GAME RECAP: Braves Edge Phillies 2-1
Cameron Maybin
delivered a go-ahead single in the fourth inning and some solid bullpen work
preserved the effort Williams Perez
provided while helping the Braves claim a 2-1 win over the Phillies on Friday
night at Turner Field. Adonis Garcia's
first-inning double and Maybin's two-out single accounted for the only runs
Phillies starter Adam Morgan surrendered
over six
innings. But the production was enough for the
Braves, who have won just five of their past 31 games. Three of those victories
have been recorded against the Phillies. "It's been a rough year for all
of us," Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman
said. "It's nice to see the positive side of things. The whole pitching
staff had a great game tonight. Hopefully they can carry that into tomorrow and
we'll get a series win." Perez scattered six hits over 5 2/3 innings and
limited the Phillies to just one run, which came courtesy of Cameron Rupp's two-out solo homer in the second
inning. The Braves
bullpen stranded eight runners while completing
3 1/3 scoreless innings. Arodys Vizcaino notched three strikeouts during a
scoreless ninth inning that was marred by Hector Olivera error. Vizcaino notched three
strikeouts, the last of which resulted in a wild pitch that landed in the
stands and loaded the bases before Darin Ruf lined out to end the game. "They gave
us, what, six outs in that ninth inning? And we couldn't capitalize,"
Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "Just an overall
disappointing night. Just a bad night."
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- The Phillies had a chance to break
open the game in the sixth -- or at least get even, considering they were
trailing 2-1 at the time -- but couldn't come through with two outs and
the bases loaded. After knocking out Perez, and going through reliever Brandon Cunniff, Mackanin sent veteran Jeff Francoeur up
against McKirahan. Six pitches later, every one of them a strike,
Francoeur, the ex-Brave, struck out on an 84-mph slider.
- After Garcia hit an RBI double in the
first, he strayed off second base and was tagged by an alert Ruf.
Second-base umpire Jim Joyce's original safe call was overturned after the
Phillies issued their first challenge of the game.
- Pinch-hitter Chase d'Arnaud,
stepping in for Morgan, led off the seventh inning with a bouncer to
short. Andrelton Simmons
fielded it and made a long-bounce throw to first, where first-base umpire
Pat Hoberg called d'Arnaud out. The Phillies challenged, the call was
overturned, and d'Arnaud was awarded an infield single.
- Later in the seventh, d'Arnaud was
tagged out at the plate when McKirahan fielded Odubel Herrera's
comebacker and flipped the ball out of his glove to Bethancourt. The
Phillies were unsuccessful with their challenge that Bethancourt violated
the plate-blocking rule.
NEXT
GAME:
Rookie right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 3.90 ERA) is scheduled to make
his sixth start of the season Saturday night at 7:10 ET when the Phillies and
Braves square off in the second game of this three-game set. Eickhoff has made
it to the sixth inning in all but one of his starts. Atlanta will counter with Ryan Weber, who will be making his third career
start. Weber surrendered two runs over six innings while making his Major
League debut against the Phillies on Sept. 9.
PHILS PHACTS:
Rookie Making Progress – Adam Morgan put
together one of those starts Friday that was good enough for a win. But, in a
year of tough losses for the Phillies, the outcome did not go his way. The
Braves hung a loss on the Phillies' left-hander in a hard-luck 2-1
decision despite six better-than-good innings
in which Morgan gave up only the two runs, didn't walk anyone and was so
efficient that he needed just 70 pitches to get through his start. He threw
only 18 balls in his six innings, and zipped first-pitch strikes to the final
15 batters he faced. Over his last seven starts, he's struck out 24 hitters and
walked only three. He's 2-4 in those games. "He's been pitching very well.
He could have a few more wins than he does," interim manager Pete Mackanin
said. "We just got to drive some runs in." Morgan (5-7, 4.48 ERA)
wasn't perfect Friday, but he made maybe three mistakes that cost him: He left
a pitch over the plate that Adonis Garcia reached down and poked off the wall in
right-center in the first inning, driving in a run. In the fourth, he hung a
changeup to Freddie Freeman,
who held back on it just long enough to pull a soft double down the right-field
line. And, two pitches later, he hung a first-pitch slider to Cameron Maybin, who lined it into center to score
Freeman. Two or three mistakes in six innings of work, for almost anyone, is
not too shabby. "It's not bad," Morgan said, "but I can do
better." Morgan clearly could have gone at least another inning, and maybe
more than that, the way he was dealing. But in the seventh, trying to score a
run, Mackanin chose to pinch-hit for his starter to lead off the inning. And
that was Morgan's night. "I always want to finish what I started. I still
felt good," Morgan said. "But, you know, the manager pinch-hit for me
at a good time and a time he felt was right. I can't argue with that." After
his 28th start of the season -- including 13 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley --
Morgan looks as if he has plenty left to give the Phillies as they head toward
the finish line. He has thrown 152 2/3 innings between the Phils and the Minors
in his first full season since coming back from Jan. 2014 left shoulder
surgery. He said Friday he expects the ball a couple more times before the end
of the season. "I'm happy with where I'm at," said Morgan, "but
I'm not where I want to be at. I'm not exactly where I want to be."
Continuing To Recover – Ryan Howard was out of
the Phillies' lineup again on Friday, still nursing a sore left knee that he
bruised in Monday's 8-7 loss against the Nationals. But Philadelphia continues
to be hopeful that it hasn't seen the last of its slugging first baseman this
year. "If 7-10 days go by and he hasn't seen live pitching, then it
becomes an issue there. And is it worth [it] to run him out there? So we'll
just go day to day there," interim manager Pete Mackanin said Friday
before the Phillies took on the Braves in the first of a three game series at
Turner Field. "I'd like to get him back in there. He's a very good
presence in that lineup. Without [Maikel] Franco and Cesar [Hernandez] in
there, it's a lot different lineup." Franco broke his left wrist when he
was hit by a pitch on Aug. 11. Hernandez dislocated his thumb during a play at
first base on Sunday against the Cubs. Howard, who took a one-hop throw off his
knee in the game against the Nationals, was walking around in the clubhouse
before Friday's game with his left knee wrapped. He made it out to batting
practice, limping slightly, but he didn't participate. He had an MRI on Tuesday
which showed no structural damage. "For me, I don't care if the guy takes
a driver's license test. All I want to know is if he can play or not. Whatever
bone or muscle hurts … I don't care. I just want to know if he can play,"
Mackanin said. "It's better than expected, I think. He's going to start
moving around a little bit, and then we'll just play it by ear and see how he
adjusts or how he reacts."
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 56-92. 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 44-62-2 on this day.
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