GAME
RECAP: Phillies Hammer Brewers 5-2
Maikel
Franco homered
twice and Aaron
Nola pitched
a seven-inning gem in the Phillies' 5-2 win over the Brewers at Miller Park on
Friday night. Nola became the second right-hander in as many days to all but
shut down the Brewers' offense. He retired 11 consecutive batters from the
second inning to the sixth, one shy of Ricky Nolasco's
best stretch in a Twins win Thursday, and earned his first victory of the
season by holding the Brewers to one run on four hits with seven strikeouts.
With 30 strikeouts this season, Nola is tied with Clayton
Kershaw for
the National League lead, trailing only Boston's David
Price (32)
in the Majors. "I was a little concerned in the first inning,"
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Nola looked a little shaky at first,
then he settled down. He started pitching inside a little more, which made a
big difference for him." The Phillies erased a 1-0 deficit with Darin
Ruf's shift-beating single in the fourth inning against
Brewers starter Zach
Davies, then took the lead with a three-run fifth. Freddy Galvis hit a go-ahead RBI triple
before Franco connected against Davies for a two-run home run. Franco homered
again in the seventh off Chris
Capuano, a 426-footer that left his bat at 105 mph,
according to Statcast™. "We've got
some starters that are learning on the fly here, so we're working on it,"
Brewers catcher Jonathan
Lucroy said.
"We're trying to get better every day. Sometimes we're going to make some
mistakes and are going to get beat. We have to minimize those mistakes and
learn every day and not worry about any of the other stuff."
PHILS PHACTS:
- Franco stepped into the batter's box in the fifth
inning in a 4-for-32 slump. But he hit a 1-0 curveball from Davies over
the left-field wall for a two-run homer to make it 4-1, and he hit a solo
homer to left-center against Capuano in the seventh to make it 5-1. They
were Franco's third and fourth homers of the season, and the second
multihomer game of his career. "I've been in a tough slump,"
Franco said. "I know it's going to happen. Every single day you're
not going to feel good. When you're in a tough moment like that, you have
to stay positive and continue to work hard."
- Nola allowed a
career-high seven runs in his last start Saturday against the Nationals.
But after he allowed a run in the first inning to the Brewers, he settled.
Nola allowed four hits, one run, two walks and struck out seven in seven
innings. After he allowed a two-out single to Domingo
Santana in
the second, he retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. "After
the last outing, I felt I really needed to command the baseball inside a
lot more," Nola said. "After the first couple innings, I felt
like I got more comfortable throwing inside to lefties and righties,
especially to lefties tonight. So I think that kind of opened a little
more stuff up tonight."
- "I remember his last outing last year. I took him out
early in the fifth or sixth inning. I told him, 'We're going to baby you
this year. But next year, we're not going to baby you.'" -- Mackanin, on letting Nola throw a career-high 105 pitches and
having him pitch seven innings for the third time in four starts.
- The
three runs the Phillies scored in the fifth inning were a season high.
They had not scored three or more runs in an inning since they scored four
in the seventh inning Oct. 4, 2015, against the Marlins.
NEXT
GAME:
Phillies right-hander Charlie Morton makes his 15th career start against the
Brewers on Saturday night at 8:10 p.m. ET at Miller Park. The former Pirates
hurler is 4-7 with a 4.17 ERA against Milwaukee. He is 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA in
six career starts at Miller Park.
PHILS PHACTS:
Breaking Out – Maybe
this is the jumpstart Maikel Franco and the Phillies needed. Franco hit a
pair of home runs Friday night in a 5-2 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park. He
hit a two-run home run to left field in the fifth -- as the Phillies scored a
season-high three runs in the inning -- and a solo home run to left-center
field in the seventh inning. Both balls left Franco's bat at 105 mph, according
to Statcast™.
The homer in the seventh traveled a projected 426 feet, making it the longest
Phillies home run this season. "This year, yeah," Franco said, asked
if it was one of the longest homers he had hit in a while. Franco was right
about that. He hit three homers farther last season. "It was a good pitch
to hit," Franco said of a 1-1 slider from Brewers left-hander Chris Capuano.
