GAME RECAP: Phils
Beat D-Backs 7-5
Before Friday, the Phillies didn't have a three-game win streak in
2015. Now the streak is four. The Phillies, who improved their record to 15-23
with the win, defeated the D-backs 7-5 in an offensive affair Saturday that saw
a combined 23 hits and 11 pitchers used. "Well, I like what I've
seen," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said about the team playing better
offensively, including tying a season-high seven runs Saturday. "It's
coming from different guys. It's more consistent up and down the lineup. I
don't know. Warmer weather, having some at-bats under the belt, whatever it
might be. The timing seems to be good right now." Jerome Williams went
five innings of two-run ball for the Phillies, giving up seven hits and
striking out four in a winning effort. Archie Bradley took
the loss for the D-backs in his return from the DL, only lasting two-plus
innings and allowing four runs on five hits and three walks. "It kind of
snowballed on me," Bradley said of the three-run Phillies third. "I
couldn't get it back. Up here, you have to make adjustments quicker than that.
It kind of unraveled and I couldn't get it back." Jonathan Papelbon
closed the game out and is now nine-for-nine in save opportunities this season.
OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:
·
Despite the wet environment, the Phillies bats awoke with 13 hits,
six of which were for extra-bases. Jeff Francoeur
started the offense off for the Phillies in the second inning with a home run over
the left-field wall and doubles followed from Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz,
pinch-hitter Andres Blanco, Grady Sizemore, who
finished with his first four-hit game since
August 2008, and Chase Utley, who
recorded his second two-hit game of the season.
·
Though he was forced to
wait about an hour and a half between throwing the third and fourth innings,
Williams came back out and threw two innings post rain delay. He swiftly sat
down the first two hitters he saw in the fourth innings before two singles and
an error by Utley charged Williams with an unearned run. "No hesitation at
all," Williams said about coming back out. "My arm is durable enough
to go out there and pitch, even with the delay. I just wanted to go back out
there and help the guys out."
·
"He has a resilient arm. He didn't throw a lot of pitches. He
was able to stay warm." -- Sandberg, on his decision to send Williams
back out to pitch, despite a 1 hour, 17 minute rain delay.
·
A rain delay halted this game in the bottom of the third inning.
The Phillies had scored two runs off of three hits and two walks and had the
bases loaded with no outs before the delay, which began at 8:10 p.m. The delay
lasted for one hour and 17 minutes before the game resumed at 9:27 p.m.
NEXT GAME:
Right-hander Sean O'Sullivan makes
his fourth start for the Phillies, and second since returning from the 15-day
disabled list because of tendinitis in his left knee. O'Sullivan is looking for
his first big league win since May 12, 2011. He is 0-9 in 18 appearances since.
PHILS PHACTS:
Returning To Form – Sometimes
a hitter just needs some opportunities. Over his last six games, Grady Sizemore is
proving this to be true. The outfielder came into Saturday's game hitting just
.238 on the season but was 5-for-15 in his previous five games. Already
swinging a hot bat, Sizemore turned that 5-for-15 into a 9-for-20 streak
Saturday with a 4-for-5 performance in the Phillies' 7-5 win, in
which the lefty singled three times, doubled once and scored a run. Sizemore,
who hasn't hit particularly well since his return to baseball in 2013, said
that this steady stream of at-bats is what has triggered his offensive prowess.
"It felt good to have some good swings and get the win," Sizemore
said. "I felt like I didn't have a lot of at-bats or a lot of consistent
at-bats, so I try to just do what you can to stay sharp and relax up there and
keep grinding it out." Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg agreed, saying the
progression from pinch-hitter to regular player really eased Sizemore into a
comfort zone, leading to this recent hot streak. "Grady just seems to be clicking
right now," Sandberg said. "He gave us some real good pinch-hits, he
got some hits and I think that got him rolling. Now with some starts, he seems
to be in a groove. He's just seeing the ball real good, squaring it up."
Being that Sizemore is one of the many Phillies' outfielders in danger of
losing his job when Cody Asche and
Domonic Brown are recalled from Triple-A, one would naturally assume that
Sizemore's jump in production is coming from the place of a guy wanting to keep
his job. However, Sizemore said that as a Major League Baseball player, he
needs no extra incentive to try his hardest. "You can't really worry about
what you can't control," he said. "There's no need for motivation for
any player. You want to go out there and get better every day. So you just
focus on what you can control and go from there." That being said,
Sizemore also acknowledged that the team has been struggling offensively this
season and though the offense has looked good over the team's four-game winning
streak, changes probably will be made to the outfield and to the lineup in
coming weeks. But, as one of the veterans of the clubhouse, Sizemore said he
knows how to look past both the struggles that have happened and the
adversities that may be coming. "You look for the positive and you work
off of that," Sizemore said. "We had some tough breaks and obviously
we weren't playing very well, but you know it's going to turn around. You just
keep doing what your routine is, whatever that works and you make adjustments
every day and you work from there."
Moving Down To Move Up – It
might be a coincidence, but Chase Utley must
love the results. He is 3-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs in two games
since Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg dropped him from third to sixth in the
Phillies' lineup. Utley went 2-for-3 with one double and two RBIs in Saturday
night's 7-5 victory over
Arizona at Citizens Bank Park. "Nothing different," Sandberg said.
"He's hitting balls away from the glove and defense. It's good to
see." It was Utley's second multi-hit game of the season and his first
since April 14, when he homered twice and had three hits against the Mets at
Citi Field. Utley singled to center field in the third inning Saturday to score
Grady Sizemore to
hand the Phillies a 3-0 lead. He doubled to score Maikel Franco in the fifth to
make it 5-3. Arizona right-hander Addison Reed
intentionally walked him in the sixth to face the right-handed-hitting Jeff Francoeur.
There has been plenty of discussion about Utley because his struggles have
extended for nearly a year. He has hit .217 with 17 doubles, three triples, 10
home runs, 69 RBIs and a .612 OPS in 587 plate appearances since May 29. Could
Utley abruptly retire like Mike Schmidt in May 1989? Could the Phillies bench
Utley to prevent him from reaching 500 plate appearances this season, which
would automatically vest a $15 million club option for 2016? Utley left the
clubhouse almost immediately Saturday night and was unavailable to comment. But
Utley has run into some bad luck. His .118 batting average on balls in play
entering the game was 178 points below the game's average and 182 points below
his career average. "I thought he's looked really good," Sizemore
said. "It's a small sample of what we've seen. 120 or 130 at-bats isn't a
lot for anybody. So we can't get too carried away with what anybody's doing
right now. A couple things fall here or there it's a different story."
FiveThirtyEight.com this week compiled MLB.com's Statcast™ information on
batted ball velocity. It wrote: "Utley's batted ball velocity is a little
below average, not elite -- but below average would be an incredible
improvement from Utley's (.455) OPS." In other words, Utley might not be
the player he once was, but he is not a .138 hitter, either. "In
Utley," FiveThirtyEight.com wrote, "we have a player whose Statcast™
data doesn't match the conventional narrative. If the commentators and
traditional data sources are correct, Utley is headed toward a premature
retirement. If Statcast™ is right, Utley has an about average bat, one that should
recover. The Phillies just have to stick by him long enough to let him do
it."
Welcome Back To Philly – The
Phillies on Saturday acquired infielder Jayson Nix from the Orioles for cash
considerations. Nix will report to
Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Nix appeared in 18 games last season for the Phillies.
He has spent the 2015 season with Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .167 with a .388
OPS in 25 games.
THE BEGINNING
The
Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the
NL east at 15-23. 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 49-46-0 on this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment