GAME
RECAP: Braves Edge Phillies 2-1
While Vince Velasquez auditioned for the crowd of scouts
that came to see him at Turner Field on Friday night, Tyrell Jenkins provided a more encouraging glimpse of
his potential as a starting pitcher and helped the Braves claim a 2-1 win over
the Phillies. Gordon Beckham and Nick Markakis recorded RBI singles during a two-run
second inning that doomed Velasquez and proved sufficient for Jenkins, who
allowed just one unearned run over six innings en route to claiming his first
career win. The Phillies had won each of the past five games played against the
Braves. "[Velasquez] was tough, and our guys hung in there pretty good
against him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "You're not going to
get a whole lot, and thank God we didn't give up a whole lot. It was a good
ballgame." Velasquez escaped multiple threats as he surrendered two earned
runs and seven hits over six innings. The Dodgers and Rangers were among the
teams that had scouts in the stands to watch the Phillies right-hander, who has
allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his 18 starts. Philadelphia's only
run was tallied in the third inning, when Cesar Hernandez scored from first base after Jace Peterson bobbled Odubel Herrera's
single in left field. "Their guy was effectively wild, let's put it that
way," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We had him on the ropes
early."
PHILS PHACTS:
- The Phillies
acquired Velasquez from Houston in December as part of the Ken
Giles trade,
so would they really trade him less than eight months later? It is
unlikely, but the presence of scouts, particularly three from the Rangers,
is noteworthy and the rebuilding Phillies certainly will listen to what
teams have to say. After all, what if they get an offer they can't refuse?
"Am I aware of it? Yeah," Velasquez said about the trade
speculation. "I can't control anything. If they trade me, they trade
me. I can't do anything about it. What am I going to do? The only thing I
can do is pitch. That's my job."
- Ryan Howard hit a pinch-hit double to center
field with two outs in the ninth inning to put the tying runner on base,
and Hernandez worked a walk to put the go-ahead run at first. But Herrera
grounded out to shortstop Aybar, who threw to third to end the game. "The
play to end the game was a good play," Mackanin said. "It just
worked out perfect, going to his backhand. There's nothing [pinch-runner
Tyler] Goeddel could have done. Just a [heck] of a play."
- "Our whole goal was to get young pitchers, because they're the
most expensive commodity. If you can develop young pitchers like him and
have four or five of those guys, then you're ahead of the game, but at the
same time I'll listen to any offers if you get three guys for him that are
really good looking prospects. You've got to consider it." -- Mackanin, on trade talks between the Rangers and Phillies for
Velasquez.
- The Phillies challenged a call in the seventh inning that Chase d'Arnaud successfully stole second base. The replay official in New York
ruled that d'Arnaud failed to maintain contact with the base as Phillies
shortstop Freddy Galvis applied the tag. He overturned the call and d'Arnaud was out.
NEXT
GAME:
Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is scheduled to start the third of a four-game series on Saturday at
7:10 p.m. ET against the Braves at Turner Field. Hellickson (7-7, 3.65) is the
mostly likely Phillies player to be traded before Monday's non-waiver Trade
Deadline and talks could pick up with Andrew Cashner traded Friday to the Marlins, which removed one more starter from the
board.
PHILS PHACTS:
Calm Among The Rumors – Matt
Klentak made Vince Velasquez the centerpiece to his first major
trade as Phillies general manager in December. Could Velasquez really be traded
again, fewer than eight months later? The Phillies and Rangers are having
serious talks about the possibility, although sources told MLB.com on Friday
they do not believe anything is close. But three Rangers' scouts, including one
of their top talent evaluators, watched Velasquez pitch in Friday night's 2-1 loss to the Braves at Turner Field. Texas
would not be wasting the manpower if talks were not legitimate, although they
are expected to watch Jeremy Hellickson pitch Saturday night, too. MLB
Network's Jon Paul Morosi first reported earlier this week that Texas wants
Velasquez. "Am I aware of it? Yeah," Velasquez said about the trade
speculation. "I can't control anything. If they trade me, they trade me. I
can't do anything about it. What am I going to do? The only thing I can do is
pitch. That's my job." It is safe to say the Phillies would have to be
very impressed with a trade package to deal a young and talented pitcher under
team control through 2021. Klentak and Phillies president Andy MacPhail have
repeatedly stressed they believe they key to returning to the postseason is
building a talented and deep rotation. That said, it would be foolish for the
rebuilding Phillies to cover their ears and not listen to what teams had to
say. Even Phillies manager Pete Mackanin acknowledged that. "Our whole
goal was to get young pitchers, because they're the most expensive
commodity," he said. "If you can develop young pitchers like him and
have four or five of those guys, then you're ahead of the game, but at the same
time I'll listen to any offers if you get three guys for him that are really
good looking prospects. You've got to consider it." And the Phillies are
listening. The trade with Houston almost fell apart in December when the
Phillies had concerns about Velasquez's physical. The Phillies and Astros
eventually reconfigured the trade, including right-hander Mark Appel as insurance. Velasquez missed some
time in June because of a strained right biceps, but it was not serious. He has
pitched six or more innings in each of his past five starts, including on
Friday against the Braves. He allowed seven hits, two runs, two walks and
struck out five in six innings. "He did a good job," Mackanin said.
