Make it three straight wins for the Phillies, and seven of their last eight.

The Phils took the first of their four-game series with a 6-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, thanks to another strong outing by Vince Velasquez. The righty went 6 1/3 innings, allowing only five hits and two walks with five strikeouts on 96 pitches.

Carlos Santana got the scoring started with solo home run in the top of the fifth, before the Phils scored three runs in the eighth on hits from Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera (who reached base for the 43rd straight game), and a two-run shot by Pedro Florimon in the ninth.

I’m starting to think this team is legit. It’s still May, but maybe this team has the ability to get to the NLCS? Am I getting a little ahead of myself? Certainly they need to fix some things, especially their struggles against their fellow NL East rivals. And maybe getting a guy like Manny Machado now could push things forward. And we’ll have to get used to Kapler’s use of the bullpen. But it’s looking like summer baseball at Citizens Bank Park will be making its triumphant return in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, JP Crawford is expected to begin a rehab assignment in Clearwater next week.

Jake Arrieta takes the mound tonight at 8:15 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Zach Eflin and Aaron Nola are scheduled to start for the rest of the series.

The Roundup:


Robert Covington underwent surgery on his left middle finger that bothered him for nearly the entire second half of the season. He’ll be reevaluated in about two to three weeks.

As for draft preparations, the Sixers have begun to interview potential picks. Michigan State’s Miles Bridges will be interviewed today. He thinks he’s the guy with the last name “Bridges” that should play with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid:

“I feel like I can play any position on the floor,” Bridges said. “I’m comfortable at every position, I can guard any position, so I feel like that’s very comfortable.”

The history of the 10th overall pick has a lot of hits and misses, but there’s a ton of the picks turned out to be great.

Kevin recaps Justin Anderson’s season.

Meanwhile, where are some of the Nova guys projected to go?


The Eagles have been invited to the White House for a visit on June 5. Will the team go? Who might not go?

Taking a good guess at the Eagles’ depth chart after the NFL Draft.


The Phantoms start their Eastern Conference Final series Saturday afternoon in Toronto against the Marlies, the best team in the AHL. It’ll be a tough challenge for the young guys:

“They take away time and space as well as any team we will have played all year,” said (Scott) Gordon, whose team has been focusing on quick puck movement during practices.  “That’s going to be the biggest battle — to get through that lack of time and space by the proper reads to try to get through the tight coverage, starting from our zone.”

The Flyers should buy out Jori Lehtera. They probably won’t.


In other sports news, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves as the Lightning evened their Eastern Conference Final series with the Capitals with a 4-2 win.

Luka Doncic is still undecided about whether he will declare for the NBA Draft or not.

Reuben Foster’s ex-girlfriend pretty much lied about his alleged domestic violence incident.

One former NHL first-round pick is having a video game problem that could cost him his career.


In the news, enjoy the rain this weekend!

Cambridge Analytica has filed for bankruptcy in the United States.

PayPal is buying iZettle for $2.2 billion.