Wednesday, July 16

José Alvarado fired three nasty cutters to strike out Josh Bell, Dylan Crews and Alex Call swinging in the eighth inning on Tuesday night.

Alvarado had escaped a bases-loaded jam.

It was the first time a Phillies pitcher had struck out three consecutive batters with the bases loaded in the eighth inning or later since 1968.

• Gets Phillies tickets for May 16: Zack Wheeler Bobble Figurine Giveaway!

It was cool.

But the kid -- the kid was cooler.

“I want to know that kid,” Alvarado said on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. “I want to give him something. I want to sign a jersey or ball for him. Something. I want him to come to a game.”

That kid is 12-year-old Princeton Bailey, who goes by Prince. An NBC Sports Philadelphia camera found Bailey in the stands during Alvarado’s bases-loaded jam. The broadcast kept cutting back and forth from Alvarado to Bailey, who mimicked Alvarado’s setup and delivery.

“It was wild,” Alvarado said. “Two outs, bases loaded, 2-2 count, I threw my pitch, I struck him out, I went crazy, he went crazy. It was fun.”

Bailey will be back at the ballpark on Friday for the Phillies’ series opener against Arizona. Troy Bailey is Prince’s grandfather. He attended Tuesday’s game with him. He told Prince that he got free tickets from the Phillies.

“How’d they do that?” Prince said.

Prince lives with his grandparents in Newark, Del., because his mother Sarah works two jobs. Prince had begged his grandfather forever to go to a Phillies game. Troy got a pair of tickets for Prince’s 12th birthday.

It was Prince’s first Phillies game.

“We finally made it,” Troy said.

Prince is on the lower end of the autism spectrum, according to his grandfather. He is introverted but interactive with kids at school.

“He’s shy,” Troy said. “He loves baseball, football, karate. He does well in school.”

Prince will imitate batting stances and pitching deliveries. He loves Kyle Schwarber. He loves Alvarado now, too.

“A couple friends at school and a few teachers came up to him today,” Bailey said. “They said they saw him on TV. I don’t think he grasped the attention, but he’s trying to. It’s been a whirlwind.”

The Baileys felt so good about everything that happened in the eighth inning – Alvarado escaped the jam, then the Phillies scored two insurance runs to take a 5-2 lead – that they left the game before the top of the ninth. Of course, the Phillies blew the lead, then came back to win the game in dramatic fashion when Bryson Stott scored on a walk-off wild pitch.

“We were listening in the car,” Troy said. “He scored and Prince says, ‘Pop Pop, did I help them win?’ I said, ‘Yeah, buddy. You helped them win.’ He’s just a very lovable kid. You know what I mean? He might have some difficulties, but he’s very interactive with other kids. He just enjoys life.”

Should Prince meet Alvarado, they would get along well. Alvarado enjoys life, too.

“In that moment, I’m living in the moment,” Alvarado said. “It’s unbelievable. If I look back, there are bad moments. But I don’t want to look back at last year. This is a new year. I’m coming to the park, I’m the same guy. A bad day might be coming, but that’s normal in this game. This game is so hard. I’ve learned a lot from this game. I don’t know. I just know that right now I want to learn about that kid that was pitching.”

The Phillies hit a franchise-record 224 homers in what season?

A. 2004

B. 2006

C. 2009

D. 2023

The Phillies will retire the “numbers” of Hall of Fame outfielders Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson on Thursday, which is the 142nd anniversary of the club’s first game. Delahanty, Hamilton and Thompson are the only outfielders in baseball history to each hit .400 or better in the same season on the same team.

They did it in 1894.

Delahanty was the first player in baseball history to hit .400 three times. He has the seventh-highest batting average in baseball history. Hamilton’s 198 runs scored in 1894 remains a Major League record. He also has the 10th-highest batting average in baseball history. Thompson has the 33rd-highest average in baseball history.

Because players in the 1800s did not have uniform numbers, their respective uniform insignias from their era (and names) will be added to the retired numbers on the brick wall above Ashburn Alley. They will also be showcased on the team’s retired number disks at the left-field plaza.

“We have an incredible storied history, and as we celebrate our 142nd birthday, we are proud to immortalize these early legends who were inducted into the esteemed National Baseball Hall of Fame,” Phillies managing partner John Middleton said in a statement. “Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson were baseball superstars, and it is only fitting that they be recognized among the Phillies’ greatest on our retired numbers wall, where they will forever be remembered as the three who paved the way for our franchise.”

The Phillies have retired the numbers of the following players: Chuck Klein and Grover Cleveland Alexander (denoted with their respective uniform insignias); No. 1, Richie Ashburn; No. 14, Jim Bunning; No. 15, Dick Allen; No. 20, Mike Schmidt; No. 32, Steve Carlton; No. 34, Roy Halladay; No. 36, Robin Roberts; and No. 42, Jackie Robinson.

Johnny Lush threw a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 1, 1906.

“The local batters were completely baffled by Lush’s drop curve,” The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote. “Crack stickers like Harry Lumley and Tim Jordan, who are effective against the ordinary good pitcher, almost sprained their backs in reaching for Lush’s portside twisters.”

Now that’s when ball writin’ was ball writin’.

C. 2009

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