GAME
RECAP: Nationals Sweep Phillies 5-4
Call Jayson Werth, Mr.
Clutch. His single in the bottom of the ninth inning helped the Nationals edge
the Phillies, 5-4, at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon. The Nationals are now
15 games over .500 and 4 1/2 games ahead of the Mets in the National League
East race. The Nationals were down, 4-3, when they rallied to score two runs in
the ninth inning off closer Jeanmar Gomez. After Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa reached
on singles and Clint Robinson walked
to load the bases, Werth drove a 2-2 pitch up the middle, scoring Harper and
Espinosa. The walk-off win completed a three-game sweep for the Nationals, who
chased Werth into the outfield in celebration. There was manager Dusty Baker
doing his hop, skip and a jump after the winning run scored. Werth was then
doused with Gatorade twice. "As a kid, you always want that last at-bat
because you can walk off. You are just glad it didn't happen on the road,"
manager Dusty Baker said. "No matter what he is doing or how he is
playing, he has been a clutch man all these years. A clutch man knows how to
come through." Said Werth: "You live for those moments. You grew up
playing Wiffle ball in the backyard. You always run through those situations.
I've been lucky to get those chances during my career. I want to win, I want to
help my teammates win and be part of a championship team. Whatever I can
do." It looked like the Phillies had the game won when Maikel Franco's homer
in the top of the ninth gave them a 4-3 lead. The solo shot came off closer Jonathan Papelbon on
a 2-2 pitch that Franco hit into the left-field stands. The Nationals offense
started strong against left-hander Adam Morgan, scoring
three runs in the first two innings. Espinosa highlighted the scoring with a
home run. But Nationals right-hander Joe Ross allowed
the Phillies to tie the score by the sixth inning. As Philadelphia came back,
Morgan settled down, for what manager Pete Mackanin called "the best I've
seen him pitch in two years, after that first inning." "I tried to
keep it simple," Morgan said. "I think in the first couple of innings
I was trying to be too fine and picky, and that's not who I am."
PHILS PHACTS:
- In the fourth inning, Franco appeared to injure his ankle
after tripping over a baserunner. After a brief conversation with the
training staff, the third baseman stayed in the game. Five innings later,
Franco homered to left field off Papelbon to break the tie score. The long
ball was a good sign for Franco, who recorded his second multi-hit game,
and for a struggling Phillies offense. "We've got to get our offense
going," Mackanin said. "Good to see Franco bust out, but the
rest of the guys have to give us consistent at-bats."
- The Nationals were getting good swings against Morgan in the first
three innings. But after Chris Heisey was caught trying to steal third
base, the Nationals collected one hit and struck out seven times the rest
of the way against Morgan.
- The Phillies fell behind 3-0 in the second inning, and
it looked like more of the same for a team that was shut out Saturday and
ranks near the bottom of the league in many offensive categories. But Cody
Asche homered in the fifth, breaking a team streak of 14 innings without a
run, and Philadelphia scored two runs the next inning on three consecutive
line drives -- two doubles and a single -- to tie the game at 3. Mackanin
was happy to see the Phillies show resilience. "Good to see the guys
come back," the manager said. "What a way to lose a game. It was
just a tough game to lose."
- With one out in the ninth, Harper reached base on an
infield single, but the Phillies challenged the call and claimed that
Harper was out on a close play. After a review, the play stood and Harper
would later score on the single by Werth. Joseph said he thought, after
seeing the replay, that the umps got the call right, but Mackanin wasn't
so sure. "If the side of his foot was touching the base, [Harper] was
definitely out, but [Joseph] went back. It's like when a guy tags a guy
but then goes back to tag him even though he tagged him the first time, it
looks like he didn't," Mackanin said. "I believe, from what I
saw on the replays, if he didn't go back with his foot, I believe they
would've called him out."
- Monday's game marks Jimmy Paredes' return to Toronto.
Paredes played in seven games for the Blue Jays this season before being
traded to Philadelphia for cash considerations.
- Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis is 4-for-12 with a
home run and a 1.083 slugging percentage against Dickey.
- Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (right thigh)
missed his third consecutive game on Sunday but is expected to return as
the designated hitter for Monday's opener.
- Expect Josh Thole to get the start behind the dish for
the second time in three games on Monday. The 29-year-old is Dickey's
personal catcher. Thole enters Monday with one hit in 30 at-bats since the
end of April.
NEXT
GAME:
After completing a
four-game set against the American League East-leading Orioles, the Blue Jays welcome the Phillies to town as they begin a home-and-home series on Monday
night at Rogers Centre. R.A. Dickey (4-6, 4.15 ERA) will get the ball for the
Blue Jays in the opener, as he looks for his third straight victory. The
knuckleballer battled his last time out against the Tigers, going 5 1/3 innings
while limiting Detroit to two runs in a 7-2 victory. Dickey has plenty of
experience pitching against the Phillies thanks to his time with the Mets, and
carries a 5-4 record with a 3.03 ERA in 12 starts against Philadelphia. On the
opposite end, Jerad Eickhoff takes the mound for the Phillies following a
stellar outing in which he held the high-octane Cubs to one run over seven
innings. Eickhoff has pitched much better than his record indicates, with eight
quality starts in 12 outings this season. On the
season, Eickhoff has a 3.68 ERA and an impressive 1.17 WHIP. Ryan Howard, who has lost playing time lately to Joseph, will
likely DH. The Evansville, Ind.,
native will be making his first career appearance against Toronto. The Blue Jays are
27-20 all-time against the Phillies and have gone 9-2 against them since the
start of the 2012 season.
PHILS PHACTS:
Pivotal Replay – When Jeanmar Gomez got Bryce Harper to
ground weakly to the right side with one out in the ninth, it appeared the
Phillies had cleared their biggest hurdle en route to a victory. But Cesar Hernandez's
throw was high, Tommy Joseph's
foot landed in the wrong place, and Harper beat out a controversial infield
hit. The Nationals then scored two runs for a walk-off win, 5-4.
Harper's hit drew Hernandez to his left, and though the second baseman gathered
the ball without difficulty, his throw sailed slightly high. Joseph jumped for
the ball and came down beside first base, then, fearing he wasn't making
contact with the bag, stuck his foot backward. He missed the bag with that lunge,
and Harper was called safe. The Phillies challenged the call, but a replay
review upheld it. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin speculated that Joseph's
second effort might have cost the Phillies. "I believe, from what I saw on
the replays, if he didn't go back with his foot, I believe they would've called
[Harper] out," Mackanin said. "If the side of his foot was touching
the base, he was definitely out, but he went back, it's like when a guy tags a
guy but then goes back to tag him even though he tagged him the first time, it
looks like he didn't." Joseph drew a different conclusion from watching
the same replay on the center-field video board. "I think they got the
call right," the first baseman said. "I wasn't sure. It was too
close. I couldn't feel it. Obviously if I couldn't feel it, that's why I went
back." Danny Espinosa followed
with a single, and after a Ben Revere lineout,
Gomez walked Clint Robinson to
load the bases. That brought up Werth, who poked a 2-2 fastball up the middle
for a walk-off single. The rally might not have occurred if Hernandez and
Joseph could have converted Harper's grounder. Joseph is relatively
inexperienced at first base, having begun playing there regularly last season
after spending most of his Minor League career behind the plate. Of course, the
play would have been difficult for any first baseman, given the high throw.
Harper was credited with a hit on the play, but it could have been ruled an
E-4. "Cesar, I'm sure, feels worse than anybody here," Mackanin said.
"It's a shame, but we can't afford to make mistakes. We've got to make
clean plays to win."
Today
In Phils History – There are a couple of interesting games that occurred
on this day beginning in 1918 when the Phillies and St. Louis, tied at 8,
proceeded to enter a pitching duel that would last until the 19th
inning when the game was called a tie. In 1945, the Phillies lost the first
game of a double header to Boston seemingly securing their 16th
consecutive loss which was later nullified when they won a suspended game from
earlier in the month when it was concluded in July. Lastly, it was 9 year ago
today when Kyle Kendrick made his major league debut with the Phillies.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 29-34 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 48-49-2 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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