GAME RECAP: Phillies Shock Cubs 7-5
Pinch-hitter Cody Asche hit a
walk-off two-run home run with two outs in the ninth to power the Phillies to a
7-5 victory Saturday night over the Cubs, who lost for only the fourth time in
their last 13 games. Hector Rondon retired
the first two batters he faced in the ninth, then walked Erik Kratz. Asche launched the first pitch he saw from
Rondon into the right-field seats. It was his second career walk-off home run.
The other happened exactly a year ago with a walk-off homer against the
Marlins. "That's absurd," Asche said. "That's just unbelievably
crazy." The Cubs hold an 8 1/2-game lead over the Giants for the second
National League Wild Card spot, are three games behind the Pirates for the top
spot, and are 5 1/2 games back of the division-leading Cardinals. Rookie Kyle Schwarber hit his
16th home run with two outs in the third to put Chicago ahead 1-0, but that was
the Cubs' only hit over the first six innings against Jerad Eickhoff. The Phillies took advantage of an
error by Anthony Rizzo and Justin Grimm's wildness to put together a five-run
seventh, highlighted by Cesar Hernandez's
three-run double. But the Cubs rallied to tie the game in a four-run eighth,
sparked by a two-run double by Chris Coghlan, an RBI
double by Kris Bryant, and a sac
fly by Miguel Montero. "[Grimm]
couldn't have had better stuff than he had tonight -- it's impossible,"
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "I know he's going to be very upset. I have
all the confidence in the world. He's got to be good for us to get to where we
want to be. It's just unfortunate it didn't play tonight."
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- The Phillies are looking for somebody to step up as a
candidate for the 2016 rotation, and Eickhoff made another case for
himself. He allowed three hits, one run, three walks and struck out a
career-high eight in seven innings. He has a 3.90 ERA in five starts. "He
was outstanding tonight," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin
said. "He looked determined to me. It looked like he was out there to
establish himself."
- The Phillies had two outs and nobody
on base in the seventh when a walk and error put runners on first and
second. Ryan Howard, who
snapped a 0-for-35 slump Friday, stepped up and hit a double to right
field to tie the game. It was his first RBI since Aug. 25. Grimm then
walked pinch-hitters Brian Bogusevic to
load the bases, and then Darnell Sweeney to
force home the go-ahead run. But Hernandez twisted the dagger with a
double to center field to clear the bases to make it 5-1. "It was
great to see Howie come through big like that," Mackanin said.
- In the Phillies' fourth, Odubel Herrera was
called safe at second on a stolen base, but apparently didn't believe it
and started to head off the field. The Cubs challenged whether he was
safe, and after a replay review, the call was overturned, and Herrera was
out.
- "As you all know, I've been
saying that Cody Asche is the best
hitter on the team. I think I've made that
clear in the past." -- Mackanin's opening remarks in his postgame
news conference.
- Howard has 643 career extra-base
hits, which moves him into a fourth-place tie with Hall of Famer Chuck
Klein on the franchise's all-time list.
NEXT
GAME:
Phillies right-hander Aaron Harang pitches the series finale against the
Cubs at 1:35 p.m. ET Sunday. He had a 2.02 ERA through the end of May, but has
a 7.79 ERA in 14 starts since then. Haren is coming off his best outing since
joining the Cubs, in which he scattered seven hits over seven scoreless innings
against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This will be his fourth start against
the Phillies this season and third at Citizens Bank Park; he's 1-1 with a 4.50
ERA.
PHILS PHACTS:
Headed For Strong Finish? – Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin took a seat in the
Phillies' media room at Citizens Bank Park late Saturday night and opened his
news conference with the following statement: "As you all know, I've been
saying that Cody Asche is the best
hitter on the team. I think I've made that clear in the past." Asche
certainly was on Sept. 12. Appearing as a pinch-hitter, Asche hit a two-run
walk-off home run in the ninth inning of a 7-5
Phillies victory over the Cubs. It was the
second walk-off homer of Asche's career. The other came exactly a year earlier,
when he hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning against the Marlins. "That's
absurd," Asche said of his Sept. 12 walkoffs. "That's just
unbelievably crazy." Perhaps the latest blast will spur Asche to a strong
finish. "It's been a while since I drove a ball like that," he said. Asche
is hitting .247 (91-for-368) with 22 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 28
RBIs and a .678 OPS in 111 games. He opened the season as the team's third
baseman before being optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to learn to play left
field because of the arrival of rookie third baseman Maikel Franco. Asche recently returned to third base
while Franco is out with a broken left wrist. But Asche has not had the season
he hoped to have offensively. The Phillies had hoped for better, too. They love
his mental makeup (they see some Chase Utley in him), so when he finished last season
hitting .252 with 10 homers, 46 RBIs and a .699 OPS in 121 games, they expected
those numbers to take a jump this year. "We know he's got it in him,"
Mackanin said. "We know he's got that kind of power. He's got the ability
to be a very good hitter. This year was not a good one for him, but there's
still 19 games left and he's going to be playing. It would be great to see him
finish strong, because we feel like he's got a good chance to be part of the
future. I think if he finishes strong, he can go home feeling pretty good about
himself." Said Asche: "That's the daily mental grind that I'm facing
right now. Just come in here and continue to work, regardless of what's
happened prior to this point. Just keeping a clear mind every single day and
making sure I'm working to get better."
