GAME
RECAP: Phillies Pound Braves 8-2
The Phillies seem to have finally unlocked the secrets to
their own ballpark. After struggling offensively at Citizens Bank Park for most
of the season, they have been hitting the ball much better on their current
six-game homestand. That included Monday's 8-2 victory over the Braves on
Independence Day. The Phillies pounded out eight extra-base hits, including
home runs from Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera, as Jerad Eickhoff pitched superbly through 7 2/3
innings. "Confidence, man, it's through the roof," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. Braves shortstop Erick Aybar hit a solo homer in the first inning
to give the Braves the lead, but they got little going after that.
PHILS PHACTS:
- The Phillies
scored a season-high seven runs in the second inning. It included six
extra-base hits, with doubles from Cameron Rupp, Tommy
Joseph and
Peter Bourjos,
a triple from Cesar
Hernandez and
home runs from Herrera and Franco. Franco's homer in the second travelled
a projected 448 feet, making it the Phillies' longest of the season. He
swung hard and missed on the first pitch in the at-bat, before calming
down and crushing the second. "On that first swing, yes," Franco
said with a laugh, acknowledging he wanted to go deep. "But on the
second one, I just tried to see the ball and put good contact on it."
"We had a tough inning; [De La Cruz] had a tough inning," Braves
manager Brian Snitker said. "The whole inning got away from us. He
got the ball up a lot in that inning, and some balls were hit pretty
hard."
- Phillies right-hander
Eickhoff has been cruising since the end of May. He is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA
in his last seven starts, including this dominant effort against the
Braves. He allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and eight
strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. It marked the first time a Phillies starter
pitched more than seven innings since Vince
Velasquez's complete game on April 14 against the
Padres. "I feel good," Eickhoff said. "I feel good
mechanically and mentally. I'm just going to try and stay right where I
want -- not too high and not too low. I'm going to try and help this game
any way I can."
- "I can't complain about the hitting anymore. I mean, these
guys, the hitting continues. It's great to see." -- Phillies manager Pete Mackanin, on the Phillies' suddenly
potent offense.
- De La Cruz
became the first pitcher to allow eight or more extra-base hits to the
Phillies in a game since the Cardinals' Dizzy Dean gave up eight in 14
innings on May 26, 1933, at Sportsman's Park. It was the first time the
Phillies had eight extra-base hits in a game since July 26, 2015, against
the Cubs. It was also the first time the Phillies began a game with eight
consecutive extra-base hits since June 5, 1988, against the Cardinals.
- Eickhoff has
18 quality starts in his first 25 career outings, which ties Hall of Fame
right-hander Robin Roberts and right-hander Art Mahaffey for the most
quality starts through the first 25 starts of a Phillies' career (since
1913). The last two pitchers to have at least 18 in their first 25 starts
were the Mets' Jacob
deGrom (20)
and the Yankees' Masahiro
Tanaka (19).
NEXT
GAME:
Right-hander Zach Eflin (0-2, 5.75 ERA) pitches the second of the three-game series at 7:05 p.m.
ET on Tuesday against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Eflin has pitched
pretty well since his big league debut on June 14 in Toronto, posting a 2.54
ERA in his last three starts.
PHILS PHACTS:
Home
Is Where The Homers Are – The Phillies are finally learning what
previous Phillies teams knew long ago: Citizens Bank Park isn't a bad place to
hit. They beat the Braves on Monday, 8-2, with the help of eight
extra-base hits. Six of those hits came in the second inning when the Phillies
scored a season-high seven runs. Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz became the first pitcher to allow
eight or more extra-base hits to the Phillies in a game since Dizzy Dean gave
up eight in 14 innings on May 26, 1933, at Sportsman's Park. "Confidence
breeds success," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. "I think when we were
struggling, it's hard to have confidence going up there, especially going up
against some of the veteran pitchers we faced that know how to pitch and have
been in the big leagues a long time versus a very young lineup. I think the
confidence was a little down, then you start running into some pitches and the
line keeps moving. … Confidence, man, it's through the roof." The Phillies
have averaged six runs per game in their last 13 contests after averaging 3.11
runs per game in their first 71. Much of the Phillies' early struggles came at
home. The Phillies opened their six-game homestand against the Royals and
Braves posting a .608 OPS and averaging 2.7 runs per game at Citizens Bank
Park, compared to a .724 OPS and 4.2 runs per game on the road. Those are
pretty significant splits. Rupp credits the team's offensive resurgence to
their success last weekend in San Francisco. The Phillies lost two of three,
but they beat Madison Bumgarner on June 25 and scored six runs in six
innings against Johnny Cueto in a losing effort on June 26. "Every
one of those games was a dogfight for us," Rupp said, "and I think
we've got a lot of respect for ourselves, knowing that we can play anybody.
Those guys won three out of the last five World Series with the same guys that
were out there playing against us. I think that showed us that we can play with
anybody."
Going
Deep – Maikel Franco declared his intentions with a healthy
hack in the second inning on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. He swung hard and
missed a first-pitch slider almost at his eyes. Franco badly wanted to hit a
home run in the 8-2 victory over the Braves, but particularly at
that moment. The Phillies had already scored five runs on five extra-base hits
in the inning against Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz.
Franco, who has been swinging a hot bat the past couple of weeks, wanted his
big hit, too. "On that first swing, yes," Franco said with a laugh,
acknowledging he wanted to go deep. "But on the second one, I just tried
to see the ball and put good contact on it." Franco crushed the follow-up
92-mph sinker to left-center field for a two-run homer to give the Phillies a
season-high seven runs in an inning. The ball travelled a projected 448 feet,
according to Statcast™,
which made it the Phillies' longest homer of the season. The previous high?
