GAME RECAP: Phillies Beat Braves 4-1
Aaron Harang and Shelby Miller came into Thursday night's
Braves-Phillies game a combined 0-14 since May 17. Harang broke his streak.
Miller didn't. Harang threw five innings in his first start since July 1 --
when he went on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis -- in the Phillies'
4-1 win at Citizens Bank Park. The winning
decision for Harang ended a streak of eight
straight starts in which he registered the losing decision and nine straight
winless starts in total. He allowed just one run despite the nine hits he
surrendered and struck out three. "All of his pitches were sharp,"
Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "He threw strikes. He just
had a higher pitch count than we like. That's why we took him out of the game.
But he certainly looked like a different guy than he was while he was pitching
with that foot injury. We were real pleased with his performance." The
loss for the Braves was their fourth in a row and seventh in eight games.
Phillies bats found Miller's pitches early as he worked up to 59 pitches
through the first three innings, but it wasn't until the fourth -- when four
Phillies in a row singled -- that Philadelphia was able to break through
against the right-hander. Limited run support has led Miller to go winless
while posting a 3.19 ERA over his past 13 starts. "It was definitely hot,
but I don't think that was the reason at all," said Miller, who changed
his jersey multiple times while sweating profusely throughout the outing.
"You play the game in humidity. Atlanta is hot and here is hot. You've got
to get used to that. There is no excuse for that."
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- Miller entered this game with 15 1/3
consecutive scoreless innings against the Phillies and a 2.03 ERA in six
career starts against them. But Atlanta's All-Star hurler started to waver
after he allowed four consecutive one-out singles in the fourth and then
three consecutive one-out singles in the fifth. The 11 hits he surrendered
matched the career high he allowed on July 10 at Coors Field vs. the
Rockies.
- Playing in his 1,000th game as a
Phillie, catcher Carlos Ruiz came
to the plate for his second at-bat of the night with the bases loaded in
the fourth inning after the three players before him all reached with
singles. Ruiz joined in on the action with a single of his own, plating Odubel Herrera and
Freddy Galvis and
giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
- Domonic Brown
continued the turnaround he's been in the middle of for the last eight
games on Thursday. Brown smacked two hits, including his first home run of
the season, marking his fourth multi-hit game in 10 days. The home run was
Brown's first since Sept. 16, 2014. "He hit a missile," Mackanin
said. "It was nice to see. I think he's been so concerned about the
outer half of the plate. I think he's got to remember that mistakes are
made over the plate and on the inner half. I think that he's got to get
back to that.
- After Miller allowed four straight
Phillies to single, giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead, Harang stood at the
plate with Ruiz on first and Brown on second base. Brown ventured a little
too far off second and Pierzynski threw down to second with Andrelton Simmons
covering. On initial appearance, Brown looked safe and such was
second-base umpire Gabe Morales' call. However, replay showed that when
Brown stood up out of his slide, there was a brief moment where neither
his hand nor foot were on the bag while Simmons still had the tag applied
and the call on the field was overturned. The review lasted an estimated one
minute and 20 seconds.
- "He might've been lurking in the
shadows somewhere, but I haven't seen him." -- Mackanin. on
whether or not Cole Hamels was in
the clubhouse on Thursday in the wake of his potential trade to the Texas
Rangers.
- Outfielder Cody Asche wasn't in the lineup for the Phillies
on Thursday night and if his track record versus Atlanta is any indicator,
he might not play on Friday either. Despite the fact that he has played
the Braves more times than any other team, Asche is just 13-for-113
lifetime against Atlanta pitching after pinch-hitting and going 0-for-1 on
Thursday. Though two of those 13 hits are home runs, his on-base
percentage and slugging percentage are both below .200, combining to
create his lowest OPS against any National League opponent.
- The end of July marks the ends of opposite months for the two teams. By record, July will easily go down as the Phillies' best month of the year -- with a win Friday, they have the chance to finish above .500 in a month for the first time in 2015. The Braves, on the other hand, will be glad to see July end. After Thursday's loss, they are five games under .500 this month, tied for their worst month of the year.
NEXT
GAME:
The Braves have rarely
fared well when facing a Cole Hamels-led Phillies team. Luckily for Atlanta,
they probably won't have to deal with him much anymore. Hamels was scheduled to
start for the Phillies on Friday, but with a trade to the Rangers all but
confirmed, the chances of Hamels -- who has a 3.11 ERA in 225 2/3 innings
versus Atlanta -- matching up against the struggling Braves are growing
increasingly slim. This comes at an opportune time for an Atlanta offense that
has lacked output in recent days. The Braves had scored a grand total of 15
runs in their last nine games, being shut out as many times, twice, as they
have won. Instead of Hamels, this ailing offense draws David Buchanan, who the
Phillies plan to call up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in advance of Friday's
game. Buchanan is 0-2 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts lifetime versus the
Braves.