"When they make a mistake, I have to put good contact on it." It had
been a while since Franco had crushed a baseball, much less two in the same
night. He stepped into the batter's box in the fifth inning in a 4-for-32
slump. He had no extra-base hits, no RBIs, one walk and 10 strikeouts since a
third-inning double against the Padres on April 13. "I've been in a tough
slump," Franco said. "I know it's going to happen. Every single day
you're not going to feel good. When you're in a tough moment like that, you
have to stay positive and continue to work hard." Franco launched Zach Davies' 1-0
curveball over the left-field fence in the fifth inning to give the Phillies a
4-1 lead. The solo homer in the seventh gave the Phillies a 5-1 lead. It also
gave Franco the second multihomer game of his career. The Phillies spoke to
Franco before the game about trying to pull the ball more. Franco likes to work
the ball to the opposite field in batting practice, but once the game begins,
he sometimes expands the strike zone too much as he tries to send the ball to
right field. "When you stay back and try to pull the ball, you don't swing
at the bad breaking balls," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Franco
listened, and it worked. Maybe this is beginning of something good. The
Phillies' offense could use it. "When you try to hit the ball the other way
and you miss your pitch, middle, middle in, sometimes you're thinking too
much," he said. "Today I just went out there and tried to see a good
pitch to hit and tried to put good contact on it."
Bouncing Back – This
is more like it. Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola allowed a run and walked two of the
first nine batters he faced Friday night in a 5-2 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park. But
after he allowed a two-out single to Domingo Santana in the second inning, Nola retired 16
of the final 17 batters he faced to earn his first win of the season. Nola
allowed four hits, one run, two walks and struck out seven, moving him into a
tie with Clayton Kershaw for the National League lead with 30
strikeouts. Nola threw a career-high 105 pitches in the process. He has thrown
95 or more pitches in three of his first four starts this season. He has
pitched seven innings three times, too. Compare that to last season. Nola threw
90 or more pitches five times in 13 starts. He pitched seven innings five
times. "I remember his last outing last year," Phillies manager Pete
Mackanin said. "I took him out early in the fifth or sixth inning. I told
him, 'We're going to baby you this year. But next year, we're not going to baby
you.'" Nola loves the longer leash. "I definitely want to go as long
as I can," he said. "I'm glad they're letting me do that. I'm glad
I'm going out there and pitching deep into games. That's what I want to do.
From here on out, I want to go as deep as I can every outing." Of course,
it looked a little shaky early as the Brewers scored a run in the first to take
a 1-0 lead. Nola then allowed two baserunners with two outs in the second. But
then something happened. "After the last outing, I felt I really needed to
command the baseball inside a lot more," he said. "After the first
couple innings, I felt like I got more comfortable throwing inside to lefties
and righties, especially to lefties tonight. So I think that kind of opened a
little more stuff up tonight."
Today
In Phils History – There have been several interesting games on this
day in Phillies history beginning in 1891 when the Phillies turned a triple
play to end the game and secure the 3-1 win over Brooklyn. Another impressive
performance happened on this day 70 years later when Art Mahaffey set the
franchise record for strikeouts in a single game setting down 17 Cubs in the
second game of a double header. 30 years later, Jim Fregosi made his Phillies
managerial debut in a 2-1 loss to the Mets. During the 1915 season, the Phillies won their
eighth straight game on this day to start the season outscoring opponents
during that stretch by 41-10. Most recently, Jayson Werth circled the bases on
a 4-base error in a matchup against the Diamondbacks in 2010 which was only the
15th such error of its kind in Major League history. Notable Phillies
debuts on this day include Bill Hallman (1888), Dick Ellsworth (1967), Julio
Franco (1982), and Chris James (1986). Notable birthdays include Harry
Coveleski (1886) and Dolph Camilli (1907).
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 8-9 this season putting them on pace to meet most
preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most
expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the
exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the
Phillies are 46-45-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom
half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a
77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!
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