GAME
RECAP: Phillies Blank Nationals 3-0
What a difference nearly two weeks makes for Jeremy Hellickson. On
April 15, the Nationals hit him hard, scoring six runs over three innings in
Philadelphia. Hellickson was virtually unhittable in a 3-0 victory Wednesday at
Nationals Park. The Phillies have won four of their last five games in the
nation's capital. "[Hellickson] was sharp tonight," Nationals manager
Dusty Baker said. "Some of the guys were complaining about some of the
calls. Hellickson was painting tonight, changing speeds. He had a very good
night. I don't want to say it was us because you don't want to discredit what
he did tonight." Hellickson went seven innings, allowing just two hits
with eight strikeouts. The Nationals had runners in scoring position twice in
the game. Their biggest chance to score off Hellickson came in the second
inning. With runners on first and second and one out, Jose Lobaton hit into a double play to end the
threat. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez,
meanwhile, lost his first game of the season. He gave up two runs -- one earned
-- in 6 1/3 innings. The Phillies took the lead in the sixth, when Odubel Herrera scored on a sacrifice fly by Darin Ruf. An
inning later, Philadelphia added a run on an error by third baseman Anthony Rendon,
whose high throw home permitted Cesar Hernandez to score. In the eighth, Carlos Ruiz knocked a solo homer off left-hander
Sammy Solis. "People have asked me what my goal is for this year with the
type of team we have," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "My goal
is to play .500 and then we'll go from there depending on what transpires. But
the thing I'm real happy about, especially after starting 0-4 … I've got a
pretty good selection of pitchers that I feel comfortable with. That's the
reason we're 11-10. The pitching has been outstanding."
PHILS PHACTS:
- The Phillies
lost one of their only two veteran starters for the season this week, when Charlie
Morton tore
his left hamstring.
Hellickson was the other. He stepped up against the Nationals, posting his
best start of the season following two starts in which he allowed 10 runs
in just 7 1/3 innings. "It [stinks] losing Charlie,"
Hellickson said. "He was a great pitcher and even better in here.
Everyone loved him, so that's a tough loss for us. We'll all continue
battling. But, yeah, the last two starts were all I really needed for
motivation tonight."
- Herrera singled
to center field in the sixth inning to reach base safely in 18 consecutive
games, which ties a career high. He advanced to second on a sacrifice
bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly by Ruf to
give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. "I'm the first one facing the starting
pitcher," Herrera said through the Phillies' interpreter. "That
gives me a sense of responsibility. The more pitches I see, the more
pitches whoever is batting behind me sees. It is great to feel I am doing
a good job. Things are working out for me. I really like that."
- Carlos Ruiz has three home runs in 34 at-bats this season. He had
two homers in 284 at-bats in 2015.
- "[Jeanmar] Gomez is 6-for-6 in saves, and he looks like he's
been doing it his whole career. If he maintains what he's doing right now
… he might be our closer next year." – Mackanin.
- The Phillies have won four out of their last five games against the
Nationals at Nationals Park.
NEXT
GAME:
Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (1-2, 4.50 ERA) starts in the series
finale against the Nationals at 4:05 p.m. ET Thursday at Nationals Park. Nola
surrendered a career-high seven runs in just five innings April 16 in a loss to
the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park, but Nola rebounded in his last start,
allowing one run in seven frames last weekend in Milwaukee.