Franco's 438-foot shot on Sunday against the Royals. "He let it eat for
sure," said Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp, who
watched Franco's cuts from the on-deck circle. "He definitely was up there
with a purpose. You could tell. And then he got the next one, and it went a
long way." "So that's what happens when you try to do too much,"
Franco said, comparing his two swings. "You miss the baseball. See the
ball, hit the ball, and something good will happen." Franco has been on a
tear since June 19, when his batting average (.236) and OPS (.690) hit season
lows. He entered the afternoon hitting .367 (18-for-49) with three doubles, one
triple, four home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.180 OPS in 13 games since. That type of
production is what the Phillies expected from Franco following an encouraging
rookie season. "Right now, I feel more confident," Franco said.
"I feel more comfortable at home plate. I see the ball much better, so
that's what I'll continue to do." Added Phillies manager Pete Mackanin:
"He's coming around nicely."
Phillies
Honor Veterans – When Joe Dimond
returned from his tour in Fallujah, Iraq, he was in a dark place, experiencing
symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Then, he found an ear to talk to. Inspired
by his experience, Dimond founded The Stain of War, a project to help veterans
fight PTSD by talking about it. Often, military want to discuss their times
overseas with loved ones but can't. The Stain of War acts as a middleman of
sorts, helping veterans tell their stories unfiltered, normalizing the home
front for them and PTSD for civilians. "I came back from war and quickly
realized no one understood," Dimond said. "People are trying to kill
you. There's death and destruction all around you. Then you come home and
you're supposed to walk into the civilian world and go back to normal. "So
I started the Stain of War to remove the stain veterans feel like they have
when they have PTSD and feel like they're broken." On Independence Day,
Dimond was one of close to 100 veterans the Phillies honored in an on-field
ceremony before they opened a three-game set against the Braves. The
festivities included at least one veteran from each conflict since World War
II. The Phillies' employees who served carried flags from all 50 states onto
the field. Dimond served nearly 20 years as a staff sergeant in the U.S.
Marines. He grew up in Delaware County, rooting for the Phillies. Now he's back
-- this time in South Jersey -- and still rooting for his Phils. And on the
240th anniversary since the country gained its independence, the Phillies thanked
him and every other veteran for their service. It wasn't a normal day for
Dimond, for more reasons than just getting to be on the same field as the team
he roots for. Because of his PTSD, Dimond tries to avoid loud, crowded
environments. Sometimes, he'll swerve at trash on the road, thinking it's an
improvised explosive device (IED). Occasionally, he will jolt awake because of
a nightmare. But by talking about his PTSD and accepting that he's a changed
man, Dimond has learned to live as close to a normal life as possible,
something he struggled to do in his first year back from the battlefield, when
he found himself divorced and living on a friend's couch. "You see in a
lot of movies the Hollywood version of PTSD," Dimond said. "For a lot
of us, it's just a heightened sense of alertness. There's a lot of different
things, but we're not all monsters." That is the essence of the message
The Stain of War is hoping to communicate to the public. In a little over a
year since it was started, Dimond has been able to tell the stories of close to
a dozen veterans. They also have a documentary in the works. Once Dimond
confronted his PTSD by talking about it, he was able to lead a "relatively
successful" life, as he put it. Now, he's trying to help other veterans do
the same. The biggest roadblock for Dimond was overcoming the innate toughness
that comes with being a serviceman. "It's, 'No, I'm a Navy SEAL, I don't
need help.' It's this whole thing of 'I'm stronger than that.' No, it's not
wrong to ask for help," Dimond said. "It's not wrong to deal with
this. You've dealt with some life-changing events. You've seen some things that
aren't typical, so we're trying to remove that whole tough guy talk."
Deciding
Thursday’s Starter – The Phillies have some moves to make before the All-Star break. First,
they must decide who will start in Aaron Nola's place
on Thursday night against the Rockies at Coors Field. The Phillies have
options: It could be left-handers Adam Morgan or Brett Oberholtzer and make it a bullpen game. They could
call up somebody from Triple-A to make a spot start. "We'll know by
Wednesday," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said before Monday's 8-2 win over the Braves at
Citizens Bank Park. Mackanin hinted they could play a man short on the bench
this weekend, which would give them an extra reliever at Coors Field. Mackanin
also said the Phillies are likely to have left-hander Daniel Stumpf rejoin the roster in Sunday's series
finale. Stumpf is nearing the end of his 80-game suspension for testing positive for
dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing drug that first gained
notoriety during the East German doping scandal. Stumpf, 25, is a Rule 5 Draft
pick, so he must remain on the 25-man roster the remainder of the season to
stay in the organization. Stumpf made three appearances in the Phillies' first
eight games, allowing three runs on one hit (a homer) with two walks in just
2/3 inning.
Today
In Phils History – In 1904, the Phillies put an end to the Giants’ 18
game winning streak. 11 years later the Giants didn’t fare much better as
Grover Alexander held them to 1 hit. In 1940, the Phillies parted ways with
Wally Berger. 1950 saw the birth of future Phillies player and broadcaster Gary
Matthews. In 1976, in the 1st ABC Monday night game broadcast from
the Vet, the Phillies did not make a good first impression getting shutout by
the Dodgers and dominated by a 4-5 performance by Steve Garvey. 3 years later,
Dickie Noles made his MLB debut with the Phillies. 10 years later, the Phillies
Steve Jeltz scores on a passed ball in the 10th securing the unique
walk off win against the Reds.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 38-46 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 55-54-0 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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