GAME RECAP: Giants Sweep Phillies 4-2
Andrew
Susac's three-run homer fueled San Francisco's four-run outburst in
Sunday's fourth inning, which led the Giants to a 4-2 triumph over the
Philadelphia Phillies. The outcome completed the Giants' first three-game sweep
of Philadelphia at AT&T Park since Sept. 4-6, 2000. Giants rookie Chris Heston yielded
Philadelphia's first run and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings while winning his
third decision in a row in a span of five starts. Heston has compiled a 2.00
ERA in this stretch. Heston is 9-5 with a 3.39 ERA overall, virtually identical
to the corresponding statistics for acknowledged staff ace Madison Bumgarner (9-5,
3.33). Heston said that his "friendly rivalry" with Bumgarner
"gives me a guy to chase." The Phillies generated insufficient
support for starter Chad
Billingsley (1-3). Philadelphia got on the board in the seventh inning as Ryan Howard's bloop
single scored Maikel
Franco, who made a quick, early break from first base with two outs. Howard
had another RBI single in the ninth off Santiago Casilla.
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- The Phillies' Ken Giles continued
to establish himself as the team's heir to closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Giles threw a scoreless eighth inning, making the Giants 3-4-5 hitters
look silly with three straight strikeouts. The right-handed flamethrower
lowered his season ERA to 1.86.
- The Phillies don't have much history facing Fernandez, but
one player who has enjoyed success off him is Freddy Galvis, who is
3-for-6. Chase Utley, who's on the DL, is 2-for-9.
- The Marlins and Phillies will meet for their third series
this year, and second in Philadelphia. Miami holds a 4-2 advantage in the
season series.
- Dee Gordon, Miami's All-Star second baseman, is not expected to go on the disabled list. The Marlins are aiming to reinstate third baseman Martin Prado (right shoulder) from the DL, and he's a candidate to be a short-term option at second beginning Friday.
NEXT
GAME:
After the All-Star break, the club returns home to open a
three-game series against the Miami Marlins on Friday night. Left-hander Adam Morgan makes his
fourth career start as he squares off against the Marlins' Jose Fernandez. Morgan
is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in his rookie season. The Marlins' ace, who made both of his first-half starts in Miami,
will open the second half against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Friday.
Fernandez already has regained his old form, notching wins in each of his first
two starts back from Tommy John surgery. While the hard-throwing right-hander
has dominated at Marlins Park (14-0, 1.17 ERA) in his career, he has been
vulnerable on the road, where he is 4-8 with a 3.93 ERA. He is 1-1 with a 4.91
ERA in his career in Philadelphia. The Phillies are starting the series off
with rookie Adam Morgan, who is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in three starts. The lefty
has 12 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings, and this will be his second home start. He's
lost back-to-back decisions on the road after opening his career with a 5
2/3-innings win over the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park on June 21.
PHILS PHACTS:
Crawford Makes An Impression – Shortstop J.P. Crawford, the Phillies' No. 1 prospect according to
MLB.com, and right-hander Aaron Nola, ranked second, were teammates Sunday in
the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ball Park. The U.S. Team
rolled to a 10-1 victory over the World
Team before an announced crowd of 43,661 fans. Crawford started and batted
second for the U.S. Team. In the third inning his two-out RBI single drove in
the tying run and he eventually came around to score. He also made a nice
leaping catch of a line drive to rob World Team centerfielder Manuel Margot in
the fifth and started a pair of double plays. Nola, who pitched Friday, did not
appear in the game. The organization and its vocal fans are hoping it won't be
long before the two prospects are together again in Philadelphia, playing an
important role in the franchise's rebuilding. In fact, there was a groundswell
of support for Nola to be promoted after he posted a 1.88 ERA in his first 12
starts at Double-A Reading this season. The team's 2014 No. 1 Draft choice
(seventh overall), out of LSU, has since been promoted to Triple-A Lehigh
Valley where he's 3-0, 2.43 in five starts. It would surprise no one if he
makes his Major League debut before the year is over. Crawford, 20, is also on
a fast track after being selected out of Lakewood (Calif.) High School with the
16th overall pick in 2013. The Phillies philosophy in recent years has been to
go for high school players with high ceilings in the first round. In Nola, they
opted for a pitcher who was considered as close to big league ready as any
pitcher available last year. He's aware of the speculation that he could be on
the verge of being called up. "I try to block that stuff out as best as I
can and just focus on my next start," he said. "Wherever they have me
I'm going to pitch to the best of my ability. Go out and focus on every start.
Right now I'm at Lehigh Valley. There are things every ballplayer has to work
on to improve their abilities." Nola and Crawford played together for the
Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers in 2014 and crossed paths at Reading this
season after the shortstop was promoted from Clearwater and before Nola was
moved up to the IronPigs. This was Crawford's second straight Futures Game appearance
and he's pleased with the progress he's made since last season. "I think
I've gotten better at everything. I'm stronger. Better defensively and
offensively. I think I'm getting better at everything every day," he said.
Crawford is impressed with the rotation that started the season at Reading. Not
just Nola but Zach Eflin, Tom Windle and Jesse Biddle. "This year was the
first time I've seen some of them pitch and they're really good. I love playing
behind them and I think we have a lot of the pieces in the organization right
now to impact our future," he said.
Time To Evaluate – The Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Giants marks
the unofficial end to a forgettable first half of the season for the team with
Major League Baseball's worst record. Philadelphia fell to 29-62 with Sunday's
defeat at AT&T Park, the most losses in franchise history before the
All-Star break. For interim manager Pete Mackanin and his struggling ballclub,
the four-day hiatus could not come at a better time. "For us as a team,
it's time to regroup and get away for a few days," Chad Billingsley said. Mackanin
agreed the team desperately needs the time off to regroup and come back ready
to grind out the second half of the year. "Without a doubt it's a great
time," Mackanin said Saturday. "Everybody could use a break, regroup.
Everybody will start the second half well-rested and hopefully we'll get it
together." The Phillies figure to use the second half to evaluate the
young talent they have on their roster. Mackanin said to expect his
less-experienced players to get time to prove themselves in the latter part of
the season. "The younger guys are going to get more chances to play,"
Mackanin said. "Everybody's got the potential, everybody's got the
ability." Despite the team's overall struggles, young players like Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez and Ken Giles give the
Phillies hope for the future. Franco was named National League Rookie of the
Month in June, leading all NL players with 38 hits to go along with his eight home
runs and 24 RBIs. Hernandez, 22, has seemingly secured a job as the team's
starting second baseman after hitting .280 with 12 stolen bases. Giles looks
like the Phillies' closer of the future, and on Sunday, he whiffed the Giants
3-4-5 hitters in the eighth inning. The 24-year-old right-hander owns a 1.51
ERA in his first season and a half in the big leagues with 110 strikeouts in 83
1/3 career innings. "I have to concentrate on those positives and let the
guys know that we're headed in the right direction, though our wins and losses
don't show it," Mackanin said. While any hope of the Phillies having a
successful season evaporated before the break, the team still has something to
play for in the second portion of the season. "Our guys are
auditioning," Mackanin said Saturday. "We're finding out about them.
Little by little, you piece things together and you decide what you need and if
they can handle the situation."
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the
NL east at 29-62. 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 40-43-0 on
this day.
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