GAME
RECAP: Phillies Dominate Braves 5-1
What in the world has gotten into the Phillies' offense? They
continued to hit the ball in Tuesday night's 5-1 victory over the Braves at
Citizens Bank Park. Peter Bourjos, Cody Asche, Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph each
homered as the Phillies' offense has been one of the best in baseball the past
couple weeks, averaging 5.93 runs per game in their last 14 after averaging
3.11 runs in their first 71. The Phillies, who have won nine of their last 12
games, can sweep the Braves with a victory on Wednesday afternoon. "I feel
like we were all kind of cold at the same time, now we're hot at the same time,
which makes it fun," Bourjos said. "And we're putting up a lot of
runs. We're putting together good at-bats, and we're hitting balls hard even
when we're down in counts. We're just battling back." Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings as Ender Inciarte homered
in the seventh, the only run the Braves scored against Phillies rookie Zach Eflin, who threw a complete game for the
first win of his career. Atlanta has lost 10 of its last 14. "I've said it
all along: Eflin is my favorite pitcher," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
PHILS PHACTS:
- Bourjos has
been on fire lately. He is hitting .464 (32-for-69) with five doubles,
three triples, three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.260 OPS in 22 games
since June 11, when he was batting .192 with a .501 OPS. Mackanin credited
Bourjos' current streak for the Phillies' offensive revival. The Phillies
have hit 22 home runs in their last 14 games after knocking 60 in their
first 71. Their 0.85 home runs per game average through June 20 ranked
28th, while their 1.57 homers per game average since then ranks fourth. "I
just feel a lot more comfortable and obviously more confident with
everything that I'm doing," Bourjos said. "I'm allowing the ball
to get deeper and not over-swinging, and I think that breeds confidence in
the fact that I'm not scared to get to two strikes where before I didn't
want to get to two strikes because I felt like I was going to chase."
- Eflin has been
earning his paycheck since his big league debut in Toronto on June 14,
when he allowed nine runs in just 2 2/3 innings. He has a 2.03 ERA in his
last four starts, including his complete game against the Braves. Eflin
allowed one run on six hits and struck out six to earn his first big
league win. He is the first Phillies starter to throw a complete game for
his first big league win since Mike Williams pitched one against the
Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 5, 1992. He is the first Phillies rookie
to throw a complete game since Vance Worley on July 26, 2011, against the
Giants. "I threw that last pitch and I was just shaking, thanking God
for the opportunity to be out there," Eflin said.
- "It's very encouraging to see those. [Aaron] Nola is [24].
[Jerad] Eickhoff, he's the old man. He's [25] I believe. Eflin, he looks
like he has the confidence he needs to pitch up here. We just have a lot
of good young pitchers. It's fun to watch. They're going to have their ups
and downs, but it takes a while to get really established here and feel
comfortable." -- Mackanin, on the Phillies'
rotation, which features four starters in their mid-to-early 20s.
- Odubel Herrera, in his second at-bat since being named an All-Star,
grounded a ball to third baseman Adonis Garcia, which he couldn't handle. As Herrera took his lead off first,
Foltynewicz threw over. Although Herrera was initially ruled safe on his
dive back to the bag, the Braves challenged and the call was overturned.
Snitker is now 8-for-15 on challenges this season.
- This is the
final game of a homestand that has treated the Phillies well. They opened
it by taking two of three from the defending champion Royals and another
in the opener of their series vs. Atlanta.
- Nick Markakis
is the only Braves hitter with much history against Hellickson. In 37
career at-bats, Markakis is hitting .243 with two home runs off the Phils'
righty.
- The Braves do
not believe Teheran's right thigh infection is serious. They hope he will
be able to make a start this weekend in Chicago.
NEXT
GAME:
It won't be the first Major League appearance for Tyrell
Jenkins, but it will be his first start when he takes the mound at 1:05 ET on
Wednesday against the Phillies. Jenkins (0-1, 5.79 ERA) is making a spot start,
filling in for Julio Teheran, who was sent back to Atlanta for treatment on an
ingrown hair on his right thigh. The 23-year-old righty will face the Phillies'
Jeremy Hellickson (6-6, 4.06 ERA) in the finale of a three-game set at Citizens
Bank Park. Jenkins, who was called up on June 16, has made four relief
appearances -- all but one for two innings or more. In 14 games (nine starts)
for Triple-A Gwinnett, Jenkins went 6-3 with a 2.91 ERA over 65 innings. MLBPipeline.com
ranks him as the Braves' No. 7 prospect. Hellickson, a likely mover at the Aug.
