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The 24-year-old Luke Williams, a former three-round draft pick from California, had never even heard of the Triple A level a month ago. Can he save the Phillies’ season?

No, it may not be.

The exclamation is an exaggerated exaggeration – just like Mitch Williams did after defeating the Warriors’ dramatic and emotional home run in the Phillies post-game broadcast – Luke Williams will Defeat Alec Bohm to get the starting position of third baseman, win Rookie of the Year and become a superstar based on two games, one game, one home run.

But it is no exaggeration to say that after he failed to hit a home run in 18 games, he hit the left field, this is the first time in his career (and the first time since high school) In Lehigh Valley, it may inspire the enthusiasm of the Phillies and may wake them from sleepwalking in the first 60 games of the 2021 season.

“Think about his 10 days,” Philly coach Joe Gilady said after his 2-1 victory. “What did he do for American baseball, the games he played there, and then he was called. His parents were in South Florida and flew back to California. [Tuesday morning] Then came back here to witness his first hit and home run, which was very special for that family. “

Philadelphia’s record is 29-31 and has returned for a few games in the NL East game. They have a negative running difference, Few players behave like an All-Star And various shortcomings, the most important of which is the unreliable bullpen.

But they have a lot of talent-they just can’t really strike when asked. Before Williams left the field, the Philadelphia team had scored 10-9 in 19 singles games, and their departures were twice as many as they called themselves.

The Phillies hit a 2.9% home run rate at the batter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, far behind the league’s leading Warriors by 4.1%. Their strikeout rate was 26.7%, ranking third among all 30 MLB teams. They only hit additional bases 7.1% of the time, ranking 10th from the bottom in the league. They scored 4.24 times per game and allowed a score of 4.49.

They are boring.

At least they usually are. They are not on Wednesday night. Of course, Bryce Harper claimed that he knew it was coming.

“He said he felt it,” Williams said of his long celebratory hug with the $330 million man. “He feels that something special is coming. For him, believing that I can have an impact on this team is very special. Only his support-everyone in that club-is great.”

Some practical questions about Williams, who is the hottest hitter .444 (18 points and 8 points), played double, triple, home runs and 6 RBIs for the US team, still thereWill his heroic performance win him more starting opportunities, while Bohm is still the future third baseman, and Didi Gregorius is about to return to the lineup (he will start to recover at Triple-A this week)?

Will he be short-lived, like Nick Maiton, who was recently relegated?

“When he stands up, you feel good,” Gilardy said. “He has shown a lot of different things. He showed that he can drag short shots, he showed that he can run, he can play multiple positions, which is one of the reasons we cultivated him.”

The timing is of course good. With the Yankees coming to town this weekend, the Phillies will usher in a cruel game, and the Western Tour will face the Dodgers and Giants on the horizon. If they lose all these series, they may fall far behind their department before going home. They also just removed the struggling utility man Scott Kingery from the list of 40, which means he will stay among minors for a period of time to solve the problems that plagued him.

Williams can inspire the Phillies through penetration. He can get a starting role. He can adapt as a valuable bench. Or he may be short-lived and return as a minor before Independence Day.

In any case, his first professional home run will not be forgotten soon.

“I’m sure his cell phone is now receiving more text messages than he thought,” Girardy said. “I don’t know what his encore is.”


Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_macy

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