Phillies heads to Toronto without JT Realmuto, who won’t let Canada tell him what to do

Street. Lewis – Aaron Nola and JT Realmoto made up the starting battery for the Phillies in Monday night’s 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Earlier in the day, the two men made news when it was announced that they would not be accompanying their teammates to Toronto for a two-game series starting on Tuesday night.

Canada requires a COVID-19 vaccination to enter.

None of the players has been vaccinated and does not regret it.

Nola’s explanation for not getting the vaccine was “I didn’t want to do that.”

Realmuto was more expansive in topic.

“I’m a 31-year-old professional athlete and didn’t feel like I needed to get it,” he said. “I’ve had COVID several times, very mild symptoms, when it first appeared. When it came time to decide whether or not I needed the vaccine, I talked to doctors I know and told them my story and decided I didn’t think I needed it.

“I’m not just going to take it because I’m told, basically.”

Realmuto, Nola, Alec Bohm, and Kyle Gibson are also not immune. Pom may avoid the banned list after dislocating his left finger on Monday night. he is They could end up on the injured list While that.

Players on the restricted list do not get paid. Realmuto will lose more than $262,000 – more than a quarter of a million dollars – because he was banned from making the trip to Toronto.

“What’s money when I don’t let Canada tell me what to do and I don’t put it in my body?” Realmuto said. “For so little money, it’s not worth it.”

Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs is expected to begin in Toronto on Tuesday night while Realmuto, Nola and Gibson head to Miami, where they will play the Phillies Friday night. Realmuto, who played in Miami prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, arranged rehearsals at a baseball facility in the area.

The unshaven Phillies has the support of his teammates. Kyle Schwarber He was very frank about it earlier on Monday.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” Realmuto said. “My teammates obviously know how I feel about them and how badly I want to be with them, but it’s a pity that I’m unable to make the trip.”

Phils heads to Toronto in a state of depression even after Bohm and the unvaccinated exiles are infected.

The team began their four-game trip to St. Louis with a pair of wins on Friday and Saturday. These wins – by scores 1-0 and 2-0 – gave Phils a two-game lead over the Cardinals for control of the NL’s last wild card spot.

The Phillies’ losses on Sunday afternoon and Monday night brought them back to a default tie with the cards, though the Phils have a percentage point lead and a head-to-head tiebreaker, if necessary, after winning four of the seven series encounters of the season.

“It’s definitely disappointing (not winning the series), especially after the 2-0 start,” Realmuto said. “Even after losing yesterday, we felt confident that we would win the series tonight. It’s hard to lose two in a row, but this is a good team out there and it will happen. We just have to turn the page and finish this week strong before the All-Stars break.”

Other than settling the split, the most frustrating element of the series was Velez’s crime. I only generated seven runs in four matches.

The Phils couldn’t advance 3-1 in the middle innings on Sunday and lost, 4-3. Rhys Hoskins rocked in the first half on Monday night to give Phils a 1-0 lead and Nola held on to him through four. Nola shifted his focus from fastball to broken things in the fifth game and gave up four strokes and three runs.

On the seventh, Nola allowed Albert Pujols to double his lead. Cory Dickerson followed it up with a two-run Homer.

Pujols’ double was the 1,378 base extra hit of his career, putting him ahead of legend Cardinal Stan Messiel for the third time ever.

Nola is 5-7 with a 3.35 ERA. He will have another start before the All-Stars break over the weekend in Miami.

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