1 non-waiver Trade Deadline, has been boosting his stock over his last few
starts. He has allowed one earned run in each of his last two starts and has a
2.37 ERA over his last three.
PHILS PHACTS:
Eflin’s
Stellar Start – Zach Eflin said he felt completely confident as
he stepped onto the mound in the ninth inning on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank
Park. The moment finally overcame him 11 pitches later when he sealed a 5-1 victory over the Braves. "I threw that
last pitch and I was just shaking, thanking God for the opportunity to be out
there," Eflin said. Eflin needed just 92 pitches to throw a complete game
for the first win of his big league career. He is the first Phillies pitcher to
record a complete game for his first big league win since Mike Williams on July
5, 1992, against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He is also the first Phillies
rookie to toss a complete game since Vance Worley on
July 26, 2011, against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. "I've said it all
along: Eflin is my favorite pitcher," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
It has been an impressive turnaround for Eflin, who is just five starts into
his big league career. He allowed nine runs (eight earned) in just 2 2/3
innings in his big league debut on June 14 in Toronto. Since then, Eflin has
gradually improved. He has a 2.03 ERA in his last four starts. "A lot
more," Eflin said when asked how much more comfortable he feels since
Toronto. "I learned a lot after that outing, unfortunately. But that was a
good thing at the same time." Eflin worked quickly and efficiently on
Tuesday, benefitting from four double plays. The game lasted just two hours and
eight minutes, making it the Phillies' quickest game since Sept. 27, 2013, when
they played the Braves in just 2:07. "I was really just trying to stay
ahead, attack with my sinker and get weak contact," Eflin said. "We
rolled a lot of double plays, which was huge. When you have guys like Freddy
[Galvis] and Cesar [Hernandez] up the middle, it helps a lot." Eflin is
scheduled to pitch on Sunday in Colorado, the Phillies' final game before the
All-Star break. He hopes to carry more good feelings into the second half. It
is a big one for him and the rest of the Phillies' young staff, which includes Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez.
They are trying to establish themselves heading into 2017. But Eflin can worry
about those things later. On Tuesday, he just needed to savor the moment.
"I think it's a pretty cool way to get your first win," Eflin said.
"It's pretty exciting."
The
Lone All Star – Long before Phillies fans began to know Odubel Herrera as
"El Torito," the energetic, perpetually smiling,
always-clapping-after-a-walk, sometimes-flipping-his-bat-after-a-sac-fly
Phillies center fielder, the organization used a couple scouting reports and a
strong recommendation from one of their own to make him one of the best Rule 5
Draft picks in franchise history. "We feel like we're taking a shot on a
prospect," Phillies professional scouting director Mike Ondo said after
selecting Herrera with the eighth pick in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft. The Phillies
got much more than that. They got an All-Star and a key piece to their future.
Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that Herrera is the Phillies' lone
representative at the All-Star Game presented by MasterCard at Petco Park at
7:30 p.m. ET on July 12 in San Diego. Herrera entered Tuesday's 5-2 win over
the Braves ranked fourth among National League outfielders in on-base percentage
(.389) and hits (92), seventh in batting average (.302) and 14th in OPS (.832).
"He's a special guy," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I
call him a hit collector. I don't know how he does it sometimes. He looks so
bad at one at-bat and then the next three gets hits." Herrera joins Dave
Hollins and Shane Victorino as Phillies' Rule 5 Draft picks to
make an All-Star team. "It feels great," Herrera said through the
Phillies' interpreter. "To me, it is an honor to represent the Phillies,
Venezuela and people in Latin America in the All-Star Game. I feel very proud
of this moment because I want to show what I'm about and what the Phils are
about." But before Herrera made the NL squad, the Phillies needed to sort
through countless scouting reports of potential Rule 5 picks before settling on
Herrera. They had seen him in the past as the Phillies combed through the
Rangers' farm system for potential trades that involved Cole Hamels, as well as their scouts' normal runs
through the Texas League, where Herrera won a batting title in 2014. Herrera
continued to hit that winter in Venezuela. "There was some concern on our
part that he wouldn't get to eight," Ondo said. But the Phillies got a
little lucky that special assistant of player personnel Jorge Velandia managed
Herrera's winter ball team. He got to know Herrera as a person, while watching
him hit and play in the outfield. A look at Herrera in the outfield was huge
because nobody else with the Phillies had seen him play there before. He came
up through the Rangers' system as a second baseman, but his potential in the
outfield immediately made him more attractive to the Phillies' front office. It
is safe to say the Phillies might not have picked Herrera without Velandia's
strong recommendation. "I'll be honest, we liked the player," Ondo
said, "but a lot had to do with the outfield and knowing the person,
knowing what you were getting in the player. That was a huge assist. We were
real fortunate that Jorge was there to give us that information." Fans can
vote for the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote until 4 p.m. ET on
Friday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will be
announced during a Final Vote-themed telecast of "MLB Now" featuring
commentary from political analyst Jeff Greenfield, live on MLB Network and
MLB.com from 4-5 p.m. ET. MLB Network will provide extensive coverage across all
of its studio programming during the Final Vote, including interviews with the
candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating the cities where votes are
being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running
countdown clock leading up to the announcement. Baseball fans have cast nearly
600 million online votes for Final Vote candidates since the program's
inception in 2002. In addition to MLB.com and the official club websites, fans
can use their mobile devices to cast votes at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the
ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player,
fans can text their choice to 89269. EXAMPLE: Text "A3" to vote for
AL Player 3 or "N3" to vote for NL Player 3. Message and data rates
may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information.
Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to
101010. For the fifth consecutive year, the Final Vote will include social
balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the last six hours of
balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET on
Friday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated
as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners. On Tuesday,
July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and
during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most
Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP
Vote. The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by
FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more
than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and
ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game.
MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week
coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
Planning
For The Trade Deadline – Phillies general manager Matt Klentak is
making calls and taking calls as the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline
approaches. Klentak has some players that could help contending teams, most
notably right-hander Jeremy Hellickson,
closer Jeanmar Gomez and
outfielder Peter Bourjos. But do not expect the fireworks of
last summer, when the team traded Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Chase Utley, Jake Diekman and Ben Revere. If the Phillies make any moves, they
will be more modest in nature. "Nothing hot right now," Klentak said
before Tuesday night's 5-1 win over the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
"I don't know if we'll be super active. We certainly have players that
other teams like, but I also like the fact that they're helping contribute to
this team. We're in a good stretch right now, and we don't really want to pull
the rug out. We'll just have to wait and see. We have almost 30 days. It's a long
time. "I would say looking at this a month ago, if I was projecting
forward, I would have guessed we'd be roughly in the spot we are in now. And a
lot of trades don't take place until hours leading up to the Deadline. And I
don't know why 2016 would be different than that."
Injury Update – Phillies
outfielder Aaron Altherr entered
Spring Training as the projected Opening Day right fielder, but he tore a
tendon in his left wrist in March. He is taking live batting practice in
Clearwater, Fla., and he should be ready for a rehab assignment sometime within
the next week or two. Altherr likely will need at least another month before he
rejoins the team. Left-hander Daniel Stumpf is
expected to rejoin the team on Sunday in Colorado. He is nearing the end of an
80-game suspension for testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone,
which is an anabolic steroid also known as Oral-Turinabol. The Phillies will
need to make a move on their 40-man roster to accommodate Stumpf, who allowed
three runs on one hit (a homer) with two walks in just two-thirds of an inning
spanning three appearances for a 40.50 ERA. The Rule 5 Draft pick is on a rehab
assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Right-hander Andrew Bailey, who is on the DL with a strained
left hamstring, will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with Lehigh Valley.
He is eligible to be activated on Friday.
International Update – The Phillies have agreed to terms with at least six players:
right-hander Francisco Morales ($720,000 signing bonus), shortstop Brayan
Gonzalez ($900,000), shortstop Nicolas Torres ($665,000), outfielder Simon
Muzziotti ($750,000), catcher Juan Aparicio ($475,000) and shortstop Jose Tortolero
($450,000). The Phillies issued one big bonus last summer to Dominican Republic
outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, who received $4 million. This summer, the Phillies
spread around their money, being careful not to exceed their $5,610,800 bonus
pool. "There are going to be times when we believe that's the right
strategy," Klentak said about issuing a large signing bonus to one player.
"In this particular class, we were best suited to spread it out among a
number of players. What is important is that we get as many good players as we
can in our system. You prefer good players that are athletic, athletic players
that play up the middle, and let player development help that and see which one
is developing into legitimate prospects."
Draft Update – The
Phillies have signed 29 of 40 players selected in the 2016 Draft.
They will exceed the allotted $13,405,200 in their bonus pool but by no more
than five percent. That is significant because teams that exceed the pool by no
more than five percent are taxed at a 75 percent rate on the overage, while a
team that overspends by 5-10 percent pays a 75 percent tax, plus loses a
first-round pick in next year's Draft. "That's a
credit to our ownership that recognized the opportunity that we had with our
Draft pool that allowed us the flexibility to maximize the value of it,"
Klentak said.
Today
In Phils History – In 1893, Jack Boyle’s 6 hits weren’t enough to
overcome Chicago in 11 innings as the Phillies lost 11-10. Of course, it could
have been worse like in 1929 when the Phillies surrendered 10 runs in both the
1st and 5th innings against the Cardinals in route to a
28-6 loss. In 1950, Granny Hamner drew a bases loaded walk against New York
which was the 4th straight game in which the Phillies scored a run
in such a manner. 30 years later, Steve Carlton breaks the MLB record for most
strikeouts by a left handed pitcher surpassing Mickey Lolich (2,832). 6 years
later in 1986, the Phillies tie a MLB record by recording 7 extra base hits in
an inning during a win over the Reds. In 1989, Mike Schmidt received a pleasant
surprise when he was selected by the fans as the NL’s starting 3B for the All
Star game but declined the invitation as he had retired back on May 29th.
20 years later, the Phillies beat the Reds 21-1 setting the mark for the
largest margin of victory in team history thanks in part to Shane Victorino
tying another franchise record with 5 runs scored in the game.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 39-46 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 41-64-0 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.
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