PHILS PHACTS:
Finalizing The Details – Cole Hamels is going to
be a Texas Ranger. The eight-player trade between the Phillies and Rangers is
taking a little longer than expected to become official, but sources told
MLB.com late Thursday night that everything is in place and that it will
happen. An announcement is expected Friday. Sources said Wednesday night that
the Phillies agreed to send Hamels, Jake Diekman and about $9.5 million to the Rangers
for five prospects -- outfielder Nick Williams, catcher Jorge Alfaro and
right-handers Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher -- and left-hander Matt Harrison. Major League Baseball needed to
approve the trade because of the money involved, but a source said it has been
approved. The teams also needed to go through extensive medical records, which
can take time. The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday the Rangers needed to
transfer the insurance policy they held on Harrison to the Phillies, which
involves a third party. Complicated, administrative stuff, but the fact is the
trade is going to happen. Hamels remained out of sight Thursday. If he ever
appeared at Citizens Bank Park, nobody seemed to know it. "He might have
been lurking somewhere in the shadows, but I didn't see him," Phillies
interim manager Pete Mackanin said. Diekman was at the ballpark, waiting for
somebody to tell him something about his future before the 4-1
victory over the Braves. Word never came. He
eventually got into his Phillies uniform and walked with his teammates to the
bullpen, knowing he would pitch only in an emergency situation. He sat there
the entire night, contemplating his fate. "I didn't do anything until 6:30
p.m.," Diekman said. "Then I went into the hot tub and got ready for
the game. I mean, it sucked. Like, this could be the last time I walk in here.
I mean, I have no idea, but just sitting out there thinking about it sucked."
The Phillies and Rangers had worked for some time to complete this deal. It
certainly did not happen overnight. But after Hamels rejected a trade to
Houston -- which means the Astros offered an even better package of prospects
than Texas -- the Phillies and Rangers reached an agreement. The Phillies still
like what they got. They received three of the Rangers' top six prospects,
according to MLBPipeline.com: Thompson (fourth), Williams (fifth) and Alfaro
(sixth). Eickhoff ranked 17th and Asher ranked 29th. Thompson, Williams and
Alfaro are ranked 60th, 64th and 69th, respectively in MLB Pipeline's Top 100.
The Phillies wanted hitters in any trade for Hamels, and they believe they got
two good ones who project to be everyday players with Williams, 21, and Alfaro,
22. Williams, who was a second-round pick in the 2012 Draft, was hitting .300
with 21 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 45 RBIs and a .837 OPS with
Double-A Frisco. Alfaro, who signed a $1.3 million bonus in 2010, will miss the
rest of this season following left ankle surgery in June, but before that,
MLBPipeline.com said he had "the best combination of raw power and pure
arm strength among Minor League catchers." Thompson, 21, was traded from Detroit
to Texas last year for Joakim Soria and became
Texas' top starting pitching prospect. He was 6-6 with a 4.72 ERA in 17 starts
with Frisco. Eickhoff, 25, was 8-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 17 games with Triple-A
Round Rock. Asher, 23, was 3-6 with a 4.73 ERA in 12 starts with Round Rock. In
time, the Phillies hope a few of those players catapult the Phillies to their
next postseason run, similar to how Hamels, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins led the
Phillies to five consecutive National League East titles from 2007-11. The
Phillies had to sacrifice one of their greatest postseason performers to get
them. "Just a surreal moment," Hamels said following Saturday's
no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It turned into a surreal week,
including Thursday with everybody in limbo.
Everybody Limbo! – It was three hours before first pitch of the Phillies' 4-1
win over the Braves on Thursday and interim
manager Pete Mackanin glanced down at the partially completed lineup card on
the desk in front of him. He half-smiled, half-shrugged. He only knew so much.
