GAME
RECAP: Phillies Top Mets 4-2
If the Phillies
are serious about making a run at .500, and maybe even the National League Wild
Card, they have to win series against teams like the Mets. They have an
opportunity to do so following Saturday night's 4-2 victory over the Mets at
Citizens Bank Park. Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard launched
a solo homer in the second inning, and third baseman Maikel Franco slapped
a single to left field with one out in the seventh to score Peter Bourjos from
second base to give the Phillies (43-49) a one-run lead. Carlos Ruiz scored
an insurance run on a wild pitch in the eighth as Jeanmar Gomez picked
up his 25th save in the ninth. "It's good to win," Phillies manager
Pete Mackanin said. "I didn't want to hear the Mets fans." The Mets
had opportunities, putting the leadoff man on base five times in seven innings
against Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff,
but they could not put together the big inning. Both Travis d'Arnaud and Jose Reyes logged
sacrifice flies for New York, and Juan Lagares notched
a double in his second straight
start in center field.
PHILS PHACTS:
- Franco had been scuffling for much of the season, but he
has caught fire the last few weeks. He is hitting .354 (29-for-82) with
five doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 21 RBIs and a 1.119 OPS in his
last 21 games. He is hitting .235 (26-for-80) with runners in scoring
position this season. “I think he's better than what he was last
year," Howard said. "I think getting that experience, every year
you get a little more, and that makes you better. He's just really in a
good, comfortable spot right now."
- Eickhoff might have been the Phillies' best starter in the
first half of the season, although he allowed a career-high eight runs on
July 9 in Colorado. But he returned to form against the Mets. He allowed
five hits, two runs, one walk and struck out three in six-plus innings. He
also doubled and scored the game-tying run in the fifth. "He's not as
sharp as I've seen him," Mackanin said. "He really wasn't that
sharp, and he pitched well enough to win. Too many baserunners for my
liking, but he got us into the seventh inning."
- "I know it was a good situation for me. I just wanted to put
the ball in play, and something good happened for me and my team,
too." -- Franco, on his game-winning hit against Hansel
Robles.
- Howard hit his 370th career homer in the second inning, tying him
with Gil Hodges for 77th place on the all-time home run list. Howard's 46
homers against the Mets are the most among active players. He also ranks
fifth all-time behind Willie Stargell (60), Chipper Jones (49), Mike
Schmidt (49) and Willie McCovey (48). Howard had been tied with Hank Aaron
for fifth.
- Eickhoff nearly made a crucial play in the seventh thanks to a
heads-up play on the mound. He fielded a Brandon Nimmo comebacker and caught d'Arnaud off of second base. But as d'Arnaud
retreated, Eickhoff made a high throw that drew Freddy Galvis away from the bag. He got the tag down and umpires initially ruled
d'Arnaud out at second. Mets manager Terry Collins challenged and replay
officials overturned the call, giving the Mets runners at first and
second. Collins is now 7-for-16 on challenges this season.
- Peter Bourjos is looking to extend his NL-leading 23-game
on-base streak. He extended it Saturday night on a throwing error by
Asdrubal Cabrera. Over the length of the streak, Bourjos is hitting .381
(32-84 AB) with 12 extra-base hits and 17 runs scored.
- Another obstacle for a pitcher's duel: The Phillies have
found success against deGrom in the past. Although he has a 3.03 career
ERA against them, Cody Asche and Freddy Galvis both own batting averages
north of .400 against him and Ryan Howard has two home runs in 17 at-bats.
- Yoenis Cespedes has missed the first two games out of the
All-Star break with a strained right quad. The Mets were hopeful he would
be ready for Saturday's game and held out posting the lineup until only
two hours before first pitch, awaiting the results of Cespedes' running
drills. But Juan Lagares again filled in in center field for the second
straight day. Manager Terry Collins still does not believe the quad will require
a DL stint for Cespedes.
NEXT
GAME:
Zach Eflin has bounced
back from a disastrous debut to grow into one of the Phillies' most reliable
starters heading into the second half of the season. But if you thought his last few starts have been good, just look at
the Mets hurler he'll face in Sunday's finale. Jacob deGrom joins Bartolo Colon
as the only Mets starter not bit by the injury bug in the season's first half.
He's been particularly effective since bone spurs began to bother Noah
Syndergaard and Steven Matz. Over deGrom's last three starts, he's allowed only
three runs in 20 innings. Each of Eflin's last three starts have gone down as
quality ones. But even his more-than-respectable 2.57 ERA over that span looks gargantuan
compared to deGrom's 1.35 mark. It may look like recipe for a Sunday afternoon
pitcher's duel. But deGrom has to deal with a Phillies offense that is
averaging over five runs a game over its last 10, while Eflin faces a Mets team
that has clubbed 14 home runs in four games this season at Citizens Bank Park.
