GAME
RECAP: Phillies Edge Marlins 6-5
Tyler Goeddel and Andres Blanco delivered
back-to-back RBI doubles in the decisive eighth inning to rally the Phillies to
a series-clinching 6-5 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at Marlins
Park. It was the second consecutive game that the Phillies came back from a
late deficit to defeat the Marlins, who have lost consecutive games after
entering the series on a four-game winning streak. The victory gives the
Phillies an 11-3 record in one-run games this season. "Winning two out of
three from this team, one of the hottest teams in baseball, is really satisfying,"
Phils manager Pete Mackanin said. "Those guys swing the bats, they've got
a heck of a team. To beat them two out of three is a nice feeling going into
Atlanta. Our pitching and defense really performed." Marlins starter Justin Nicolino was staked to a 3-0 lead in the
fourth, but the Phillies rallied to tie the game in the sixth and grabbed the
lead with a run in the seventh off reliever Nefi Ogando. Nicolino, making his third start of
the season, gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits in six innings. Aaron Nola also
went six innings, allowing three runs for the Phillies. The doubles by Goeddel
and Blanco came off Marlins reliever David Phelps, who was saddled with the loss after
inheriting the lead in the eighth. "They're fighting. They're playing with
a lot of confidence, very similar to what we have been doing all year,"
Phelps said of the Phillies. "We never really feel like we're out of the
game, and I'm sure they feel the same way over in their clubhouse. All three
games were hard-fought."
PHILS PHACTS:
- Odubel Herrera scored from second on Cesar Hernandez's
groundout in the seventh inning to break a tie and give the Phillies a 4-3
lead. Herrera, who singled and stole second, went to third on Hernandez's
grounder to the right side of the infield. Bour made a nice snag, but his
throw to Ogando led him into Hernandez at the bag. The two collided,
sending Ogando sprawling. Herrera never hesitated around third. "That
was huge," Mackanin said. "We came back twice."
- After 12 straight games scoring four runs or fewer, the
Phils finally broke through with back-to-back eighth-inning RBI doubles
from Goeddel and Blanco to give the Phils a 6-5 lead. "Goeddel, it
was great to see him come up with a big hit," Mackanin said. "He
needed that."
- Ichiro, who
started in right field to give Giancarlo Stanton a day off, singled in the seventh
for his 2,948th career hit. He is seven hits behind Willie Keeler for 32nd
on the MLB all-time list.
NEXT
GAME:
After an off-day on Monday, lefty Adam Morgan gets the nod on Tuesday when the
Phillies conclude their road trip with a three-game series in Atlanta. First
pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. Morgan has allowed three earned runs in each of
his previous two outings this season, with no decision in either.
PHILS PHACTS:
The Man In Pink – Andres Blanco is
a pleasure to be around. His infectious smile and bubbly personality is a
welcomed addition to any clubhouse. His mom did well in raising him in
Venezuela. Blanco stood on second base, wearing pink shoes and pink high socks
-- after swinging a pink bat, a league-wide showing of solidarity in the
recognition of breast cancer awareness, and pointed to the sky following his
eighth-inning go-ahead RBI double in the Phillies' 6-5 win over the Marlins. That's how he
honored his mom on Mother's Day. "That's for mom, and grandma passed away
a couple of days ago," Blanco said. "It's appreciation and gratitude."
It has been many years since his mother died, but Blanco continues to celebrate
Mother's Day in her honor and with his own family, a wife and two boys. He was
glad she was able to spend three days with him on Thursday, Friday and Saturday,
while the Phillies were in South Florida. "At least I had time to wait for
midnight when the day starts and give the present," Blanco said. "At
least it's better than nothing." Such is the life of a Major Leaguer
traveling the country from March to October. Blanco knows well how precious the
time is spent with family. "It's always a pleasure to have your own family
with you," Blanco said. "For American players, it's closer. They can
fly mom in for the special day. For the Latin guys, it's kind of far away. We would
like to have [our families] with us all the time, but it's impossible."
Mother's Day remains special each year for Blanco as it brings back memories of
his mom. "I'm reminded of what she always told me growing up, that if you
want to do something, do it good, and if you want to be great, you've got to go
out there and do everything exactly the way they ask you to and practice hard
to get better," Blanco said. Authentic game-used Louisville Slugger pink
bats and other gear from Mother's Day games will be auctioned exclusively at MLB.com, with proceeds benefiting
the fight against breast cancer. The complete Mother's Day collection -- which
includes the special caps and jerseys being worn by players on Sunday -- is
available at the MLB.com Shop.
