GAME
RECAP: Giants Top Phillies 8-7
The San Francisco Giants took an uphill climb to grab a
share of the Major League lead in victories, striving to win their 49th game
with an 8-7 decision Sunday over the Philadelphia Phillies. This series finale
resembled a basketball game as the score was tied at 1, 5, 6, and 7 runs
apiece. Conor Gillaspie broke the final deadlock with one out
in the ninth by lining a double to right field off Phillies reliever Severino Gonzalez (0-1). It scored Ramiro Pena, whose double into the right-field
corner immediately preceded Gillaspie's hit. The outcome pulled the Giants
(49-28, .638) even with the Texas Rangers (49-27, .645) atop the Majors' win
column. The Chicago Cubs (48-26, .649) maintained the top winning percentage in
either league. While such numbers are written in shifting sand, Bruce Bochy
achieved a measure of posterity by recording his 800th victory as Giants
manager. Only three of his predecessors -- John McGraw (2,583), Dusty Baker
(840) and Bill Terry (823) -- reached this level. "As far as the number, I
know how lucky I am," said Bochy, who also won 951 games in 12 seasons
with San Diego. He jokingly added, "I don't think John McGraw has anything
to worry about." Angel Pagan contributed heavily to the Giants'
14th victory in their last 18 games against Philadelphia by going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Yet the first seven batters in the Phillies' order hit safely or drove in at
least one run as they overcame a 5-1 deficit after three innings. "I'm
real proud of the guys," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "They
really played hard. We fell behind, 5-1, and battled back against a tough
pitcher. San Francisco has been a good team. I think we're a little bit of a
thorn in their side. It's disappointing to lose, but I'm real proud of the way
the guys never gave up."
PHILS PHACTS:
- Nola is a critical piece of the Phillies' rebuild and he
had been building his case to make the National League All-Star team
through June 5, going 5-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 12 starts. But he allowed 10
hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Giants to end a
forgettable month. Nola became the first Phillies starter to pitch fewer
than four innings in four consecutive starts -- posting a 15.23 ERA in
that stretch -- since Marty Bystrom in 1982. "He's a little confused
right now," Mackanin said. "He's approaching his first full year
in the big leagues, so he's going to have some adversity. He probably
hasn't had any in quite a while, if at all. You can see his confidence is
shaken a bit. But he's smart and a competitor. He'll bounce back at some
point."
- The Phillies had two outs and nobody on base in both the fourth and
fifth innings, but scored two runs in each to tie the game. They also
answered the Giants with game-tying runs in the seventh and eighth
innings, including Odubel Herrera's solo homer to center field in the seventh.
- "I wasn't surprised. I knew something was going to happen. I
know he's coming at somebody." -- Franco, on Cueto drilling him with a
pitch in the fourth inning. Nola hit three Giants batters, but battled
control issues, hitting two batters with breaking balls.
- Closer Jeanmar Gomez became the fastest Phillies
pitcher to 20 saves in club history, going by team wins. No closer had
picked up 20 saves in 32 wins. Ricky Bottalico held the previous record
with 20 saves in 34 wins.
- D-backs starter Robbie Ray beat the Phillies on June
17, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out seven.
- Arizona starters entered Sunday with a 3.56 ERA in
June, which was the seventh-best mark in baseball behind the Cubs (2.61),
Indians (2.62), Giants (3.09), Mets (3.31), Cardinals (3.34) and Astros
(3.42).
NEXT
GAME:
Phillies right-hander
Vince Velasquez rejoins the rotation for Monday's series opener against the D-backs
at Chase Field. He has been on the disabled list since earlier this month
because of a strained right biceps, but he declared himself ready to go after
one rehab start last week. The Phillies are hopeful Velasquez can help the
Phillies fare a little better against Arizona. The D-backs swept the Phillies
in a four-game series from June 17-20 at Citizens Bank Park. The D-backs scored
22 runs and bashed 10 home runs in the series. Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb,
Peter O'Brien and Yasmany Tomas each hit a pair of homers against the Phillies.
