The Phillies lost to the Dodgers 5-4. If you’ve been someone that hasn’t followed the Phillies since June, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you. The Phils lost to the best team in baseball, not a shock.

But dig deeper into that 61-92 record and you see the Phillies have actually been good since the All-Star break. They’ve gone 32-34 overall and 18-15 in their last 33. They went 29-58 in the first half.

During that stretch, the Phillies have lost their title as baseball’s worst team, which now belongs to the San Francisco Giants by a game. They’re close to leapfrogging the White Sox and Tigers as well, and are four-and-a-half games behind the Mets for fourth in the NL East.

A big reason for this surge has been the arrival of their highly-touted prospects. And throughout this Dodger series, they played a huge role in the team’s three wins.

Monday night, Aaron Altherr hit the first grand slam home run Clayton Kershaw ever gave up. Rhys Hoskins hit a bases-clearing three RBI double Tuesday night and batted in another run. Altherr was clutch once against the following game, thanks to a game-tying homer in the seventh, followed by a two RBI single.

Yesterday, Hoskins, who started at first base, and Nick Williams drove in all four runs the Phillies would score, while J.P. Crawford drew three walks.

We saw a glimpse of what the 2018 Opening Day lineup could be. No Tommy Joseph. No Maikel Franco. No Cameron Rupp. Cesar Hernandez started at second base, but that could change if Scott Kingery excels in Spring Training.

There’s still plenty of things for the Phillies to fix, especially their pitching. But it’s been a long time since the team was fun to watch. And thanks to the prospects, they’ll be fun to watch for the final nine games of the season.

That starts tonight with the team’s final road series of the season against the Atlanta Braves at 7:35. Ben Lively goes on the mound against Sean Newcomb.

The Roundup:

Sticking with the Phillies, Tommy Joseph knows his role has changed, and he’s been professional about it.

Reliever Jesen Therrien might be out for the entire 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Ryan Lawrence has five candidates who could replace Larry Andersen on the Phillies radio team next season, including Jayson Stark:

Sometimes you put a list together and you feel really good about the names on it, but you’re searching for one last one to top it off. And then you realize that it’s probably the most obvious and best fit of the bunch. Broadcasting experience? Check. Stark worked at ESPN for nearly two decades. Baseball knowledge? Check. Stark is as plugged-in as anyone in baseball and has been for nearly 40 years working at the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN.com. Encyclopedia-like knowledge of the Phillies? Check. Stark is a former Phillies beat writer who wrote about baseball in Philadelphia and around the league while at the Inquirer for 21 years. He still lives in the area. Like Glanville, Stark was shockingly let go during ESPN’s layoffs in April. He should still be writing somewhere, surely, but maybe in 2018 he can be like Ken Rosenthal and write for one company while broadcasting for another.

Lawrence also interviewed Joey Davis, the area scout that signed Hoskins and a few other rookies.

The Phanatic got a date with Dodgers reporter Alanna Rizzo prior to yesterday’s game.

The Eagles are still trying to figure out their situation at safety. Rodney McLeod, Corey Graham, and Jaylen Watkins didn’t practice yesterday with hamstring injuries. Is new arrival Trae Elston ready to play on Sunday? Les Bowen has more:

Would defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz try some sort of four-linebacker look, with [Kamu] Grugier-Hill covering in the box? Is there any way to get Elston ready, even for one specific package?

“I really don’t know,” Elston said, when asked if the Eagles’ defense was similar to what he played in with the Bills. “I’m just trying to run fast, do it full speed.”

With Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas as the probable starters at cornerback this week, and Sidney Jones waiting to play, are the Eagles grooming their next long-term starters at the position?

Or could they go and get Malcolm Butler from the Patriots? Albert Breer thinks it’s possible:

Who would be the trade partner? The Eagles make sense. And they have a versatile front seven piece that would fill a major need for the Patriots and has been tied to trade talks in the past: linebacker Mychal Kendricks.

Speaking of Jones, Elijah Qualls thinks he’ll be a top corner when he finally plays in the NFL:

In what might be a historic running back class, the Eagles failed to get an impact running back. But everything will be alright.

We’ll have game predictions later today.

The Flyers fell to the Bruins 2-1 in overtime last night. Travis Sanheim scored the lone Flyers goal in the third period on a shorthanded opportunity, and Brian Elliott stopped all 18 shots he faced in two periods of work. The big worry was the power play units, going 0-for-9 in the game.

The team also reduced their training camp roster by 18 players. Notables include 2016 first round pick German Rubtsov heading back to Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, Philippe Myers going to Lehigh Valley’s training camp. The roster currently sits at 36 players.

