GAME RECAP: Mets
Embarrass Phillies 7-0
The Mets' bats may be starting to warm up. New York blasted four
home runs Wednesday, including two from Lucas Duda and one from rookie starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard to complete a three-game sweep of
the Phillies with a 7-0 win at Citi Field. Syndergaard showed all of the
potential that made him the Mets' No.1 prospect. On the mound, Syndergaard
tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings and struck out six. At the plate, he tied a
franchise record for pitchers with three hits, including the first homer by a
Mets pitcher in almost three years. The Mets banged 11 hits and seven runs off
Phillies starter Sean O'Sullivan, who
fell to 1-4. Syndergaard improved to 2-2, lowering his ERA to 2.55 through four
starts. "When you go and have the stuff he's got and throw the ball around
the plate, you're going to get a lot of outs," Mets manager Terry Collins
said. "His two-seamer today -- he just learned it last week, and he got
ground ball after ground ball with it." The Phillies limp back to
Philadelphia, closing out a 10-game road trip with seven
losses in their last nine games. "Yeah, it
was really bad," Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis said. "We were playing really
good. We had some tough games, like the [5-4 loss in 10 innings Tuesday]. But
we're getting better, man. I think we're getting better. Hopefully, tomorrow
we'll have a nice day off and come back."
OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- O'Sullivan had been on a little roll entering
Wednesday's start. He had allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings
in consecutive starts for the first time since April 2011, when he pitched
for the Royals. But the seven runs Wednesday were the most he had allowed
since he allowed seven in 2 2/3 innings on June 2, 2011. "Everything
felt real flat from the get-go," O'Sullivan said. "I knew it was
going to be one of those days when I'd have to grind out at-bats. Our
bullpen has been pretty taxed lately, so I kind of had to bite the
bullet."
- Sandberg
said he chose rookie left-hander Elvis Araujo to
pitch in a high-leverage situation over left-hander Jake Diekman on
Tuesday because Diekman was the Phillies' long man. Sandberg used Diekman
in a mop-up situation Wednesday, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings. Diekman
(7.00 ERA in 21 appearances) allowed one hit and struck out two. It was
the third time in his last seven appearances he had not allowed a run.
- The
Phillies had just three extra-base hits in the series: two doubles and one
triple. The Mets had nine, including seven home runs.
- With one
out in the fourth, Syndergaard launched a solo homer to deep center field
off O'Sullivan for his first career big fly. Syndergaard also singled
twice, making him the first pitcher with three hits and a homer in the
same game since Randy Wolf in 2009. No Mets pitcher had homered in a game
since Jeremy Hefner on May 29, 2012. "He's
6-foot-7, 245 [pounds]," Collins said. "We expect him to be able
to hit it that far."
- "They have
the possibility of seven starters over there with [Zack] Wheeler and
[Dillon] Gee. They throw arms at you from the start. No doubt about it."
-- Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, on the daunting task of facing the
Mets' rotation.
- Hamels went 7 1/3 innings and gave up one run on six hits in
his May 18 start vs. Colorado. Hamels also recorded seven strikeouts in
the outing.
- Hamels has been his best during night games this season,
posting a 4-1 record and 2.09 ERA in seven starts.
- Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has a .321 batting average
in 56 career at-bats at Citizens Bank Park. That includes four home runs
and eight RBIs.
- When Bettis has started for Colorado, the Rockies are 3-0 on the season. That includes a 6-5 victory over Philadelphia on May 19.
NEXT GAME:
The Phillies will host
the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park on Friday to kick off a three-game weekend
series between the two National League foes. The opener will mark the fifth
meeting between Colorado and Philadelphia this season, with the two splitting a
four-game series last week. Cole Hamels is scheduled to get the start for the
Phillies, and he has been impressive, posting a 5-1 record and 2.23 ERA in his
last seven starts. Colorado will send out right-hander Chad Bettis after
pushing back Jordan Lyles' scheduled start. In his previous start against the
Giants on Sunday, Bettis went 8 1/3 innings and surrendered only two runs on
six hits for his first win of the season.