PHILS PHACTS:
Hellickson Returns To Form – The
Phillies acquired Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton in the offseason because they believed
they needed a couple veterans to stabilize a rotation of talented, but
inexperienced starters. The Phillies learned on Wednesday they lost Morton for
the season with a torn left hamstring. It seemed
fitting that Hellickson turned in his best effort of the season a few hours
later in a3-0 victory over the Nationals at Nationals Park,
where he allowed two hits, three walks and struck out eight batters in seven
scoreless innings to improve to 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA. "It [stinks] losing
Charlie," Hellickson said. "He was a great pitcher and even better in
here. Everyone loved him, so that's a tough loss for us. We'll all continue
battling. But, yeah, the last two starts were all I really needed for
motivation tonight." Hellickson permitted 17 hits and 10 runs in 7 1/3
innings over his last two starts, which included an outing April 15 against the
Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Hellickson surrendered six runs in just three
innings that night. "I think I was 0-1 a lot more than I have been,"
Hellickson said about Wednesday's success. "Then just going after guys in
general. The last couple games, I've been working way too hard in the early
innings and pretty much throwing everything I had. So I was just getting ahead
and getting some early outs in the early innings." The victory improved
the Phillies to 11-10. It is the first time the Phillies have had a winning
record this late in a season since May 4, 2014, when they were 15-14. "We
all believe in each other," Hellickson said. "I felt like we were
going to compete from Game 1. I don't think this really surprised any of
us." The Phillies will need Hellickson to keep pitching well moving
forward. They still need a veteran in that rotation to show these young
pitchers the way. "He really bounced back, especially after the news about
Morton," manager Pete Mackanin said. "It's good to see him pitch that
well. He was outstanding."
Thriving At The Top – Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin made a couple noticeable changes to his lineup a week
ago. Mackanin put Odubel Herrera in the leadoff spot and placed his
pitcher eighth. The former has received less attention than the latter because
hitting the pitcher eighth is unusual and its effectiveness is debatable, but
moving Herrera to the top spot might have sparked the Phillies' offense. Herrera
singled and scored the Phillies' first run Wednesday night in a 3-0 victory over the Nationals at Nationals Park.
The Phillies can sweep the first-place Nationals with a victory in the series
finale Thursday. "I do like leading off," Herrera said through the
Phillies' interpreter. "I don't mind hitting first, second or third. But I
really like to lead off." The Phillies are 5-1 and averaging 5.33 runs per
game since Herrera moved to the top spot in the Phillies' lineup. They were 6-9
and averaging 2.47 runs per game when they tried Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez and Emmanuel Burriss there. "I'm the first one facing
the starting pitcher," Herrera said. "That gives me a sense of
responsibility. The more pitches I see, the more pitches whoever is batting
behind me sees. It is great to feel I am doing a good job. Things are working
out for me. I really like that." Added Mackanin: "He's been a
catalyst." Herrera is batting .364 (8-for-22) with one home run, three
RBIs, seven walks, two stolen bases, eight runs scored and a 1.000 OPS over his
last six games. He has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games, which ties
a career high. Herrera worked a one-out walk to load the bases in the seventh
and walked again in the ninth. They were his 20th and 21st free passes, which
ranks second in the Majors. "He knows how to hit," Mackanin said.
"He decided he was going to stop expanding the strike zone. I think he
does occasionally, but he's a smart hitter, and he really enjoys the fact that
he's walking. You don't see many guys clap and get excited when they walk, but
this guy, he's fun to be around."
Morton Is Mortal – Phillies
right-hander Charlie Morton's
season is finished. The Phillies announced Wednesday that he will have surgery
on his torn left hamstring Monday in Philadelphia. Morton, 32, will need
six-to-eight months to recover, which means he will miss the remainder of the
year. "I feel bad for him and for us because he was starting to throw
really well," manager Pete Mackanin said before Wednesday's game against
the Nationals at Nationals Park. "It's a shame." Triple-A Lehigh
Valley left-hander Adam Morgan will take Morton's spot in the Phillies'
rotation on Friday against the Indians at Citizens Bank Park, although the team
has made no official announcement. Morton's season-ending injury leaves the
Phillies without one of the two veterans they acquired in the offseason to
stabilize the rotation, making everybody in the rotation 29 years old or
younger. But the Phillies think they have enough arms to cover themselves the
rest of the season. They know they will need more starters. They already are
monitoring Vince Velasquez's
workload. "One of the big goals of the offseason was building more
pitching depth in the organization beyond the five guys we had here,"
assistant general manager Ned Rice said. "We have guys with Major League
experience in Lehigh and Reading. We have prospects who are younger, working
their way up and doing well, so I think we feel good about being able to get
through the year. We have a lot of guys who could be pretty exciting. We just
feel bad for Charlie." Morton's injury leaves Jeremy Hellickson (29), Aaron Nola (23), Jerad Eickhoff (25),
Velasquez (24) and Morgan (26) in the rotation. The Phillies have not had a
29-or-under rotation since 2004, when they had Eric Milton (28), Brett Myers
(23), Kevin Millwood (29), Randy Wolf (27) and Vicente Padilla (26). "I
think we're covered," Mackanin said. "As the season goes along,
you'll see more guys who are maybe beginning their Triple-A careers now.