PHILS PHACTS:
Franco
On Fire – This is the Maikel Franco the
Phillies expected. Franco hit a one-out single to left field in the seventh
inning on Saturday night in a 4-2 victory over
the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The hit scored Peter Bourjos from
second base to break a 2-2 tie. It also put the Phillies in position to win the
series. "It's good to win," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
"I didn't want to hear the Mets fans." Franco has been swinging a hot
bat since a slow start. He posted a disappointing .690 OPS through June 20,
which put him among the bottom half of everyday third basemen. Franco has been
on a tear since Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz told
the team's young hitters to relax in a meeting before a three-game series in
Minnesota on June 21. He is hitting .354 (29-for-82) with five doubles, one
triple, seven home runs, 21 RBIs and a 1.119 OPS in his last 21 games. His OPS
is third among all third basemen in that span, behind only Toronto's Josh Donaldson (1.190)
and Arizona's Jake Lamb (1.172).
Despite his slow start, Franco is tied for sixth among third basemen in home
runs (18) and tied for fifth in RBIs (54). "I'm seeing pitches much
better," Franco said. "Even today, my first three at-bats, I felt
really good. I'm staying positive. Every at-bat is really important." Franco
entered the season as the team's No. 3 hitter. He fell to sixth in the
Phillies' lineup on June 18-19 against the D-backs. But he is back hitting in
the middle, looking like a force that the team can build around. "I think
he's better than what he was last year," Howard said. "I think
getting that experience, every year you get a little more, and that makes you
better. He's just really in a good, comfortable spot right now." If Franco
had been hitting like this from the jump, he likely would have joined teammate Odubel Herrera at
the All-Star Game earlier this week in San Diego. Maybe next year. "I
can't control that," Franco said. "I want to be at the All-Star Game
at every year, but right now I just feel more comfortable at home plate."
Slowing
Down – Phillies manager Pete
Mackanin announced the Phillies' rotation to open the second half last Sunday
in Colorado. He said Jeremy Hellickson would
start the second-half opener Friday against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park
because he is the most experienced pitcher in the group. He chose Jerad Eickhoff to
pitch Saturday, instead of Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez or Zach Eflin, because he
might have been the Phillies' best pitcher in the first half. Eickhoff showed
his ability to grind in Saturday's 4-2 victory over
the Mets. He allowed five hits, two runs, one walk and struck out three in
six-plus innings, while also notching a pair of hits and scoring a run. The
line score makes it look like Eickhoff had an easy night, but it was far from
that. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in five of seven innings. "He's
not as sharp as I've seen him," Mackanin said. "He really wasn't that
sharp, and he pitched well enough to win. Too many baserunners for my liking,
but he got us into the seventh inning." "That was kind of
frustrating," Eickhoff said. "I was starting in the stretch early
on." But Eickhoff bounced back from arguably the worst start of his career
July 9 in Colorado, where he allowed a career-high eight runs in 5 1/3 innings.
"Deep breaths," Eickhoff said, asked how he worked out of his jams
Saturday. "Just kind of focus on each pitch and not try to think too far
ahead. Just focus on the now and not worrying about giving up two, three, four
runs, instead of giving up just one. Just kind of slowed it down a little
bit." It is no secret that Hellickson could be traded before the Aug. 1
non-waiver Trade Deadline, and the Phillies are closely monitoring the
workloads of Nola and Velasquez. Eickhoff could be the Phillies' lone starter
to approach 200 innings before the end of the season as he establishes himself
as the rotation's workhorse. He has a team-high 115 innings through 19 starts,
a little more than six innings per start. "An innings eater, that's what
I've always wanted to be," he said. He grinded through his start Saturday
to keep him on pace of becoming just that.
Today
In Phils History – Following the efforts of Boston, down 12-2 in the 8th,
to delay a game in 1894, the Phillies were given the win by forfeit causing the
fans to riot against Boston and forcing them to be removed from the stadium
under police escort. The longest game in Phillies history, 21 innings, occurred
on this day in 1918 with neither team committing an error (MLB record) in the
2-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 30 years later, Granny Hamner drove in 7
runs against the Cardinals with a single and 2 doubles. In 1984, with 8
strikeouts in the game, Steve Carlton surpasses the century mark for the 18th
straight season setting a new NL record and tying Walter Johnson’s MLB record.
4 years later, Rickey Jordan hit a 3 run homerun in his first MLB at bat
(second MLB plate appearance) to help the Phillies defeat the Astros 10-4. In
2007, Aaron Rowand collected 3 doubles and a homerun against the Dodgers, 3
days after collecting 4 extra base hits in a game, to become the first player
to have multiple 4 extra base hit games in the same month. The following
season, the Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from Oakland for their World Series
run. Finally, happy birthday to Deron Johnson (1938) and Bobby Thigpen (1963).
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 43-49 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 54-50-1 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.
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