PHILS PHACTS:
Rotation Shuffle – The
Phillies tweaked their rotation for this weekend's series against the Rockies
at Citizens Bank Park. Cole Hamels and Aaron Harang will pitch Friday and Saturday,
respectively, as scheduled, but because the Phillies do not play Thursday, they
will skip Severino Gonzalez's
turn in the rotation Sunday. Right-hander Jerome Williams will pitch Sunday's series finale
instead. The Phillies also do not play Monday, so it is unclear if and when
Gonzalez will slide back into the rotation.
Off Road Trip – It
is hard to remember, but a little more than a week ago the Phillies opened a
10-game road trip with a victory in Colorado. It extended their winning streak
to six games, their longest since they won seven consecutive games from Sept.
5-12, 2012. The streak gave the players in the Phillies' clubhouse a reason to
feel good about themselves following an 11-23 start, which was the worst record
in baseball and the organization's worst start since 1971. But the Phillies
have lost seven of their last nine following Wednesday afternoon's 7-0
loss to the Mets at Citi Field. "Yeah, it
was really bad," Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis said. "We were playing really
good. We had some tough games, like the [5-4 loss in 10 innings Tuesday]. But
we're getting better, man. I think we're getting better. Hopefully, tomorrow
we'll have a nice day off and come back." But the good vibes certainly
were harder to find as the Phillies cleared out the visitors' clubhouse. "Nope,"
Ryan Howard said, when asked for a comment about the
series. Wednesday was the 19th time this season the Phillies have scored two or
fewer runs. It was the fifth time they have been shut out. The Phillies are
averaging 3.12 runs per game this season, which is the lowest average in
baseball in a non-strike season since 1972, when the Angels (2.93), Rangers
(2.99) and Indians (3.03) struggled more than these Phillies. The Phillies had
trouble against the Mets' starters over the past two games. Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard allowed six hits and struck out six
in 7 1/3 scoreless innings Wednesday. Jacob deGrom allowed two runs on six hits and struck
out nine in 7 1/3 innings Tuesday. "They have the possibility of seven
starters over there with [Zack] Wheeler and [Dillon] Gee," Phillies
manager Ryne Sandberg said. "They throw arms at you from the start. No
doubt about it." The Phillies have lost 20 of their last 25 games against
the Mets. They open a three-game series Friday against the Rockies, whom they
split a four-game series with last week in Denver. "We started off the
road trip pretty well," Sandberg said. "To lose the last four is not
the way I would like to end the road trip, especially today. We play good
baseball at home. We've rebounded at home, too. So hopefully that's the case
starting this series." "It's kind of a blessing we have an off-day
tomorrow," said Sean O'Sullivan,
who allowed seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. "Hopefully, we can regroup."
No Midnight Ride For Revere – For
now it looks like Ben Revere is remaining
with the Phillies. The Angels acquired outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from the Mets on Wednesday. The
Phillies and Angels had been talking about a Revere trade for some time,
sources had told MLB.com. The Phillies wanted at least one Minor League player
in return, but the sides could not reach an agreement. The Angels are expected
to continue looking for ways to boost their offense, so perhaps the Phillies
and Angels will keep talking. The Phillies have been trying to trade Revere
because of an imminent logjam in the outfield. Cody Asche is learning to play
left field at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Right fielder Domonic Brown also is in
Triple-A. Both are expected to rejoin the Phillies at some point, which means
other players will have to move. The Phillies have committed to Odubel Herrera in center field, which has made Revere
movable. Outfielder Grady Sizemore also
could be an odd man out. He hits left-handed like Herrera, Asche, Brown and
Revere. Sizemore entered Wednesday hitting .191 (25-for-131) with no home runs,
six RBIs and a .472 OPS since Sept. 5, 2014. Nieuwenhuis had been designated
for assignment on May 19. It only took the Angels cash to acquire him.
