Here come the bats!

I’d love to see the Phils come out like this every game from now until the end of September, but what can you do? A leadoff home run by Carlos Santana (!), followed by a bases-clearing triple by Cesar Hernandez in the first inning and another dinger by Asdrubal Cabrera resulted in six runs in the first two innings as the Phillies defeated the Marlins 9-4.

While the hitters finally came to play, Jake Arrieta had a very solid performance. He went 7 1/3 and gave up four runs off eight hits with 11 strikeouts in a performance he really needed. NL Reliever of the Month (!!) Hector Neris and Pat Neshek got the job done after Arrieta’s night was over.

As expected, Atlanta lost to Boston, so their lead is down to three games. They’ll play later today at 12:10 PM. The Phils will finish their series in the rubber-match against the Marlins tonight at 7:10 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Nick Pivetta will get the start.

On the same day as Ryan Howard announced his retirement, his old teammate Jimmy Rollins was with the team in Miami helping them in some way.

In front office news, farm director Joe Jordan will not return to the organization.

The Roundup:

We’re one sleep away from the Eagles season opener against the Falcons and that means football is back! But there are some questions with the lineup, especially at wide receiver. Doug Pederson said that Mack Hollins suffered a “minor setback” and won’t play tomorrow night. That means the Shelton Gibson era has begun. And for insurance, the team brought back Markus Wheaton and placed tight end Richard Rodgers on IR.

Pederson also said Carson Wentz is “close” to returning.

Here are five matchups to watch tomorrow night.

Doug Pederson has the right to not tell the media anything, even if they beg and beg.

The Birds announced their five captains for this year.

Bud Light’s statue they plan on unveiling later today is Pederson and Foles calling “Philly Special.”

Speaking of art, Chris Long wants a mural of Beau Allen.

Miller Lite is partnering with Septa for free rides on the Broad Street Line tomorrow.

4th and Jawn is part of the NBC Sports Philadelphia family.

Oskar Lindblom hopes to give the Flyers some much needed depth on their third line.

With van Riemsdyk signed as a free-agent in the off-season, Lindblom figures to drop down in the lineup. He was asked if that would take some pressure off him to produce.

“I don’t know. My focus now is to make the team, then we’ll see how everything else goes,” he said.

Lindblom, who turned 22 on Aug. 15, called van Riemsdyk “a really good player, someone I can look up to and learn a lot from. He works hard and is a good team player.”

In 2016-17, Lindblom was dominating in the Swedish Hockey League, collecting 22 goals and 47 points in 52 games and being named the league’s top forward. He played solidly for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season (16 goals, 34 points in 54 games) before being called up to the Flyers and managing just two goals and six points over 23 games.

“Smaller rinks, faster players,” Lindblom said of the biggest change from Europe to North America competition. “It was good to play a couple months in Lehigh to get prepared for here.”

As they usually are, the Flyers are probably going to fiddle around as a potential playoff team.

Villanova landed Ranney School (NJ) shooting guard Bryan Antoine, ESPN’s #12 ranked prospect in the class of 2019.

In other sports news, the NFL released a statement on Colin Kaepernick being a part of Nike’s new “Just Do It” campaign.

FanDuel Sportsbook soft launched in New Jersey.

Members of the Mariners were involved in a pregame clubhouse fight. That’s some good culture out west!

In the news, all of the money that was originally raised for a homeless man is apparently gone.

The Atlantic City Rail Line will be suspended for four months due to a safety upgrade.

Bob Woodward released a new book on President Trump.