PHILS PHACTS:
Struggles Continue – Is
there reason to be alarmed? Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola's career
had gone almost perfectly since the organization selected him with the seventh
overall pick in the 2014 Draft. He posted a 3.12 ERA through his first 25
starts in the big leagues, using pinpoint command to elevate his status in the
Phillies' rotation. But Nola has misfired wildly in his last four starts,
including Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park, going 0-3 with a
15.23 ERA. "He's a little confused right now," Phillies manager Pete
Mackanin said. "He's approaching his first full year in the big leagues,
so he's going to have some adversity. He probably hasn't had any in quite a
while, if at all. You can see his confidence is shaken a bit. But he's smart
and a competitor. He'll bounce back at some point." Nola allowed 10 hits
and five runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Giants. In his last four starts, he
has allowed 32 hits, 25 runs (22 earned) and seven walks and has struck out 14
in just 13 innings. He has hit four batters, too, including three Sunday. He
hit just one batter over 131 innings in 21 starts from Aug. 12, 2015, through
June 5. "His fastball command is a little off," Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz said. "I think he's trying so
hard. He's pushing himself to get his command back. I know it's tough. He's a
young kid. He tries so hard to pick it up. He gets himself ready and
everything. That's the only thing I see, you know? We've got to move on to the
next start, man." Nola is the first Phillies starter to pitch fewer than
four innings in four consecutive starts since Marty Bystrom in 1982, although
Bystrom made relief appearances between starts. He is the first Phillies
starter to pitch four or fewer innings and allow four or more runs in four
consecutive starts in the same season since Lefty Weinert in 1923. Nola has
never experienced struggles like this before. "No, not really," he
said. "No, this is the first time." Nola has said after the past
couple of starts that he is not finishing his pitches, which is another way of
saying he is not getting his hand on top of the ball before he releases it. It
has him pulling pitches out of the strike zone. "In my eyes, that might be
the key," Nola said. But it also might be a combination of mechanical and
confidence issues. "Yeah, you can see that a little bit," Ruiz said,
asked if Nola's confidence is down. But Mackanin said Nola will make his next
start Saturday against the Royals at Citizens Bank Park, if anybody had any
thoughts of him ironing out his problems in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. "You
have to battle through adversity; at this level, especially, you see what a guy
is made of," Mackanin said. "I think he has pretty good makeup."
Off To The Bullpen – Adam Morgan is
out of the Phillies' rotation, but he has landed in the bullpen. The Phillies
announced after Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park that they had
activated right-hander Vince Velasquez (5-2, 3.65 ERA) from the 15-day
disabled list. He had been on the DL since earlier this month because of a
strained right biceps. He will start Monday's series opener in Arizona. The
Phillies optioned left-hander Elvis Araujo (1-1, 5.87 ERA in 27 appearances) to
Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Velasquez on the 25-man roster. It
moves Morgan (1-6, 6.55 ERA) into a relief role for the first time in his
career. "We're going to get a look at him in that role for the time being,
which doesn't mean he's never going to start again for us," Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin said. "But at this point we want to give it a look
to see if he can pitch out of the bullpen." The Phillies think Morgan's
combination of pitches and stuff might play better in the bullpen. "It's
an awesome opportunity," Morgan said. "I need to take advantage of
it. I've never done it before, but I will give it a shot. I'm excited."
Staying In Center – Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin said nobody should read into Odubel Herrera taking
fly balls in right field Saturday afternoon at AT&T Park. He said it's not
a wakeup call. He said Herrera is not going anywhere. "He's my center
fielder," Mackanin said before Sunday's series finale against the Giants. But
Herrera has taken a step back defensively this season, appearing to lose his
concentration at times. He has committed seven errors in 74 games compared to
five in 136 games last season as a rookie. His Defensive Runs Saved has dropped
from 10 to minus-7, according to FanGraphs. "Go out there and take some
fly balls to change your perspective a little bit," Mackanin said about
his motivation to have Herrera work in right field. "That's it. There's no
plans to move him. If he reads something into it, good. Maybe he'll think that
he needs to do better. There's nothing imminent. There's no plans for me to
move him out of there."
Today
In Phils History – It
is quite the interesting mix of Phillies history for today beginning in 1952
when manager Eddie Sawyer was fired and replaced by Steve O’Neill the following
day. In 1963, 2 Phillies had opposite experiences during a 13-4 blowout of the
Pirates when Johnny Callison hit for the cycle and Tony Gonzalez had his MLB
errorless streak halted at 205 games. In 1980, Steve Carlton set the franchise
record for strikeouts with his 1,872nd K. Later in the decade, in
1986, the Phillies pulled off a 2-1 marathon victory in 17 innings in St.
Louis. Similarly, in 2003 the Phillies and Orioles set a MLB record for longest
interleague game when Jason Michael hit a walk off homerun in the 17th
inning. 4 years later, Ryan Howard’s homerun set the record for the longest
homerun in Citizens Bank Park history (505 feet) and also set a record as the
fastest player to 100 career homeruns (325 games). Speaking of homeruns, in
2010 Jamie Moyer became the all-time homeruns surrendered leader giving up his
506th long ball surpassing Robin Roberts (he also reached 4,000
innings pitched in the game game). And, finally, happy 40th birthday
to Johnny Estrada.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 32-45 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 55-61-0 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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