Morgan And Franco: Difference Makers

GAME RECAP: Phillies Edge Braves 3-2

Suburban Atlanta resident Adam Morgan extended his hometown team's woes and helped the Phillies add to their surprising early season success as he completed seven strong innings in Tuesday night's 3-2 win over the Braves at Turner Field. Morgan scattered three hits while matching the career-high seven-inning total he had also posted in one of his three previous career starts against the Braves. The Phillies notched their third straight win with some assistance from Maikel Franco, who highlighted his three-hit performance with an eighth-inning home run. Each of the Phillies' last seven wins have been by one run. "You need luck," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You need to be good. I think we're good. I'm not saying we're the best. I'm just saying we're doing things right." Franco's home run soured the second straight eight-inning performance provided by Matt Wisler, who surrendered a season-high eight hits. Wisler was not as sharp as he was when he limited the Mets to one hit over eight scoreless last week, but he received little offensive assistance from the Braves, who inched closer with a ninth-inning home run from Freddie Freeman before falling to 1-16 at home this year. "Wisler pitched great," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's where we're at. He pitches eight innings and gives up three [runs]. On most nights, that gives you a [great] chance to win a ballgame."

PHILS PHACT:

• The Phillies' righty escaped a third-inning jam and found himself in another in the fourth with runners at first and third and no out. He traded a run for two outs when he induced Tyler Flowers to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, which tied the game 1-1. Morgan threw 90 pitches in seven strong innings.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies will send Jerad Eickhoff to the mound on Wednesday when they continue their series with the Braves at 7:10 p.m. ET. Eickhoff will be looking for his first win since April 13.

PHILS PHACTS:

First Win Of The Season – After two sour outings, Phillies right-hander Adam Morgan came home to earn his first win of the season. The Marietta, Ga., resident threw seven strong innings, giving up just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk in the Phillies' 3-2 win over the Braves Tuesday night. Morgan (1-0, 3.94 ERA) said he thought he did a better job of putting hitters away when he was ahead in the count. "I missed one with [Ender] Inciarte, but other than that, I feel like I corrected it a little bit," he said. Morgan struggled against the Braves in the past, entering Tuesday's game 0-3 with a 4.00 ERA against Atlanta. He tied a career-high by lasting seven innings, throwing 90 pitches. "We thought about letting him go back out there [to pitch the eighth inning], but his previous two outings were not real good," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Morgan, adding that he wanted him to go into his next start having accomplished seven solid innings. The lone run Morgan allowed came in the fourth inning with runners on first and third and nobody out. He induced Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers into a 6-4-3 double play, trading two outs for a run that tied the game 1-1. Maikel Franco provided what would end up being a key insurance run with a solo homer to left -- his seventh of the season -- to lead off the eighth inning. "I knew this team was exciting in Spring Training," Morgan said. "Those guys, everybody's got a lot of energy."

Today In Phils History – In 1888 the Phillies purchased Ed Delahanty and, in 1895, the Phillies were shutout for the first time in 184 games. He was a big piece in the team scoring at least one run in every game dating back to August 17, 1893. Speaking of streaks, it was on this day in 1958 when Richie Ashburn’s consecutive games played streak ended at 473 games. 1910 saw the Phillies suspend two players, pitchers Earl Moore and George McQuillan, for failing to stay in shape. Today is also the day we said goodbye to Jimmie Wilson (1928) and Jim Kaat (1979) but also welcomed Harvey Haddix and Stu Miller in 1956. Speaking of debuts, both Jerry Martin (1949) and David Buchanan (1989) were born on this day. On this day Cy Williams hit 3 of a combined 10 homeruns in the game against the Cardinals. Not only did it move Williams into first place all time on the NL homerun list with 120, the game itself was historic setting records at the time for combined homeruns (10), total bases (79) and, for the cardinals, 70 hits during the four game series. While the feat had been accomplished many times previously, it was still a sight to see in 1980 as Pete Rose stole second, third, and home against his former Reds teammates. However, the moment that has become Phillies lore happened 10 years ago today when Aaron Rowand crashed into the outfield fence to preserve the 2 hit, 2-0 gem pitched by Gavin Floyd over the Mets. In the process, he broke several bones in his face and was subsequently placed on the DL.  

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 19-14 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 47-50-0 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!