GAME RECAP: Phillies Blank Braves 5-0
The Phillies' future looks a little brighter just about every time
Aaron Nola has pitched this season. The rookie
pitched seven scoreless innings in Tuesday night's 5-0 victory over the Braves
at Citizens Bank Park. Nola allowed just six hits, one walk and struck out
seven to improve to 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 10 starts since his promotion from
Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It is safe to say he is a heavy favorite to be in the
2016 rotation. "Nola was outstanding," Phillies interim manager Pete
Mackanin said. "He located his fastball, kept them off-balance, and made
some great pitches." Braves right-hander Ryan Weber did a nice job in his
big league debut. He allowed four hits, two runs, one walk and struck out two
in six innings, but Nola kept the Braves' offense in check the entire night. The
Braves are now just one game ahead of the Phillies in the battle against having
Major League Baseball's worst record.
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- Nola suffered the worst start of his brief career last week
in New York, where he allowed six earned runs in four innings against the
Mets, but he rebounded nicely against the Braves. The only question is how
much more the Phillies will see him this year? He has pitched 170 innings
this season, including 109 1/3 innings in the Minor Leagues. The Phillies
have said Nola will be limited to about 185-190 innings, which means he
has about 15-20 innings to work with in his final three scheduled starts. "Took
a day or so to get over," Nola said about his start against the Mets.
"Even though we didn't come out with a win that night, I still felt
good and my body and arm still felt good. So that's what I brought into
tonight."
- Phillies rookie Odubel Herrera played
a part in four of the Phillies' five runs. He singled to move Cesar Hernandez to
third in the fourth inning. Hernandez scored a batter later on a double
play to hand the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Herrera then hit a three-run home
run in the eighth inning for some insurance runs. Herrera is hitting .364
(75-for-206) in his last 56 games, raising his batting average from .243
to .302. "The three-run homer was huge," Mackanin said. "It
allowed us to breathe a little bit."
- "It's nice to come in here and
smile for a change." -- Mackanin, in the Phillies' press
conference room, referring to the Phillies' fourth victory in their last
15 games.
- Buchanan has allowed 18 earned runs and totaled just 5 2/3
innings over his past two starts. The Atlanta native has posted a 3.91 ERA
in four career starts against the Braves.
- Freddie Freeman is 3-for-12 (.250) in his career against
Buchanan with a home run and three RBIs.
- Teheran has produced a 1.21 ERA in the six starts he has made
against the Phillies dating back to the start of the 2014 season. Ryan
Howard has gone 4-for-21 (.190) with a double and two homers in his career
against Teheran.
NEXT
GAME:
Now that Philadelphia
has lost Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and its former stable of aces, Ryan Howard
stands as the most recognizable figure from that recent era when the Phillies
replaced the Braves as the National League East's most dominant club. The
Braves or Phillies won 16 of the 17 NL East titles awarded from 1995-2011.
Howard arrived at the Major League level in 2004, in time to see the Braves win
the last two of their 11 consecutive NL East crowns. Then in 2007, the powerful
first baseman helped Philadelphia capture the first of its five consecutive division
titles. Thus it is easy to understand why Howard has found himself in a rather
unfamiliar position this week as the Braves and Phillies have battled against
gaining the distinction of owning Major League Baseball's worst record. The two
teams will conclude a three-game series on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank
Park. Atlanta will send Julio Teheran to the mound to oppose David Buchanan.
PHILS PHACTS:
Franco To Test Wrist – Maikel Franco is going
to take one last shot at playing again for the Phillies in 2015. He said
Tuesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park that he will hit off the practice tee
on Wednesday. Franco has been on the disabled list since Aug. 12 because of a
broken left wrist. He said if he feels something in the wrist he expects his
season to be finished. "I was told if I don't feel pretty good and I still
feel something in my wrist it should be over for the season and try to work on
my wrist and try coming into next year [100 percent]," Franco said. Franco
plans to play winter ball in Venezuela, but only if the Phillies clear him to
play. There is absolutely no reason to risk further injury to Franco, who
became the team's best hitter since his promotion in May. "I feel my wrist
is pretty good," Franco said. "I've done a few exercises in the
weight room, and it's getting better. It's getting very good. "It's a big
day for me. I want to come back healthy, I want to come back and not feeling
anything in my wrist. That's what I want to do right now."