"But Vince is a power pitcher, and he didn't look like a power pitcher
today. I bet he used more two-seam fastballs, changeups and breaking balls than
he did his four-seam fastball. He pitched well, obviously, but he's pitching
differently than you would expect him to pitch." Of course, the next time
Velasquez pitches, it could be for somebody else. Asked after the game if it
would disappoint him to be traded again, Velasquez said, "No, no. At
first, when I got traded from the Astros, it was kind of tough for me. But you
have to move on, you have to make the best of what you've got. If things
happen, just let it happen. If I go to another team, then I've got to make the
best of what I've got there. "There's a lot of things that are in the
future. I don't know what to expect is what I'm saying. Again, all I can do is
live in the present and live another day tomorrow. If something happens,
something happens. I've got to make the best of what you've got today."
Pitching Near The Deadline – Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin said he expects Jeremy Hellickson to pitch Saturday night against the
Braves. If not, he will figure out something else. Hellickson remains the
Phillies' most likely candidate to be traded before Monday's non-waiver Trade
Deadline. Contending teams need starting pitching, and Hellickson is 7-7 with a
3.65 ERA in 21 starts. He has allowed one earned run in 14 innings in his last
two starts, and he has a 2.20 ERA in his last seven starts. His past few starts
have been heavily scouted. "Everybody is anxious to find out,"
Mackanin said Friday. "There's a little bit of drama there." Hellickson
is a free agent after the season, so if the Phillies can acquire a legitimate
prospect for him, it makes sense to move him. But ESPN.com reported earlier
this week that the Phillies' asking price is very high -- they're reportedly
looking for an organization's top-five prospect -- because the Phillies feel
they could make a qualifying offer to Hellickson if he is not traded. The
Phillies believe Hellickson would reject the one-year contract, which could be
worth more than $16 million. If he does and signs elsewhere, the Phillies would
receive a compensatory Draft pick. In other words, the Phillies want a player
comparable in talent to the player they potentially could select in next year's
Draft. And if Hellickson accepts the qualifying offer? Well, the Phillies could
afford it. They have almost no financial commitments beyond this season. And
while the Phillies theoretically have five young starting pitchers that could
fill out the 2017 rotation --Aaron
Nola, Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, Zach Eflin and Jake Thompson -- the attrition rate for starting
pitching is high, so the Phillies probably would pursue a veteran starter in
the offseason, anyway. Of course, most of this could be posturing on the
Phillies' part. It is worth mentioning that one option for contenders fell off
the board Thursday when the Padres traded Andrew Cashner to the Marlins. The Cashner deal could
heat up talks for the Phillies. "To be very honest, I don't know
anything," Mackanin said. "I think it's better off that way. I might
say the wrong thing without meaning to. I'd rather not know. I'm not in the
decision-making process, as far as who they're going to trade for. The scouts
are scouting. The people in the front office make their decision based on what
information they have on these other players. "I would like to think, if
we were playing for a pennant down the stretch, I would get a little bit of
input on what we need. It's not what I need right now to help win. It's, 'What
is the best deal?' So I don't want to know about it." But whether or
not a trade is made before Monday's Trade Deadline, Mackanin thinks something
will happen afterward. "After the smoke clears, then we'll evaluate and
maybe bring up a young guy and maybe make a change in-house, I'm
guessing," he said.
Today
In Phils History – Pinky Whitney led the Phillies to victory in 1929
when he hit for the cycle against the Pirates. In 1937, 1B Dolph Camilli played
9 innings without recording a putout. 20 years later, Ron Northey, who was
signed earlier in the day, hit a pinch hit 2 run homerun (an MLB record tying 8th
of his career). 2 years later, Willie McCovey went 4 for 4 (2 triples) in his
MLB debut for the Giants as they beat the Phillies 7-2. In 1995, Mike Schmidt and
Richie Ashburn were inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. Ryan Howard drew a MLB
record tying 5 walks on this day in 2006. As we near the trade deadline it is
not surprising that there are a lot of transactions that occurred on this day
including the departures of Bobby Abreu and Corey Lidle (2006) and Ryan
Franklin (2006). However, the acquisitions are more interesting as there are a
number of players that we forget were once Phillies including Todd Jones
(2004), Felix Rodriguez (2004), Kyle Lohse (2007), Hunter Pence (2011). During
trade season there are a lot of debuts as well including the Phillies debuts of
Larry Anderson (1983), Roy Oswalt (2010), and Hunter Pence (2011) as well as the
MLB debuts of Chuck Klein (1928), Art Mahaffey (1960), Michael Bourn (2006),
and Cody Asche (2013). Finally, happy birthday to Casey Stengel who was born on
this day in 1890.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 47-58 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 67-47-0 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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