Welcome back to another edition of the Delco Baseball Now newsletter, where we keep you up to date on all things Delco Baseball during the summer.
We took the day off yesterday due to the rain cancelling everything in the area, as it didn’t really feel necessary to have an entire newsletter revolving around the Phillies trading for Harrison Bader.
We’re back again today as we have two of our summer ball leagues starting their championship series over the next two days, so let’s dive into the action.
As always, we appreciate anyone who takes the time to subscribe:
MSBL:
I’m only 26 years old, so it feels a bit harsh to call this the “Men’s Senior Baseball League”, but I am excited to begin our championship on what should be a cool Saturday afternoon at O’Hara.
It will be a doubleheader with Game 3 coming Sunday if needed at Bonner.
This is a bit of rematch from last year in a different league so there’s some history between these two teams. I think my Phillies may have the pitching advantage, but the Colts have some big time bats in the middle of the order.
Should be a great series.
Delco League:
The Delco League Finals have been dominated by Upper Darby and Wayne the last five years, and this year is no different.
Going back to 2018, these are the only two franchises to win:
- 2019: Wayne over Concord
- 2020: Wayne over Narberth
- 2021: Upper Darby over Aston Valley
- 2022: Wayne over Upper Darby
- 2023: Wayne over Upper Darby
- 2024: Upper Darby over Aston Valley
This year of course will be no different, and these two teams were the clear best two all season long. Upper Darby has two of the best pitchers in the league in MVP favorite Kevin McGovern and Nick DiEva, while Wayne has a loaded lineup with guys like Alden Mathes, Steven Wells, and Luke Mutz.
I can easily see this one going five games. Make sure to check out our preview episode on YouTube with Upper Darby’s Joey Suppa and Wayne’s Tommy Bradley joining the show:
Phillies:
If you wanted drama, Jhoan Duran’s first game in Philadelphia lived up the hype.
Every fan in that stadium wanted to see his closer entrance song and light show, and when the Phillies were trailing 3-0 in the seventh, it did not look great.
The Phillies put three on the board in the seventh, but the Tigers came back and made it 4-3. The Phillies again answered, this time with two to go ahead 5-4.
Jhoan Duran came in with the stadium absolutely energized and recorded the save in four pitches. I won’t say he’s better than Brad Lidge quite just yet, but this guy absolutely has the talent to become the best closer in Phillies history.
Jonathan Papelbon is currently our all-time leader in saves, so I wouldn’t mind seeing a new face up there.