New Ace? – The
hot talk in baseball this week is Matt Harvey's innings limit with the Mets. There is
no such controversy with the Phillies, but Aaron Nola is nearing his own innings limit. He
pitched seven scoreless innings Tuesday night in a 5-0
victory over the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
Nola has pitched a combined 170 innings this season, which includes 109 1/3
innings with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It leaves him about
15-20 innings short of his 185-190 innings limit. "It's obviously been my
longest year so far," Nola said, "but I really feel good. My body and
arm feel really good. Every time I go out I just try to go as long as I can. I
feel like the recovery has been good. Every time I take the mound every fifth
day I feel really good." Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA) is scheduled for just three
more starts because the Phillies have just introduced a six-man rotation the
rest of the season. He is scheduled to pitch Monday against the Nationals,
Sept. 22 in Miami and Sept. 29 against the Mets. He could make every single one
of those starts. He could make two. It simply depends on when the Phillies feel
Nola has pitched enough. "I don't even know where he's at," Phillies
interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "When they tell me he's done, he's
done." But Nola rebounded nicely from the worst start of his 10-start
career last week against the Mets at Citi Field, where he allowed six earned
runs in four innings, although poor defense should take much of the blame for
that. Remove that defense-aided loss against the Mets and Nola has a 2.86 ERA
in his other nine starts. Nola cruised most of the night against the Braves,
throwing just 85 pitches (60 strikes). He needed just 18 pitches to get through
his first two innings. He had runners on second and third with one out in the
third, but struck out Nick Markakis and got Hector Olivera to fly out to end the threat. He had
runners on first and second with one out in the sixth, but struck out Nick Swisher and got Jace Peterson to ground out to end the inning. "His
ability to locate his fastball down in the strike zone on both sides of the
plate is his strong suit," Mackanin said of Nola. "To mix in his
secondary pitches when he wants to is a real good sign for the future. He's a
special guy."
Return To The Rotation – The Phillies have just a few more weeks to watch rookie
starters Aaron Nola, Adam Morgan, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher pitch. But while they want to see them
pitch, they also want to protect their arms. It is why they announced Tuesday
that David Buchanan will start Wednesday night's series finale against the
Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Buchanan's arrival creates a six-man rotation the
rest of the season, which should limit the workload of the others. Buchanan is
2-7 with a 9.00 ERA in 10 starts, but the Phillies chose him over veteran Jerome Williams for one simple reason: Williams is a
free agent and unlikely to return next season, while Buchanan is under team control
and is expected to be with the team in Spring Training. The Phillies need as
many starting pitching options as possible, so they want to give Buchanan
another look, despite his struggles. "Whatever Ruben [Amaro Jr.] wants to
do is fine with me," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said.
"That was the decision that was made. … Buchanan is in that slot for right
now. There was some concern, and I know he wasn't pitching well, but that ankle
injury that he had earlier in the season might have affected him. And he has
been pitching relatively well in Triple-A [Leigh Valley]. So we'll get another
look at him." Phillies starters have a 7.14 ERA in their previous 14
games. They also have thrown the second-fewest innings in baseball this season.
"I plan on taking advantage of every opportunity I have," Buchanan
said. "And this is another one that they are giving me this year. I'm not
pitching to make up for the rest of this year. I am pitching as a fresh start.
2016 Schedule Announced – The Phillies announced their tentative 2016 schedule Tuesday.
Here are a few highlights: They open the season April 4 in Cincinnati. The
Phillies play their home opener April 11 at 3:05 p.m. ET against the Padres.
The Padres series is the beginning of a 10-game homestand that includes the
Nationals and Mets. The Phillies will host four American League teams as part
of Interleague Play: the Indians, Royals, White Sox and Blue Jays. They play
the Tigers, Blue Jays, Twins and White Sox on the road. It is the first time
the Phillies will play the White Sox in Chicago since 2004, when Ryan Madson, Eric Milton and Brett Myers started for
the Phillies. Fans looking to hit two of the best ballparks in baseball might
want to consider the back-to-back series against the Twins (Target Field) and
Giants (AT&T Park) in late June. Road trips to Southern California are
always fun, too. The Phillies play back-to-back series against the Padres and
Dodgers in early August. The Phillies play their final homestand against the
Mets on Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Six-game and three-game packs of tickets will go on
sale in mid-November. Group tickets will go on sale in mid-December and
individual tickets will go on sale in February.