They'll be 70, 80, 100 innings in and you'll feel better about them," Rice
said. "We even have a couple of guys in Double-A with Major League
experience in [Alec] Asher and Severino Gonzalez. I don't think we're starved
for experience. We feel OK depth wise." Morton injured himself Saturday
running to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt. The Phillies placed him on
the 15-day disabled list Sunday, and he received a MRI exam on Monday in
Philadelphia. Mackanin said on Tuesday the MRI results were worse than
anticipated. The injury is a blow for a few reasons. First, Morton pitched
relatively well. He went 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings
in four starts. Second, they hoped he would eat up plenty of innings, allowing
the team's pitching prospects more developmental time in the Minor Leagues.
Third, Morton would have been a trade chip before the July 31 non-waiver Trade
Deadline. That will not happen now, and it seems likely Morton will be
elsewhere next season. The Phillies and Morton have a $9.5 million mutual
option for 2017, which includes a $1 million buyout. Morton forfeits the buyout
if he declines his half of the option. Phillies physician Steven Cohen will
perform the surgery.
A Unique Deal For Franco – Phillies
third baseman Maikel Franco has been heating up the past few days.
Entering Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Nationals, Franco had hit
.444 (8-for-18) with one double, three home runs and nine RBIs in his last four
games. He went 1-for-3 with a walk from the third spot in the lineup. There
could be many reasons for that, but one reason might be that he is more relaxed
on the field. Franco recently signed a $4.35 million brand contract with
Fantex, which will receive 10 percent of Franco's future earnings on and off
the field. In the future, Fantex expects to sell shares of Franco
"stock" to public investors. In this case, those investors will see a
profit if Franco earns more than $43.5 million in his career. MLB and the MLBPA
each have approved agreements like this in the past. Notably, Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney agreed to a $3.34 million deal with
Fantex last year. "It feels
great," Franco said through the Phillies' interpreter. "I'm able to
play baseball in a calmer way now. I'm more relaxed now when I take the field
because it brings stability." "Maikel is really excited about working
with Fantex," Franco's agent Ryan Royster wrote in a text message.
"This deal allows him to invest in himself and his future and frees him to
focus on his performance and helping his team win ballgames. … Maikel, his
family and myself (BTI Sports ) are all on board with this decision." Essentially,
Franco is taking a payday before he is eligible for salary arbitration and free
agency in exchange for a potential windfall in the future. It is possible that
the deal could affect the way Franco approaches future contract talks. In other
words, if Franco already has $4.35 million in earnings, he might be less apt to
take a contract extension that would guarantee security but could limit his
earnings potential if he becomes a star. Clearly, Franco values the financial
security the Fantex deal could bring. "It was definitely part of it,"
Franco said. "It's an important factor that I took into account. My lawyer
and I decided that it would be a good deal for us, and we agreed to do [it].
Obviously, I feel comfortable. Now, I can take care of my family. Everything is
good. Now, I just can play baseball."
Today
In Phils History – What most phans will remember about this day is when
Randy Ready turned a triple play off the Padres Tony Gwynn in 1991. However,
there are a few other moments worth remembering including the debut of Del
Ennis in 1946, Shortstop
Ralph Miller and pitcher Lee Meadows providing the franchise with the first multi-slam
game in team history in 1921, and the Phillies having their game protest
granted in 1917 which they would later win in on September 12th
against Boston. Okay, so maybe nothing tops the triple play.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 11-10 this season putting them on pace to beat 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 39-49-0 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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