Rookie Making Impression – The Phillies have four rookies, one almost-rookie and one
veteran in their six-man rotation. The five youths should consider their starts
auditions for favorite status entering Spring Training in February. There is no
question rookie Aaron Nola leads the
pack, but rookie Jerad Eickhoff
continued to make a strong case for himself Saturday night in a 7-5
Phillies victory over the Cubs at Citizens Bank
Park. Eickhoff allowed three hits, one run, three walks and struck out a
career-high eight in seven innings. "Right now, I'm not really thinking
about it or worried about it," Eickhoff said about his potential spot in
next season's rotation. "I'm trying to go every five days, or whenever
they tell me to throw, and go as long as I can. I think that's all I can
do." Eickhoff, whom the Phillies acquired from Texas in the Cole Hamels trade, is 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in five
starts. Remove his start against the Red Sox in Boston last weekend -- he
allowed six runs in four innings -- and Eickhoff has a 2.42 ERA in four starts
against the Marlins, Mets (twice) and Cubs. "He was outstanding
tonight," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "He looked
determined, to me. It looked like he was out there to establish himself." Eickhoff
allowed just one hit through 6 1/3 innings - a first-pitch fastball that Kyle Schwarber hit for a solo home run in the third
inning -- before allowing a couple of singles in the seventh. But Eickhoff
otherwise kept the Cubs off-balance. He mixed his fastball with an excellent
curveball, striking out seven of his eight batters with curveballs. "It
felt good," Eickhoff said about his curveball. "In the [bullpen] it
was OK, then I think the first one I threw in the game, it was almost to the
backstop, but I was able to make the adjustment and get it back in the
zone." The other pitchers in the Phillies' rotation other than Eickhoff
and Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA in 10 starts) are veteran Aaron Harang (5-15, 5.02 ERA in 25 starts),
second-year pitcher David Buchanan (2-8,
9.11 ERA in 11 starts), rookie Adam Morgan (5-6, 4.60 ERA in 14 starts) and rookie Alec Asher (0-3, 10.67 ERA in three starts). Harang
is not expected to return next season, but Eickhoff, Nola, Morgan, Buchanan and
Asher will be in camp. Their performances in Spring Training will matter, but
strong performances during the regular season, when the pressure is on and the
results matter, will give those pitchers an extra benefit of the doubt as
Opening Day 2016 approaches. In that sense, Eickhoff is putting himself in a
good spot with three more starts scheduled: Sept. 19 in Atlanta, Sept. 26 in
Washington and Oct. 3 against the Marlins. "It was a pleasure to watch him
pitch," Mackanin said. "We've been struggling with the starters. It's
great to see a good pitching performance from a guy like him."
Another Chance – The Phillies hope to salvage David Buchanan's season by keeping him in the
rotation for at least another start. Buchanan will start Tuesday night against
the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. His spot seemed to be in doubt following a
start against the Braves on Wednesday, in which he allowed 10 hits, four runs
and three walks in just 3 1/3 innings. Buchanan has a 22.00 ERA in his last
three starts, and is 2-9 with a 9.11 ERA in 11 starts this season. The
Phillies' front office instructed Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin to
keep Buchanan in the rotation. It makes sense. While Buchanan has struggled, he
will be back with the organization next season, and the Phillies are desperate
for pitching depth. Buchanan posted a 3.75 ERA in 20 starts last season, so the
Phillies hope to recapture some of those results. Right-hander Jerome Williams (4-10, 5.90 ERA) would been have the
logical choice to replace Buchanan in this season's rotation, but Williams can
become a free agent after the season and is not expected to return. "We're
going to make all efforts to salvage something out of his year," Mackanin
said about Buchanan.
Franco Making Progress – Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco still has a chance to play before the
end of the season. Franco has not played since mid-August because of a broken
left wrist, but he has been swinging a bat recently without any pain. He could
take batting practice in the next couple days, and if that goes well, he could
head to Clearwater, Fla., before the end of next week to face living pitching. Franco
could rejoin the Phillies in Miami for their series against the Marlins
beginning Sept. 22.
Words Of Wisdom – Phillies interim
manager Pete Mackanin's job has not been easy since he replaced Ryne Sandberg
in June. Mackanin took a team on pace to lose 105 games, with a roster short in
every department, and entered play Saturday having posted a relatively
impressive 25-26 record since the All-Star break. That performance is one
reason why he is expected to return next season, even as the Phillies set out
to hire a new general manager this coming offseason. But following a sweep of
the Marlins in Miami late last month, the Phillies were just 4-14, which is why
Mackanin called a "positive" team meeting before Saturday night's
game against the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park. "Keep them pointed in the
right direction, under the circumstances," Mackanin said. Phillies
pitchers posted a 6.37 ERA in that 18-game stretch, which was the third-highest
mark in baseball. The offense averaged just 4.22 runs per game, which was tied
for 21st. "I just wanted them to hear from me that I still like
everybody," Mackanin said. "I just reminded them to continue
competing through the end of the season and not just play it out." Following
a doubleheader sweep Friday night, Mackanin was asked if his team might be out
of gas. He said no, but he does need to keep his players focused. "Personally,
I've been pleased with the way guys have been going about it," Mackanin
said. "The meeting I had today was a pleasant reminder: Don't just play
this out. There's things still out there. There's potential for jobs down the
road for everyone. Everyone has been given chances to play, and we just want to
make sure. I just reminded them that we're not going to just go through the
season with no intentions. We're going to try to compete every day. That's what
it's all about, competing every day, every pitch."
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies have returned to their lackluster ways and regained their grip on last
place in the NL East with a record of 55-88. Given the departures, aging stars,
injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this could still end up
being the worst team in franchise history… at least that is something to hope
for this year! All time, the Phillies are 50-62-1 on this day.
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