Minor Update – Players of the Week: Player - INF Drew
Stankiewicz, Lakewood...Stankiewicz, a 22-year-old in his second
professional season, was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after
batting .438 (14-for-32) with eight runs scored, three doubles, and four walks
in eight games. He scored at least one run in seven of those eight games and
hit safely in seven as well, recording multiple hits five times. He finished
with a .354 on-base percentage and a .288 average, after raising it from .241
in the season's final nine games. Stankiewicz was selected by the Phillies in
the 11th round of the 2014 draft out of Arizona State University and
was signed by Brad Holland. Pitcher - RHP Jake Thompson,
Reading…Thompson, 21, started twice for the Fightins, and was dominant in
both. He allowed two runs and no walks in 7.0 innings against Binghamton in his
first start, and tossed 6.0 shutout innings against Richmond while striking out
seven, walking none and surrendering just four hits in his second. It was his
first scoreless outing in the Phillies' organization. Thompson was acquired by
the Phillies in the eight-person trade that sent Cole Hamels to Texas on July 31, and in his seven
starts with Reading he went 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and .217 opponent's
batting average. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander was originally drafted by
the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the 2012 draft. Lehigh Valley
IronPigs - International League North Division…63-81, 5th place…After
winning their first game of the week 8-3 over Syracuse, the IronPigs dropped
six of their next seven, including a three-game sweep at the hands of Rochester
to finish out the season. Despite an inconsistent season, Lehigh Valley drew
more than 600,000 fans to Coca-Cola Park for the eighth straight year and they
remain the league's attendance leader since 2008. Top hitting performers - 2B
Tyler Pastornicky had a team-high 11 hits, batting .379 with a home run,
double, three RBI and three runs scored. He hit .286 in 25 games for the
IronPigs…INF/OF Russ Canzler clubbed two home runs and drove in five as
he hit .357 with a .679 slugging percentage for the week…OF Kelly Dugan
hit safely in his first seven games of the week, finishing with nine base hits,
two runs and two RBI…C Logan Moore recorded a couple of multi-hit games
as he went 4-for-11 (.364 ) with an RBI and a walk in his four games played. Top
pitching performers - RHP David Buchanan struck out a
season-high seven batters over 6.0 shutout innings on September 3 against
Syracuse. He did not allow more than three earned runs in any of his 10 starts
with Lehigh Valley…RHP Sean O'Sullivan did not allow a run in his 6.0
innings of work and has allowed just four earned runs in his last four starts
(26.1 innings, 1.37 ERA)…RHP Nefi Ogando made two appearances out of the
bullpen, combining to throw 3.0 scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts…LHP
Ken Roberts also threw 3.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, doing so
over three games. Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern
Division …80-61, 1st place…Reading went 3-5 during a
week which saw them clinch their first Eastern Division Title in 15 years. The
Fightins finished the season first in the league with 101 home runs, and second
in batting with a .269 team average. They will begin a best-of-five series with
the Binghamton Mets in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday. Top
hitting performers - OF Dylan Cozens hit two home runs,
scored three runs and drove in another three while recording three multi-hit
games for Reading. He was promoted to Reading on August 28, where he hit .350
with three home runs and nine RBI in 11 games…C Rene Garcia completed
his season with an active 12-game hit streak as he hit safely in all four games
last week, batting .438 with three RBI. He hit .343 in 38 games with the
Fightins. Top pitching performers - RHP Jake Thompson was
named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week after striking out 11 batters,
allowing no walks and just two runs in 13.0 innings pitched over two starts.…RHP
Ben Lively started two games for the Fightins, combining to allow five runs
(four earned) in 11.1 innings with 10 strikeouts and just two walks…RHP
Ethan Martin started one game, tossing 5.0 no hit, no run innings with five
strikeouts. He also appeared in relief, striking out a pair of batters in 1.2
innings pitched…RHP Jimmy Cordero struck out six batters and did not
allow a base runner in 3.0 innings over two games out of the bullpen. In 13
games with Reading, he pitched 17.0 innings and struck out 18 while walking
just four and posting a 2.12 ERA. Clearwater Threshers - Florida
State League North Division…42-25, 1st place, 79-58 overall…
The Threshers finished their season with the best record in the Florida State
League as they won both the first and second half division titles. Clearwater
will play Daytona-the team they edged out for first-place in both halves of the
season-in the opening round of the Florida State League playoffs beginning