State Of The Minors – Players of the Week: Player - C Gabriel Lino, Reading...Lino, 22, led all Reading players with a .412 average last
week, collecting seven hits and five RBI in seven games. On May 22, Lino
tallied a season-high three hits, including his third home run of 2015, while
driving in two runs in a win over Portland. The following day, he went 2-3 with
an RBI, making him 5-for-7 with a home run, three RBI, two doubles and a run in
the first two games of the series. Lino recorded at least one hit in all but
one of his seven games, pulling his batting average up more than 30 points over
that span. The Venezuela native was acquired by the Phillies in a June 2012
trade that sent Jim Thome to Baltimore, and he was originally signed by the
Orioles and Calvin Maduro. Pitcher - LHP Brandon
Leibrandt, Clearwater...The 22-year-old southpaw is no stranger to awards
this season, as this marks his second Minor League Player of the Week Award to
go along with a Minor League Player of the Month Award for April. Leibrandt
started two games last week, earning the win in both after two strong
performances. On May 18, he held Brevard County to one run on five hits,
striking out five and walking none in a complete-game effort. He then tossed
6.0 one-run frames against Palm Beach on May 23, giving him a 1.20 ERA (2 ER in
15.0 IP), 0.75 WHIP, 10 K, 0 BB and a .208 opponents average in the two starts
combined. This season, Leibrandt has allowed two earned runs or fewer and
pitched at least 6.0 innings in eight of his nine starts, and he currently
ranks first in the Florida State League in innings pitched (59.0) and WHIP
(0.88), third in strikeouts (52), fifth in wins (5) and 10th in ERA
(2.29). Leibrandt was selected by the Phillies in the sixth round of the 2014
draft out of Florida State University, and was signed by Aaron Jersild. Lehigh
Valley IronPigs - International League North Division… 18-27,
5th place…The IronPigs clicked on all cylinders last week,
winning a season-high six straight games before dropping a close 7-5 contest to
Charlotte on Sunday. The six game win streak was one game shy of the franchise
record, and since starting the season 6-20 Lehigh Valley has rebounded to go
12-7. Top hitting performers - SS Chase d'Arnaud played in
five games, collecting seven hits in 18 at bats (.389) while driving in five
runs. He had three hits on May 24, one of which was his first home run of the
season…OF Brian Bogusevic clubbed two home runs including a grand slam,
and drove in a team-high six runs during the week…INF Cord Phelps hit an
even .300 with a .391 OBP and five runs scored. Top pitching performers -
LHP Joely Rodriguez had his best start of the season on May 21, holding
Charlotte to just four hits over 7.0 scoreless frames. Rodriguez is 2-0 with a
2.13 ERA in his last two starts…RHP Seth Rosin appeared in three games
out of the bullpen, and made quick work out of the opposing hitters in all of
them. He pitched at least 1.2 innings in all three appearances, allowing just
one hit and no runs in each…LHP Cesar Jimenez converted all three of his
save opportunities, tossing a scoreless inning in each of them…RHP Dustin
McGowan also was 3-for-3 in saves, striking out four in 4.1 scoreless
innings. Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division
… 23-19, 3rd place… Reading did not have the best
start of the week, dropping two straight to New Hampshire, but they rebounded
to win four of the next five to pull four games over the .500 mark. As has been
true most of the season, the Fightins' success lives and dies with its
pitching. In their last five games of the week, they held opponents to only
eight total runs (1.6 per game) as opposed to 10 runs allowed in their two
losses to start the week. Top hitting performers - 1B Brock
Stassi played in all seven games and led all Reading players with eight
hits. Two of those hits were home runs, helping Stassi to a .615 slugging
percentage and 16 total bases…2B Brodie Greene recorded hits in all but
one game during the week, raising his average nearly 20 points in six games. He
hit .389 with a double, two walks and two runs scored…C Gabriel Lino hit
.412 (7-for-17) with a home run, five RBI and a 1.118 OPS, earning himself
Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors…OF Roman Quinn hit his
third home run of the season and tallied 10 total bases. Top pitching
performers - RHP Zach Eflin pitched a career-high 8.2 innings
in his start against Portland on May 22, allowing only four hits and two
unearned runs while striking out five batters…RHP Aaron Nola came within
one of matching a season high eight strikeouts in his scoreless 7.0-inning,
four-hit start on May 20. He is 6-3 with a 1.87 ERA this season …RHP Tyler
Knigge pitched two games in relief, yielding only a hit and walk in 4.0
total innings…RHP Nefi Ogando also pitched 4.0 scoreless frames out of
the bullpen, striking out three batters. Clearwater Threshers -
Florida State League North Division… 22-22,T-2nd place…Clearwater
saw positive results last week, as they began and ended the week with a pair of
wins. The .500 mark has been status quo for Clearwater for the better part of
the season, but it may not take much more to remain high in the divisional
rankings as the Threshers sit in a tie for second place just four games back of
the Daytona Tortugas. Top hitting performers - SS J.P. Crawford tallied
nine base hits in 24 at bats (.375) while reaching base at a .444 clip. He has
multiple hits in 10 of his 17 games this season…C Willians Astudillo hit
.350 with three runs scored and an RBI…CF Aaron Brown drove in a pair of
runs, doubled and hit .318 with a .423 OBP in seven games. Top pitching
performers - LHP Brandon Leibrandt started two games and was
brilliant in both. He put forth a complete game, one-run effort in a win on May
18 over Brevard County, and followed that with 6.0 innings of one-run ball on
May 23 against Palm Beach. Leibrandt was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of
the Week for the second time this season, with the first coming for the week of
April 20-26…RHP Colin Kleven went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA (two ER in 12.0
IP), 0.75 WHIP and 13 strikeouts against just one walk…RHP Mark Leiter scattered
six hits over 8.0 shutout innings on May 21, striking out six Palm Beach
batters…RHP David Whitehead posted his sixth quality start this season
with a 6.0-inning, one-run effort against Palm Beach on May 22…RHP Ulises
Joaquin did not allow a run in two games and converted his lone save
opportunity. Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League North
Division…21-21, 5th place… Lakewood lost twice to start
the week, but then won four of the next five to climb back even at 21-21 for
the season. Ranfi Casimiro set the tone for a strong finish with a seven-inning
shutout in game one of a doubleheader on May 22, and the rest of the staff
followed suit. The BlueClaws allowed only two runs in each of the next three
games, and the team now ranks fourth in the South Atlantic League with a 3.24
team ERA. Top hitting performers - INF Damek Tomscha led
Lakewood with nine hits and three extra-base hits as he hit .409 with a .985
OPS. He drove in three runs and scored another six in just seven games…INF
Grenny Cumana batted .350 with three RBI, two runs, a double and a walk…1B
Rhys Hoskins recorded seven hits and walked five times, helping himself to
a .350 average and .462 OBP for the week. He had a double, triple, five runs
scored and two driven in. Top pitching performers - RHP Ranfi
Casimiro was awarded a complete-game shutout after going the distance in a
7.0 inning affair against Greensboro on May 22. He has allowed one run or fewer
in four of his last five starts…RHP Alexis Rivero saved two games in two
chances, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings in relief.