Goeddel Coming Around – The
Phillies broke out the bats on Sunday -- pink ones in fact, as part of Major
League Baseball's recognition of breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day. After
12 straight games of scoring four runs or fewer, the Phils took the series from
the Marlins with a 6-5 comeback victory. The Phillies
overcame deficits of 3-0 and 5-4 to win with a two-run eighth inning.
Back-to-back RBI doubles from Tyler Goeddel and Andres Blanco made
the difference. "Goeddel's was a big hit and 'Whitey' [Blanco], he's
special," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He just seems to come up big
in the pinch all the time. And with a little bit of playing time, [Goeddel] is
starting to look like the kind of hitter we think he's got a chance to be. He
hit a good fastball. I'm happy for him." Goeddel entered the game looking
to break out of a .147 slump and came up with the clutch hit. "I've been
working in the cage," said Goeddel, who believes he can be productive with
more playing time. "The results haven't been where I want them to be, but
for [the double] to be a big part of the game was huge. It's getting my timing
down. That's baseball. I'm glad I was finally able to come through." The
nail-biter was Philadelphia's 11th victory in 14 one-run games already this
season. "It's pitching and defense," Mackanin said. "We seem to
scratch and get a run here and there. But you're not going to be in games if
your pitching isn't good." As a team, the Phils banged out 10 hits and got
at least one from each of the nine positions in the batting order. Cesar Hernandez collected two hits, including a
leadoff triple in the fourth inning, and a single and a run scored in the
sixth. He leads the club with nine multi-hit games this season. All of those
have come on the road.
Happy Mother’s Day! – It
was Cameron Rupp's first Major League Opening Day, on
April 6, 2015. It was also Kathi Rupp's first opener -- at least as the mother
of a big leaguer. As Kathi and the rest of the Rupp clan took their seats at
Citizens Bank Park, they got a group text from Cameron. It read, "Here we
go." "It was just a very emotional moment, because you know your
child's dream came true," Kathi said. "The tears couldn't stop."
A little over a year later, the Phillies chose Kathi as the mom they honored in
an annual pregame ceremony the team holds during the Sunday home game closest
to Mother's Day. Last year, it was Darin Ruf's mom, Mary. Before that, Domonic
Brown's mother Rose Joseph Wood was the honoree. On Sunday, Kathi threw out the
first pitch to Cameron -- just like she'd always imagined. "When Cameron
made it to the big leagues, I had it in the back of my mind, 'Wouldn't it be
cool for me to throw a first pitch to Cameron?'" she said. "Never
ever did I think this day would come." "It's pretty special,"
Cameron added. "How many people get to say their mom has thrown a first
[pitch] to them?" A mother throwing a first pitch to the son she helped
raise into a Major League ballplayer may seem like a story coming full circle
with a perfect ending. But the journey is hardly over. It's a goal of Cameron's
parents to see him play in all 30 Major League stadiums. They've already
checked a few off the list, including Citizens Bank Park, Chase Field and Citi
Field. Kathi said they travel from their Texas home about once a month to see
their son play. Next month, they're headed to Chicago to see him and the
Phillies at Wrigley Field. Once they've checked off all 30, they plan on
framing the ticket stubs together. "They both support me more than I can
ever ask for," Cameron said. "I can't thank them enough … Them
willing to be everywhere I am is pretty cool."
Today In Phils
History – It is a homer happy day
in Phillies history which began in 1923 when Walt Kinney hit a homerun in his
last major league at bat. 50 years later, Johnny Bench came to the plate (three
time in fact) and hit a homerun off of Steve Carlton. It was the second time
that Bench took Lefty deep three times in a game but the first time against the
Phillies. Nearly 20 year later, in 1992, Dale Murphy hit his 398th
and final homerun of his career… he would retire the following season as a
member of the expansion Rockies. Speaking of 1993, it was on this day when
Mariano Duncan tapped into the magic of that season by hitting a grand slam
with two out in the bottom of the 9th and down by three runs. Other
events from the day include the Phillies picking up Ron Roenicke from
Oakland and on the same day in 1986 making the mistake of releasing Dave
Stewart. 15 year later, Jimmy Rollins stole the first of what would be a
franchise record 35 bases before being caught. And finally, on this day three
years ago, Charlie Manuel managed his 1,332nd game for the Phillies
passing Gene Mauch for most game at the helm in franchise history.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 18-14 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 46-44-0 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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