Tuesday, September 8. Top hitting performers - SS Malquin Canelo
homered twice and drove in five runs, including a season-high four on September
4. He also tripled, scored four runs and batted .348 for the week…1B Rhys
Hoskins hit his eighth home run of the season for Clearwater and tallied a
pair of three-hit games while hitting .364 last week. He finished the season
with a .314 average, which would have been tied with teammate Willians
Astudillo for the league batting title if he had enough at-bats to qualify…CF
Carlos Tocci went 8-for-24 (.333) and hit safely in all but one of his six
games played…2B/SS Jesmuel Valentin batted .292 and hit his first home
run of the season in the team's final game. He drove in four runs and also
doubled four times in six games. Top pitching performers - RHP
Victor Arano surrendered two runs in 5.0 innings in his start on September
1, and followed that with a scoreless 3.0-inning relief outing on September 5…LHP
Matt Imhof made two starts and allowed just four total runs (three earned)
in 8.0 innings of work with 11 strikeouts. His seven strikeouts on September 6
tied his season high…RHP Alexis Rivero threw 2.0 scoreless innings in
relief, marking the eighth time in nine outings he has pitched 2.0 innings or
more out of the bullpen. He has allowed just one run since August 9 and
finished the season with 30 strikeouts to just six walks…RHP Alberto Tirado
appeared in two games and did not yield a run, striking out three batters in
4.0 innings. In his nine games (16.0 innings pitched) he posed a 0.56 ERA with
16 strikeouts and just six hits allowed. Lakewood BlueClaws - South
Atlantic League Northern Division…40-30, 2nd place, 73-65
overall… The BlueClaws went 10 games over .500 in the second half, and
despite a recent surge during which they won 10 of their last 14 games, they
failed to make the South Atlantic League playoffs. Lakewood, which had one of
the most consistent pitching staffs all year, finished third in the league with
a 3.26 ERA. Top hitting performers - INF Drew Stankiewicz
posted five multi-hit games, batting .432 with a team-high 14 hits in eight
games. He scored seven runs, hit three doubles, drove in three runs and raised
his batting average from .261 to .268. His strong finish earned him Phillies
Minor League Player of the Week honors…1B Kyle Martin drove in seven
runs and homered in back-to-back games, giving him five home runs and 37 RBI in
65 games this season. He also hit three doubles, scored six runs and slugged
.731 in his final week of his first professional season…OF Cord Sandberg
hit safely in seven of eight games, batting .292 with a pair of home runs, six
RBI, six runs scored and three doubles. Top pitching performers - RHP
Jairo Munoz was dominant in his two starts, pitching 6.0 innings of shutout
ball with three hits allowed in his first start, followed by two runs in 5.0
innings in his next. He combined to strike out nine batters…RHP Ranfi
Casimiro allowed a run on five hits and did not walk a batter in his
7.0-inning start. He went 9-7 with a 3.35 ERA, two complete games and a shutout
in his 23 starts this season.…LHP Zach Morris earned a save after
pitching 3.0 innings with no runs allowed and six strikeouts on September 1 and
followed that with a perfect inning of relief five days later. Williamsport
Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…46-30, 1st place…Williamsport
has landed in the postseason for the first time since 2005, and will face the
West Virginia Black Bears in the opening round of the playoffs beginning on
September 9. The Crosscutters went just 3-5 to end the season, but still posted
the best record in the league, winning four more games than the Tri-City Valley
Cats. Williamsport also had the second best ERA in the league (3.15) and
third-most home runs (35). Top hitting performers - Three straight
multi-hit games helped 2B Josh Tobias bat .350 for the week and raise
his season average to .321-third highest in the New York-Penn League. Tobias,
who also finished in a tie for the league lead in hits with 77, homered, drove
in three runs and stole a base in his last week of the season…OF Mark Laird
batted .308 in five games with three walks and a .438 on-base percentage. He
finished with a .285 average and 28 runs scored in 52 games for the
Crosscutters. Top pitching performers - In RHP Luke Leftwich's
only start of the week, he held State College to a run on seven hits in 6.0
innings of work. He did not allow more than three earned runs in any outing
with Williamsport and finished with a 2.76 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 45.2
innings…RHP Luis Morales tossed 6.0 shutout frames and walked just one
batter in his only start of the week. He allowed just one earned run in his
final 13.0 innings of the season…RHP Feliberto Sanchez tied a career
high when he struck out seven batters in a 4.0-inning relief outing on
September 2. He followed that with another scoreless inning and two more
strikeouts on September 7.
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 54-85. 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 54-42-1 on this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment