Phillies and White Sox set to battle in Sunday Interleague series finale

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Citizens Bank Park will be the scene of Interleague action on Sunday

The Philadelphia Phillies (58-52) held on for a 3-2 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox (47-61) on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

With that win, the Phillies moved back into a tie with their NL East Division rivals, the Washington Nationals, for the second National League Wildcard spot.

The Phillies and Nationals are each six games behind the Atlanta Braves in the loss column in the race for the NL East Division crown.

Beating teams like the White Sox is imperative to any hope that the Phillies might have of ending their eight-year stretch of missing the playoffs.

The Chisox are one of the half-dozen worst teams in the game, both by record and by any statistical evaluation. Picking up a victory on Sunday would give the Phillies two of three here, winning the series. That is the minimum they must accomplish against losing teams. So, that makes this afternoon’s contest of great importance to the home squad.

SUNDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES

1. Corey Dickerson LF
2. Jean Segura SS
3. Bryce Harper RF
4. Rhys Hoskins 1B
5. J.T. Realmuto C
6. Cesar Hernandez 2B
7. Scott Kingery 3B
8. Drew Smyly P
9. Roman Quinn CF

Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson moving across state to Phillies

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Outfielder Corey Dickerson moving across the state

In a deal first reported by ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, the Philadelphia Phillies have acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In exchange, the Phillies will be sending international slot money to Pittsburgh.

Dickerson is a 30-year-old left-handed hitter (fields right-handed) who was the eighth round choice of the Colorado Rockies in the 2010 MLB Draft out of Meridian Community College in his native Mississippi.

He debuted with the Rockies in the 2013 season, becoming their starting left fielder the following season. In January 2016, Dickerson was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays along with a prospect for pitcher German Marquez and Jake McGee.

With the Rays, Dickerson became the starting left fielder and a 2017 American League All-Star, blasting 51 home runs over the 2016-17 campaigns.

In February 2018, Dickerson was dealt to the Pirates for Daniel Hudson and a prospect. Last season in Pittsburgh, Dickerson won the National League Gold Glove Award for left fielders.

Philadelphia Phillies

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#Phillies have acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for international signing bonus money and a player to be named later.

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This year, Dickerson injured his should in the first week and ending up spending more than two months on the Injured List. He returned and had put together a .317/.376/.556 slash line with four home runs, 18 doubles, 25 RBIs, and 20 runs scored over 141 plate appearances.

MLB 2017 All-Surprise Team

We are now more than two full months into the 2017 MLB regular season. At this point, sustained success can usually be considered more than a simple hot streak.

A look across the statistical leader boards of Major League Baseball reveals some surprising names. 

As fans vote for their favorites to appear in the starting lineups at the 2017 MLB All-Star Game, few of these players have a shot to win.

However, if they can keep up their strong performances of these first two months, some will undoubtedly find their way on to the rosters of the NL and AL squads at the mid-summer classic.

Surprises don’t stop with individual player performances. A look at the current standings reveals a number of surprise teams across the Major League Baseball landscape.

For instance, who would have predicted back in March that the Minnesota Twins would be leading the AL Central Division at this point? Or that the Angels and Rays would still be squarely in the AL Wildcard race this late?