preview of some other colorways for the shoe. Among them are a two-toned pink colorway, a white and red pair, a charcoal gray and dark red colorway, and a two-toned yellow pair.
James will join teammate Tyrese Maxey in releasing new shoes to the public this fall. Maxey announced earlier this week that his signature shoe, the New Balance Maxey v1, will drop on Oct. 2 in three colorways: In a black base made of suede and mesh material, with light blueish gray accents that swoop into the design, a white and cream base with light blueish gray accents, and a black base with orangish red accents.
Several sneaker outlets are reporting that the LeBron XXIV shoe is expected on Nov. 17 at a retail price of $200.
While many 8-year-olds are preparing for the beginning of second or third grade, a handful are preparing for the Cal Ripken 8U World Series next week in Marlton, Burlington County.
Eleven U.S. teams from across the country will compete against teams from Mexico, Curaçao, Bonaire, and Latin America.
“This is more than a baseball tournament,” Scott Hillman, host president of the 2026 Cal Ripken 8U World Series, said in a news release. “It’s an opportunity for our community to welcome families from around the world, create lifelong memories for these young athletes, and showcase everything that makes Marlton such a special place.”
All games will be played at the Diamonds at Arrowhead Park in Marlton. Games begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and culminate with the championship game at 2 p.m. Aug. 22.
Opening day matchups include Mexico vs. Denville, Curaçao vs. Lowell Youth and Bonaire vs. Marlton Orange at 9 a.m.; Latin America vs. Tri-Village at 11:30 a.m.; and Mexico vs. Marlton White at 2 p.m.
“Hosting the 2026 Cal Ripken 8U World Series is about much more than six days of baseball,” Marlton Baseball said in a post on social media. “It’s an opportunity to welcome teams from across the country and around the world while investing in the future of Marlton Baseball … Together, we’re building something that will benefit Marlton Baseball long after the final out is recorded.”
The Phillies might feel right at home Thursday when they are scheduled to play the Minnesota Twins in the “Field of Dreams” game in Dyersville, Iowa.
The weather out there is expected to have more than a dash of Philadelphia-style August flavor, with mugginess and rains during the day that could linger into game time, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Philly time.
“We’re tracing a potential band of storms that will set up near the ‘Field of Dreams’ Thursday evening,” said Connor DeLaune, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Davenport, Iowa.
“There probably will be a few isolated lightning strikes,” he added.
But this caveat might sound familiar: The timing and location of any storms remain uncertain, a forecast problem as challenging in northeastern Iowa as it is in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
John Feerick, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. and a die-hard Phillies fan, said it is possible the rains will back off during the evening.
“There may be enough of a break where they could get the game in,” he said.
That said, the teams may be better off waiting until Friday, which “looks a lot better.”
While no steady rain is expected Friday, Feerick added that he could not rule out that Philly special — a pop-up thunderstorm.
ST. LOUIS — The first two Cardinals hitters were fooled on curveballs in the dirt, and the third was late on a fastball upstairs.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Zack Wheeler looked back to form.
The Phillies right-hander was coming off a stretch of uncharacteristic starts marred by inconsistent command. He gave up five runs in Miami and four runs against Toronto, with a rain-shortened two-inning outing in Baltimore in between. Striking out the side to start the game in St. Louis looked like a positive sign.
But by the fifth inning, Wheeler’s command started to look spotty again. Four consecutive two-out hits snowballed into four runs in Phillies’ 7-1 loss to the Cardinals, Wheeler’s second loss in as many starts. His ERA since the All-Star break is 6.04.
“It looks like he might be fighting his mechanics a little bit,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “Just his command. You can tell, usually when he’s feeling right, his fastball command is pretty spot on, and he’s able to work in and out, up, down, and not miss a lot of locations. I feel like recently, it’s just been a little more erratic at times, just some bigger misses than you are used to seeing from him.”
Wheeler’s velocity was down from his average this season across all his pitches, but he wasn’t concerned about that. He said physically his body feels fine, but overall he is just not quite himself.
“Just a little out of whack right now, so just got to get that figured out,” Wheeler said. “Dig in, and see what’s going on, get that figured out. Just come back being better, more sharp.”
Wheeler was unable to pinpoint whether it is an issue with his mechanics, his stuff, or something else. From Realmuto’s perspective behind the plate, though, he thinks Wheeler’s stuff is as good as ever.
His defense didn’t do him many favors, either.
The Cardinals scored an unearned run in the second inning following an error from Alec Bohm. A ground ball hit right at the first baseman deflected away, and he wasn’t able to recover in time to make the out on Jordan Walker. The Cardinals outfielder stole second base and then scored after Wheeler allowed a double to Nathan Church.