He could say even less. By Thursday afternoon, The Big Trade had been a hot
topic since the news started breaking late the previous night: ace left-hander Cole Hamels and reliever Jake Diekman to the Rangers for veteran starter Matt Harrison and five
prospects. The deal had been discussed, dissected, critiqued and analyzed from
every angle. It just hadn't been completed -- which created a weird vibe as the
Phillies prepared to play the Braves at Citizens Bank Park in the first game of
the homestand. Mackanin didn't know whether to list Diekman as being one of his
available relievers; when the game started, he was sitting in the bullpen. It
also wasn't clear whether Hamels was at the park. He was scheduled to start
Friday night against the Braves. The official game notes listed TBA instead. Mackanin
wasn't even sure what to say to Hamels before the Phillies boarded their
charter from Toronto back to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. "I didn't
say goodbye," he explained. "Unless it's done, I don't want to do
that. That's what made it uneasy." As always, the lack of solid
information left a void that was filled with rumors and speculation. As the
hours passed, conjecture mounted. Most of it centered on the possibility that
one of the players involved may have been red-flagged for medical reasons.
Maybe the deal would have to be reworked. Maybe it would be scuttled entirely. The
Phillies and Rangers, however, are expected to announce the deal Friday,
sources tell MLB.com's Todd Zolecki and T.R. Sullivan, before the 4 p.m. ET
Trade Deadline. The clubs have not confirmed. Still, uncertainty can be
draining. To the Phillies' credit, it didn't prevent them from winning for the
10th time in 12 games since the All-Star break. After the game, some of the
picture began to come into better focus. Hamels apparently stayed home. His
locker appeared undisturbed. "I didn't see him, but he might have been
lurking in the shadows somewhere," said Mackanin, drawing a laugh. David
Buchanan will start Friday night, he added. The manager conceded that he was
supposed to stay away from using Diekman. And the hard-throwing reliever spoke
about the emotional toll the previous 24 hours had taken on him. "I really
don't know what to say," he said. "I haven't been told anything. I
walked in [after Wednesday night's game] and three of my buddies texted me.
Congrats and stuff. Then I check online and it's all over." Still, when he
got to the park, nothing. "I didn't do anything until 6:30," he said
wryly. "Then I went in the hot tub and got ready for the game." He
was told he would only pitch in an emergency. "This could be the last time
I walk in here. I have no idea. Just sitting out there thinking about it
sucked. I feel like it would be a good opportunity if it happens, but leaving
here would suck. I mean, I'm 28. I've been here nine years. I've been here a
while. "I don't know if I feel anything right now. Until something
happens, I'm still here. I'm still a Phillie. I was a Phillie when I woke up. I
was a Phillie during the entire game. I love it here. Just because I've been
here for nine years, it's tough." Making trades in baseball, with bigger
money and more intricate contracts, has become more complex. It can take longer
to finalize deals. At the same time, social media means news breaks
instantaneously and circulates with breathtaking speed. Those two realities
clashed Thursday, and the result was a general awkwardness all around. And
there was nothing anybody could do about it. "Everybody's got concerns.
Everybody's got anxieties. The old guys. The young guys. I'd like to know who
to put on my lineup card," Mackanin said. "It's uncertainty, but you
just go with what you're given. The people who do it the right way and get after
it are the people you're looking for. "You can't take anything for granted
in this business. That's the way you have to look at it. It's a bottom-line
business. You either succeed or you don't. And if you look at it that way,
you're not going to worry about it and you're going to be more successful.
You'd like to know what's going on, but sometimes it just doesn't happen that
way."
Stepping Up – David
Buchanan is 26. Adam Morgan is 25. Aaron Nola is 22. And then there's Aaron Harang. With word of Cole Hamels' trade to the Rangers expected to come
Friday, the Phillies' clubhouse is losing more than just an ace; it's losing a
veteran presence to help guide the new guard of Philadelphia starters in times
of confusion. Enter Harang. The 37-year-old said after Thursday's 4-1
win over the Braves that he has filled the role
of sage veteran a few times over the five-year journey that has taken him from
San Diego to Los Angeles to Seattle to Queens to Atlanta to Philadelphia. But
now with Hamels gone, Harang is the likely figure to step in and take over as
the intellectual leader of the young rotation. This is a mantle Harang said he
is happy to assume. "The nice thing is I've been able to be around and go
on a couple of the road trips and be there to kind of answer questions and talk
with Morgan and Nola. Watching how guys are working hitters and maybe giving
them ideas on situations. How to set guys up to be able to establish another
pitch for them," Harang said. To Harang there is a value in learning
through listening. That being said, Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin is
pleased to have Harang as more of a visual professor of the game. "He's
important in the respect that hopefully all the guys recognize what he did
tonight," Mackanin said. "He used all his pitches, he used the whole
plate up and down. His command wasn't the best, but still in all, he knows how
to pitch, he knows how to hold runners. And the players see that and get to
understand what he did." Harang started Thursday night for the first time
since he went on the disabled list on July 1 with plantar fasciitis in his left
foot. He threw five innings of one-run ball, allowing nine hits, but keeping
the ball mostly on the ground being that all nine of the hits were singles. His
pitch count reached 96 pitches after five innings, but the strategy succeeded,
leading to a win for his team and for his record. Putting a new notch in the
win column is a bit of a foreign experience for Harang. Prior to Thursday's
win, Harang had been the loser in each of his previous eight starts, the first
Phillies pitcher to achieve that not-so-desirable feat since 1972. Counting the
no decision he earned prior to the beginning of the losing streak, it was
Harang's first win since May 14. The right-hander said he was proud to break
the streak, saying it was a testament to how hard he worked to get back into
the rotation. "It's been a little while," Harang said. "It's
been kind of a grind this last month."