All Star Ballot Not Looking Good – The
Phillies are going to have at least one All-Star, and it is likely to come from
the pitching staff, but their position players are lagging behind on the 2015
Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot. Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.98 ERA), Aaron Harang (4-4, 1.93 ERA) and Jonathan Papelbon (1.42 ERA, 11 saves) each could
make cases for themselves. The case is harder to make for Phillies position
players, although Freddy Galvis is sixth
among National League shortstops with a .709 OPS and Ryan Howard has played better recently, raising his
OPS to .817. That is Howard's best production since 2011, his season that ended
with a ruptured left Achillies tendon. No Phillies player is among the highest
vote-getters in the first National League All-Star voting update. Fans can cast
their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their
computers, tablets and smartphones -- using the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot
until Thursday, July 2, at 11:59 p.m. ET. For the first time, voting is
exclusively online, where fans may submit up to 35 ballots. Fans may also
receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text
VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five
messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info. Following
the announcement of the 2015 All-Stars, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast
your 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player for each
league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 14, watch the 2015 All-Star Game
live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the
Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2015 MLB
All-Star Game MVP Vote. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of
All-Star Week festivities. The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally
by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in
more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio
and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star
Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week
coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
MLB.com Upgrade – Today's
schedule starts with a White Sox-Orioles doubleheader that makes up the games
that were postponed last month in Baltimore, and then a Corey Kluber-vs.-Nelson
Cruz matchup that headlines six more games to follow. Along the way, you are
about to have another one of those MLB.TV moments that make you realize how far
we have come since the first live video broadcast stream by a major sports
league in 2002. Major League Baseball Advanced Media is introducing its new
Web-based media player (version 5.0), for those who currently subscribe or
those who sign
up now for MLB.TV Premium ($114.99 a year or
$24.99 a month) or regular MLB.TV ($94.99/$19.99). You'll notice the difference
right away as the HD media player has an in-page layout, so it all happens in
your browser with no need for an additional download. Corey Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young
Award winner, is back on track for the Indians after allowing only two runs in
his past three outings. In his 10:10 p.m. ET start at Seattle, he'll face a
lineup that is led by Cruz, who has 18 home runs, and now it'll be Cruz's move
because the Nationals' Bryce Harper tied him
atop the MLB leaderboard on Wednesday night. Want to watch Mike Trout and the Angels at the same time? In the
new MLB.TV media player, there is a new game scoreboard that will make it
easier to track scores of games happening around the Majors. Simplified user
controls add to the fun of following those and other games, improving the user
experience. A clickable linescore lets you jump between innings or to
single-game highlights. The multi-view design provides an easy way to watch
multiple games at once -- a key asset for Fantasy owners. You can watch
highlights in a secondary picture-in-picture window. "It's a savior,"
said former All-Star right-hander Carl Pavano, now a busy father of three who
uses his MLB.TV Premium subscription on multiple devices in South Florida to
prepare in his role as a Marlins pregame and postgame analyst on Fox Sports
South. "This really frees up more time. If you want to be active, go to a
park in our neighborhood, T-ball games, you try not to take your attention from
those, but in my line of work and with my history in baseball, it's important
to me. It's nice having that connection wherever you go." From its now
technologically archaic beginnings -- a 300K live stream to 30,000 viewers in
August 2002 -- MLB.TV has charted a trail of "firsts" along the path
to its place as the most widely distributed sports streaming service, covering
nearly 30,000 games to millions of subscribers in that timespan. Among those
subsequent mileposts were: First to stream its entire season (2003); first to
wire its venues for TV-quality streaming (2005); first to use adaptive bit rate
streaming (2008); first to stream live 720p HD video (2009); first to stream
live games/subscription product to iPhone (2009); first live video on connected
devices (2009); first to stream live games/subscription product to iPad (2010);
first to stream live video to a gaming console (2010); first live games
embedded on Facebook & Twitter (2011); first with live audio overlay
technology (U.S. Patent Nos. 8,640,181 and 8,832,768), delivering the
capability to switch the live audio feed on MLB.TV broadcasts from the TV to
radio announcers without disrupting the live video stream (2012); and first to
make a live video stream embeddable to any site on the Internet (2013). "MLB.TV
is brilliant, especially for me here in the UK, where we have limited games on
our TV," said Chris Bailey, a Giants fan and native Brit in Leicester,
England, who is subscribing to MLB.TV for a third consecutive year. "I
play Fantasy baseball and it is great for keeping up with your teams and how
you are doing. I also love the in-game highlights that flash up, so if there
are runs in another game, you can watch during innings of the game you are
watching."
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the
NL east at 19-30. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance
this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All
time, the Phillies are 52-46-0 on this day.
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