But Wheeler limited the damage there until the fifth. The parade of two-out hits started with a single from JJ Wetherholt that got past Bohm. He was holding a runner at first and wasn’t able to close the gap in time on the hard-hit chopper.
Another single and consecutive doubles broke the game open for the Cardinals, and Wheeler didn’t return for the sixth after just 84 pitches. But 35 of those had come in the fifth, and interim manager Don Mattingly was trying to be cautious with the right-hander after he threw 115 pitches in his previous start.
“I think they’re just helping me out just because the high pitch count last game,” Wheeler said. “I mean, I was a little frustrated, wanted to go back out, but [Mattingly’s] just looking out for me, so it’s probably the best thing.”
The Phillies’ bullpen was much closer to full strength Wednesday than it was to start the series. Two more runs scored in the seventh charged to José Alvarado. His command was erratic again as he walked three.
The Phillies hit into two double plays on Wednesday after grounding into four the night prior. They also racked up eight strikeouts, burning both their automated ball-strike challenges by the third inning after Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber incorrectly challenged strike calls.
It went on to hurt the team later in the game. Realmuto said there were about three instances where he would have challenged if the Phillies had any remaining. He had already overturned two ball calls on Wheeler in the first and second inning, helping both at-bats turn into strikeouts.
“We didn’t get a lot going today,” Mattingly said. “I mean, we didn’t do enough to win the game today. You get one run, it’s hard to say you deserve to win the game.”
That lone run came in the fourth inning on back-to-back doubles from Harper and Luis Arraez. The second baseman connected on a curveball over the middle of the plate, hooking it just inside the right field line. It bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, giving Arraez his first hit in his last 17 plate appearances.
While it spoiled the shutout, it didn’t exactly break Arraez out of his slump. He grounded into a double play in his next plate appearance and then flew out in the ninth inning.
Harper looked to be in some discomfort in his final at-bat in the ninth, which ended in a walk. He has been dealing with by knee soreness that primarily bothers him when he decelerates while running, but he said postgame that wasn’t what was affecting him in that moment.
“I was fine. I was just trying to take a minute,” Harper said. “Took two really bad swings, so yeah, needed to keep my composure a little bit. I was good.”
Since the All-Star break, the Phillies have dropped six of eight series. Their two losses to the Cardinals sting all the more considering the fact they had their two aces — Cristopher Sánchez and Wheeler — on the mound for them.
The front end of the rotation is supposed to be the Phillies’ trump card. But it can’t be when the offense scores just one run over the last 19 innings.
“We’re not going to get any of those eight series back, so there’s no way to look at it other than go forward,” Mattingly said. “Kind of simple as that.”
The Phillies will head to Iowa on Thursday morning to take on the Twins in MLB’s Field of Dreams game. But what is supposed to be a celebration of the game of baseball and the iconic 1989 film will have a shadow over it as the Phillies seek to right the ship.
“Nobody in here is happy about the brand of baseball we’re playing right now,” Realmuto said.
To some, the Eagles are priceless. But according to Sportico’s latest NFL franchise valuations, the team is worth about $10.31 billion.
Sportico’s report placed the Eagles at No. 6 in the league for the second year in a row. Globally, they rank seventh overall — only the Golden State Warriors moved ahead of them.
Despite a 22% increase in value over last year, the Birds came in below the leaguewide average of a 31% year-over-year increase. Last year, the Birds saw a 25% increase in value year over year, with Sportico valuing them at $8.43 billion. That came after Jeffrey Lurie sold minority stakes in the team in December 2024 that valued it at $8.3 million. He bought the team for $185 million in 1994.
The leaguewide increase contributed to the NFL’s most valuable season yet, with the league’s 32 teams collectively worth $299 billion for the 2025 season. This marks the biggest single-year value gain for the NFL since Sportico began its valuations in 2020. According to the report, the average team’s value has increased 141% over the past five years.
Sportico’s calculations factor in everything from revenue and merchandise sales to real estate owned by the franchises. The NFL also showed off its financial prowess compared with other sports leagues, with each of the 32 teams ranking among the top 38 most valuable sports franchises in the world — even the Cincinnati Bengals, who were ranked No. 32 for the seventh straight year, only saw six non-NFL teams above them.
At the top of the list once again are the Dallas Cowboys at $15.5 billion. The Los Angeles Rams ($12.7 billion), New York Giants ($12 billion), New England Patriots ($10.4 billion) and New York Jets ($10.35 billion) round out the top five. The Jets, who climbed three spots, were the only NFL team to leapfrog the Eagles, but the Birds remained at No. 6 with the San Francisco 49ers falling three spots.