But the toughest decisions have yet to come.

Chris B. Haynes has a small Joel Embiid update:

One of the big questions surrounding the Sixers that doesn’t involve Embiid’s health is how Brett Brown will use Markelle Fultz, according to David Murphy:

“I feel like the city and the media has to recognize that he just turned 19 a few months ago, and we all get how unforgiving the NBA is,” Brown said, “and there are weaknesses obviously that we have to address in his game, and we really want to go hard at this defense, but I think when you ask what do we see at first glance, I see a person, a real person, I see somebody that is incredibly gifted and the game comes easy offensively, I see someone who will be challenged defensively, especially as it relates to NBA point guards, and then how does he navigate NBA seasons and the rhythm of an NBA season at 19 years old, we will all learn more about.”

The team will also give center Jahlil Okafor every chance to play while he’s being shopped.

A realistic worst-case scenario from the Sixers this season. And be sure to take a listen to Kevin Love’s latest podcast, featuring Tom Moore:

https://twitter.com/KevinLove_76/status/910942804154765312

The team will also hold their Blue x White scrimmage at the Palestra October 1.

Kyle Neubeck of Liberty Ballers is leaving his post as Managing Editor. But he also teased he’ll continue to write about Philly sports full-time somewhere soon.

Finally, Benjamin Simmons:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZU30ysnEIq/?taken-by=bensimmons

Temple got crushed by #21 South Florida 43-7 in Tampa. The Owls recorded 89 yards in the air and -4 rushing yards. Their defense gave up 408 total yards to the Bulls, including 312 on the ground.

Speaking of the Owls, even though Matt Rhule has yet to win a game as Baylor’s head coach, he’s still the right pick to lead the Bears. I wish he never left Temple.

Tim Reilly reminds you Joe Paterno may not have been the perfect head coach at Penn State.

In other sports news, last night’s Thursday Night Football game between the Rams and the 49ers was…entertaining?

It was the highest-scoring TNF game in the history of the series.

Former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez had a severe form of CTE in his brain when he committed suicide in April.

Jose Baez, Hernandez’s lawyer, said Hernandez’s brain showed a level of damage that was seen in players with a median age of 67 years.

Baez said he had filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Patriots and the N.F.L. on behalf of Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle. The suit seeks unspecified damages for loss of parental support. The suit alleges that the Patriots and the league were “fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage.”

The Giants offensive line, as explained by a New York radio host.

Andre Ward, the undefeated light heavyweight boxing champion that was considered as one of the best in the world, unexpectedly announced his retirement.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said the team will discuss if they will visit the White House when they all meet later in the fall.

Screw the NCAA:

Texas A&M distance runner Ryan Trahan says that he has been ruled ineligible and warned by his university for using his name, image and likeness as an athlete on his YouTube page to promote a small company that he started. NCAA bylaw 12.4.4 rules that an athlete “may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete’s name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business.”

In addition to his running, Trahan has his own YouTube channel with 14,000 subscribers and nearly one million views where he shares tips and insight into his training. He also promotes Neptune water bottles, a company that co-founded with a friend in 2016. Trahan just started his freshman year at Texas A&M after a successful high school career.

Clemson kicker Greg Huegel is out for the year after tearing his ACL on the last play of practice.

From being a running back on the Steelers to being one of the main minds behind BallersRashard Mendenhall has found his dream job.

An interesting read by Nick DePaula on the race for sneaker companies to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo to a deal:

To kick things off this week, Bucks teammate (and Adidas endorser) Thon Maker walked Antetokounmpo out to the parking lot of the team’s practice facility after a Tuesday morning workout. Awaiting him was a truck full of size 16 Adidas sneakers, including everything from pairs of the coveted Yeezy Boost series to Adidas Originals staples like the Stan Smith and running models like the UltraBoost.

With his current Nike endorsement deal set to expire on September 30, Antetokounmpo is assessing his options. Rather than take brand pitches at their headquarters, as some players do, he insisted on hosting the meetings in Milwaukee, in order to not disrupt his no-frills workout schedule leading up to his fifth season — a season in which he has MVP aspirations.

Loving these new Colorado State unis:

LaMelo Ball got roasted and it’s beautiful:

The NHL might want to let their players go to the Olympics in 2022:

In the news, Philadelphia police have charged a man after a pipe bomb scare Wednesday in East Oak Lane.

Two men are on the run after stealing about $2,000 worth of cigarettes at a Wawa.

North Korea could test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

Hurricane Maria left a devastating mark on Puerto Rico.