Staying Focused – As he came, so too he may go. Outfielder Ben Revere came to the Phillies in December 2012 via
a trade that sent Trevor May and Vance Worley to Minnesota. Now in his third season
with the Phillies and less than 24 hours away from the July 31 non-waiver Trade
Deadline, Revere is speculated to be the last piece the Phillies are shopping. With
former closer Jonathan Papelbon
already in Washington after Tuesday's trade and the deal to send ace Cole Hamels to Texas all but complete, Revere is the
remaining talent most likely to be dealt before Friday's 4 p.m. ET deadline.
When asked if he is prepared to be traded if a transaction is to occur, Revere
said that he has to remember baseball is a business, as hard as it may be to
think of it that way. "Anything can happen in baseball," Revere said.
"Someone could go down. They're like, 'Okay, we need a guy.' Choose me or
choose him. Anything can happen. One phone call or one trade could happen. But
really I'm not thinking about it." A reliable contact hitter and a
fleet-footed threat on the basepaths, Revere is batting .298 this season with
24 stolen bases and is on pace to score about 80 runs, which would be a career
high. Over his five full MLB seasons, Revere has twice batted .300 or better
and twice stolen more than 30 bases. He did both in 2014. Pragmatic about the
chances of being traded, Revere said he is not scared despite the fact that his
fate isn't in his own hands. He emphasized that as of right now, he is a member
of the Phillies and that his sole focus has to be on doing what he can to help
the Phillies thrive as long as that is true. That being said, the prospect of
being traded to a contender is an interest proposition for Revere. "I've
known guys who have been with a team that was struggling who got traded to a
team that won the World Series," he said. "You never know what will
happen in the game of baseball, a 180 just like that."
Welcome To Alumni Weekend – It is unlikely Cole Hamels will stick around for the Phillies'
alumni weekend. But the Phillies have plenty planned without him. Here is a
look at the weekend's festivities: Friday: Pat Burrell will be the 37th
player inducted onto the Phillies' Wall of Fame. Wall of Famers participating
in the pregame ceremony at Citizens Bank Park include Jim Bunning (inducted
1984), Steve Carlton (1989), Mike Schmidt (1990), Larry Bowa (1991), Dick Allen
(1994), Greg Luzinski (1998), Garry Maddox (2001), Tony Taylor (2002), Bob
Boone (2005), Dallas Green (2006), Juan Samuel (2008), Darren Daulton (2010),
John Kruk (2011), Mike Lieberthal (2012) and Charlie Manuel (2014). Fans will
receive a commemorative print of Burrell. Saturday: The Phillies will
dedicate their mural on the Walnut Street Bridge at 11 a.m. ET. The mural is
part of the city's Mural Arts Program. Located at 24th and Walnut, it is eight
stories high and faces the Schuylkill River and I-76. Later that night at
Citizens Bank Park, more than 50 Phillies alumni will be introduced before the
game. Phillies alumni will be signing autographs at various parts of the
ballpark from 5:45 p.m. ET to 6:15 p.m. ET. The John Vukovich Award will be presented
to Steve Schrenk, who is the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast Phillies. The
John Vukovich Award is presented annually to an instructor in the Phillies
organization who embodies the characteristics of the late Vukovich, the
longest-tenured coach in team history. Sunday: Fans will receive a
Fathead that features Carlton, Daulton, Allen, Schmidt and Burrell.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the
NL east at 39-64. Given the departures, aging stars,
injuries, and performance so far this season, this could end up being the
worst team in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 60-52-1 on
this day.
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