Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Put another one in the win column for the Phillies. That makes six in a row, and Aaron Nola pitched another solid outing. Don’t look now, but they’re only 4½ games back of the Braves, with seven games still left head-to-head.
Not the best day for the Eagles, but I’d rather see them struggle now than halfway into the season.
August 20 has seen the end of a record losing streak, walk-off heroics, and the Phillies playing somewhere they hadn’t played in 135 years.
The Phillies Finally Win a Game
On this day in 1961, the Phillies and Braves played a doubleheader in Milwaukee. The Phillies lost Game 1, 5-2, extending their modern MLB-record losing streak to 23 games.
In Game 2, they turned to John Buzhardt to stop the bleeding. Clinging to a 3-2 lead, the Phillies erupted for four runs in the eighth inning and held on to win 7-4.
Buzhardt pitched a complete game to snap the losing streak at 23, a record that still stands today. The streak included 17 consecutive road games.
The Phillies finished the 1961 season 47-107.
I guess if you lose 23 straight, you’re bound to lose a lot on the year.
Trivia – How many 100-loss seasons have the Phillies had in their history? (Answer below)
Almost Perfect
On this day in 1986, Don Carman was perfect through eight innings in San Francisco before Bob Brenly led off the ninth with a double. Carman would get out of the inning unscathed, pitching nine innings of one-hit ball while striking out nine.
Giants pitcher Mike Krukow was almost equally effective, shutting out the Phillies into the 10th inning.
With one out in the top of the 10th, Juan Samuel hit a solo home run that proved to be the difference. Steve Bedrosian closed it out in the bottom of the inning, giving the Phillies a 1-0 victory.
Dickie Thon Does it Again
On this day in 1991, the Phillies took on the Pirates at the Vet. Trailing 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Dickie Thon stepped to the plate and hit a two-run homer to give the Phillies a 6-5 walk-off win.
It was the Phillies’ first ninth-inning win at home in 346 games.
They didn’t have to wait long for their next one, walking off the Pirates again the following day in the ninth. For good measure, they did it again two days later, this time in the 11th inning.
Three straight games, three straight walk-offs.
Finally, The Phillies Come Back to Buffalo
On this day in 2020, the Phillies and Blue Jays played a COVID-era doubleheader in Buffalo.
Because of the pandemic, the Blue Jays were not permitted to play in Canada, forcing them to play their home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
It marked the first time the Phillies had played in Buffalo since 1885.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a particularly happy return. The Phillies lost both games, 3-2 and 9-8.
It’s All About the Kids
On this day in 2023, the Phillies and Nationals played in the Little League Classic in Williamsport.
The MLB players spent the day taking in the Little League World Series games and even riding the buses with the Little League players before heading to Bowman Field for the game.
The Phillies fell behind 4-0, but mounted a ninth-inning rally that ultimately came up short. Jake Cave hit a two-run homer, but the Nationals held on for the win.
Trivia Answer – The Phillies have had 14 100-loss seasons in their history. (1904, 1921, 1923, 1927-28, 1930, 1936, 1938-42, 1945, and 1961)
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