Nathan Ackerman

Los Angeles

Podcaster at Phillies Nation Podcast

Digital News Editor at NBC Sports

USC alum || @PhilliesNation, @NBCSports || Past: @FOXSports, @ANNMediaSports, @DT_Sports || Jeff Passan roasted my bars. Had Nico Hoerner in a 1-2 count in HS.

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Articles

Phillies shut out, Nola off in opener against Guardians

5 days ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Nick Castellanos threw out a runner at third base and Kyle Schwarber extended his on-base streak to 44. Friday’s highlights end there. After a pair of excellent outings to right the ship of his 2025 season, Aaron Nola didn’t have his best stuff in the series opener against the Guardians. The long ball bug returned to bite him, as two homers contributed to a six-hit, five-inning, four-run outing.
Taijuan Walker’s first career save secures small-ball win and series over Rays

1 week ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Baseball is a tough business, and Taijuan Walker was reminded of that when his 2.54 ERA across six starts this year couldn’t help him avoid an entirely circumstantial move to the bullpen. He picked up right where he left off. Walker was dominant in his bullpen season debut to cap Wednesday’s 7-0 win over the Rays. The Phillies righty struck out seven batters and allowed one hit in three innings for his first career save.
Long ball (including Bohm’s first), fastball lift Phillies over Rays

1 week ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

The Phillies played their first ever regular-season game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday. The Rays will spend the 2025 season there, and ideally no more. It is a minor-league ballpark. Capacity is barely over 11,000, and it was not filled to the brim behind the 16-18 Rays on Tuesday. All to say: The Phillies needed to create the energy, and the thump, themselves in the series opener. Mission accomplished.
Phillies bullpen trust ranking: Installment No. 1

1 week ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Phillies relievers have found a new way to keep spirits up in the lower half of Citizens Bank Park’s double-decker bullpen the past few days. As one of them put it, the first month of the season didn’t go the group’s way. They needed to inject some extra fun. They’ve improved. It ebbs and flows. Far from perfect. But it’s better.
Defense keeps slumping as Phillies can’t sweep Nationals

1 week ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

A wild bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night saved the Phillies from extra scrutiny on a disastrous performance in the field. Thursday, they weren’t so lucky. The Phillies fell short of a sweep against the Nationals, and an ugly sixth inning was mostly to blame. With the game already tied up at one apiece earlier in the inning, Bryce Harper biffed a Keibert Ruiz grounder down the first-base line, giving Washington the lead.
Kody Clemens heading to AL Central club

2 weeks ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

A few days after he was designated for assignment, Kody Clemens’s Phillies tenure is over: He’s going to the Minnesota Twins, as first reported by The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal. Clemens all but confirmed the news while thanking the Phillies with a message on X.
Bottom of lineup, end of bullpen encourage, but rest struggle as Phillies drop series to Mets

3 weeks ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

The way the Phillies’ bullpen is set up right now, there is José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and everyone else. It means that a single encouraging outing can establish someone as the top dog among the rest, until someone, perhaps including that same reliever, changes it. On Tuesday, that outing belonged to Joe Ross.
Phillies’ offense wakes up too late as homers send Mets to series-opening win

3 weeks ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Aaron Nola looked great from the latter half of the third inning through the end of the sixth. It was his deepest outing, by one out, of the season so far. The ninth inning was fun for a bit. Other than that, look away. Not much — no, nothing — else went the Phillies’ way on Monday. Things didn’t start well for Nola, and his line didn’t end well because the bullpen’s night didn’t start well. A rally fell short in particularly ugly fashion. They lost, 5-4.
Phillies jump all over Alcantara as Wheeler dominates Marlins in opener

3 weeks ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Zack Wheeler did not have his very best stuff his last couple outings, and while it’s easy to blow early-season trends out of proportion, it’s hard to ever get too concerned about him. Wheeler demonstrated why on Friday, punching out 13 Marlins in seven innings of two-run ball to lead the Phillies to a painless 7-2 series-opening win. The baker’s dozen strikeout total was one shy of Wheeler’s career high and his most since he set down 14 on May 29, 2021, his 22nd start with the Phillies.
Cristopher Sánchez’s changeup Thursday wasn’t just wipeout. It was historic

3 weeks ago | philliesnation.com | Nathan Ackerman

Cristopher Sánchez recorded the final out of the fourth inning on Thursday against the Giants and flexed his arms in celebration. It was not a big spot: The bases were empty, the count 0-2, the Phillies leading by four. But it was the end of a ridiculous inning. Sánchez struck out that side in that fourth frame for his sixth, seventh and eighth punchouts of the game. All eight of those came on changeups. In the fourth inning, he threw 11 pitches. Eight of them were changeups.