Phillies Darick Hall Launches Another Home Run, Walks it Off for IronPigs

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Darick Hall continues to fight for another shot at the big leagues.

Author:
Alex Carr
Sep 22, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies demoted Darick Hall back on Aug. 23. Following said demotion, he languished in a fierce slump, managing just one hit through his first 27 at-bats, and two hits through his first 38 at-bats. It was tough goings early for the 27-year-old.

Things took a major flip-turn on Sept. 4 however, as Hall managed two hits, and subsequently went 20-for-51 (.392), scorching every ball his bat touched.

Wednesday night's game was no different, as Long Ball Hall not only delivered a difference-making two-run home run, but also came up with the walk-off RBI single that sealed a 4-3 victory for Lehigh Valley.

It's hard to say why Hall isn't with the big club at this current moment. Yairo Muñoz and Donny Sands have seen a combined six plate-appearances since their respective promotions to the club, and there has been more than one occasion in which Hall's bat would have proven useful.

Obviously, there is no place for Hall to play every day with Bryce Harper serving as a permanent DH, and Rhys Hoskins anchoring down first base, and yes, keeping Hall in Lehigh Valley gets him some extra reps. That being said, one would think the Phillies want to roster their best team possible at the moment seeing as there are just 14 games left to play.

Whatever the reason may be, the Phillies are about to face a stretch of Max Fried, and then a combination of three right-handers versus the Braves. One would think Hall will at least be under consideration as an extra bat for that stretch.

Griff McGarry also tossed one of the better outings of his Triple-A career during Wednesday's action-packed game.

The 23-year-old spun a perfect frame with two strikeouts. He, like teammate Darick Hall, is fighting to help the big club down the stretch this season.

Another big part of Lehigh Valley's win last night was the ever-consistent Michael Plassmeyer, who has been dynamite since joining the Phillies organization.

The southpaw has compiled a stretch of nine straight starts in which he has allowed three runs or fewer, and has surrendered more than three runs in just two of his 16 starts with the IronPigs. Over 82 frames under the Phillies' watch, Plassmeyer has managed a 2.41 ERA with 82 strikeouts and just 23 walks.

The Pacific Coast League, where Plassmeyer played previously under his tenure with the San Francisco Giants, can do some crazy things to a pitcher. It seemed to work its magic on the lefty in his brief time there, as Plassmeyer allowed 15 home runs across 46.1 innings with the Sacramento River Cats. With the IronPigs, he's allowed just 12 long balls across nearly double the amount of innings.

It's beginning to feel as if Plassmeyer may be more than just a minor acquisition for the Phillies. With the emergence of Bailey Falter as a plausible back-end rotation option, Plassmeyer has the opportunity to bump into a long-relief/depth floater role with the big club.

As significant injuries to both Kent Emanuel and Mark Appel have accumulated, Plassmeyer has rocketed up the depth chart, becoming the Phillies' go-to multi-inning reserve piece, and perhaps emergency starter.

Mark the Austin Wynns trade down in the 'win' column for the Phillies. It feels as if Plassmeyer might have solidified his spot on the Phillies' 40-man roster.