GAME
RECAP: Phillies Beat Braves 7-5
The Phillies entered Thursday having lost nine of their
past 13 games, while their offense had not scored more than four runs in a game
since the All-Star break. But in a 7-5 win over the Braves at Turner Field, the
Phillies snapped their recent run-scoring drought, registering a five-run first
inning and three homers. Matt Wisler put Atlanta in a first-inning hole
when he allowed a three-run home run to Maikel Franco. Tommy Joseph followed with a solo shot, marking the
fourth time this year the Phillies have hit back-to-back homers. Two more
batters reached base before Wisler recorded the first out of the game on his
27th pitch. "That's what you kind of like to have," Phillies manager
Pete Mackanin said. "When 3-4-5 come up, you hope the other team gets
nervous." The Braves right-hander settled in after that, retiring 13 of
the next 15 batters. But after giving up a two-out single to Joseph in the
fifth, Aaron Altherr hit a two-run homer to give
Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. Aaron Nola held Atlanta scoreless until the
fifth, when Freddie Freeman sparked a three-run inning with an RBI
double. The Braves tallied a run in the sixth and ninth innings, but it wasn't
enough, as they fell to 3-7 against the Phillies this year. "It's just
hard when you get down," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "The
biggest pitch was the two-run homer [Wisler] gave up. You can live with the
five [runs in the first inning] and then he settled in, but that was huge right
there I thought. Five is doable with all of the at-bats we had left."
PHILS PHACTS:
- The Phillies expected Altherr to be an everyday
outfielder this season, but he tore a tendon in his left wrist in March.
He rejoined the Phillies on Thursday and in his first game back, he
singled and scored in the first, hit a two-run homer in the fifth and
singled in the seventh. "Definitely, especially sitting around
thinking about how that first game's going to be being back," Altherr
said, asked if this was the perfect season debut. "For it to be like
that it was definitely special."
- Nola
continues to search for consistency. He has a 9.82 ERA in his last eight
starts after allowing three runs in five innings against the Braves,
finding himself in trouble much of the night. In three of his first four
innings he retired the first two batters he faced before putting runners
on base. Odubel
Herrera then
lost a ball in the lights to start the fifth, which led to a three-run
inning. Still, Nola picked up his first win since June 5. "He's not
the same guy," Mackanin said. "He's just struggling with command
once again. He's not dotting his fastball like he normally does. His
curveball is erratic. He needs to get back on track."
- "I played golf with him last year in the spring when he wasn't
even on the radar. God, can he hit a driver. They're real high and they
just carry. It's unbelievable. So I knew he had power. Then, when you
watch him take BP, the sound that the ball makes coming off his bat is
different than the other guys'." -- Mackanin, on Joseph's homer to center in
the first.
- Franco is on pace to hit 29 home runs. If he can hit 30, he would
be the first Phillies third baseman to hit 30 or more homers in a season
since Scott Rolen hit 31 in 1998.
- Wisler's rough first inning concluded with a double play that was
awarded after the Braves successfully challenged that shortstop Erick Aybar tagged Carlos Ruiz before stepping on the second-base bag to record a force
out. Ruiz would not have been forced to third base had Aybar first stepped
on the bag before applying the quick tag.
- The Braves were not as fortunate in the eighth inning when they unsuccessfully challenged Garcia's throw beat Cody Asche to first base. The original safe call was confirmed, resulting in an infield single.
NEXT
GAME:
Vince Velasquez (8-2, 3.34 ERA) faces the Braves in the second game of a four-game
series Friday at Turner Field at 7:35 p.m. ET. He is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in
five starts since returning from the disabled list in June because of a
strained right biceps.
PHILS PHACTS:
Altherr Returns – Phillies
outfielder Aaron Altherr finally has his shot. The team
activated him from the 60-day disabled list before Thursday's 7-5 victory over the Braves
at Turner Field. He hit fifth and went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, giving
him a nice start in what is expected to be an important audition over the
Phillies' final 58 games. "Definitely," said Altherr, asked if it was
the perfect season debut. "Especially sitting around thinking about how
that first game's going to be being back. For it to be like that, it was definitely
special." Altherr opened Spring Training as a projected everyday
outfielder, but he tore a tendon in his left wrist in March, which required
surgery. After a lengthy recovery spent mostly in Clearwater, Fla., Altherr
rejoined the Phillies ready to prove he should be part of the Phillies' future
plans in the outfield. "I just want to see him play," Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin said before the game. "We want to see him play as
much as possible. So if he stays healthy, I'm going to keep running him out there.
That's what this year is all about. We're finding out about the guys that are
here. He is potentially an important part, so we want to see what he does. I'm
anxious to see what he does." Cody Asche and
Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel will continue to play in left field,
although Asche continues to receive the bulk of the playing time. He has
started 42 of the last 51 games in left field, but he has hit .094 (5-for-53)
in his last 17 games. "As I said earlier in the season, this is a very big
year for Cody to prove that he can be part of the future and he needs to step
it up," Mackanin said. "Goeddel needs to play. I need to play
Goeddel. I have to come to a conclusion so I can speak intelligently at the end
of the year about what I think, if Cody fits in, if Goeddel fits in, if [Jimmy]
Paredes fits in. But Asche and Goeddel, we have to know. I don't want to go
into Spring Training next year wondering. "After two or three years of
opportunities that should give you a pretty good indication whether a guy fits
or not. However, there's two months left in the season and anything can happen.
So I'm not discounting anybody." And things could become even more
complicated in terms of playing time, both in the outfield and infield, if
Triple-A shortstop J.P. Crawford and outfielder Nick Williams are promoted at some point. Mackanin
said the two prospects are "on the radar, but nothing has been determined
on whether they're coming or not. They don't want to send up a guy that might
not be ready." About the only thing certain is that Altherr will play a
lot. He missed too much time not to play. The Phillies placed Peter Bourjos on the 15-day disabled list with a
strained right shoulder to make room for Altherr on the 25-man roster.
Nola’s Mixed Results – Perhaps
the 'W' next to Aaron Nola's name
in the box score will help. He grinded through five innings Thursday night in a 7-5 victory over the Braves at Turner Field,
allowing eight hits, three runs, three walks, one hit batter and striking out
five in five innings. He threw 95 pitches, extending the first, second and
fourth innings after he had retired each of the two batters he faced. Still, he
got his first win since June 5. "It has been a while," Nola said. Pitchers
these days are not judged by wins because so much in a game is out of a
starting pitcher's hands. But while wins are not a true measuring stick of a
pitcher's worth, pitchers still like to see a good record next to their name. So
maybe this will get Nola moving in the right direction again because he has not
looked like himself for some time, including Thursday. Atlanta entered the game
with the worst offense in baseball, averaging 3.43 runs per game, but the
Braves reached base 12 times against Nola. "Fairly OK," he said, assessing
his performance. Nola has a 9.82 ERA in eight starts since he beat the Brewers
on June 5. He struggled so much in June and July that the Phillies skipped his
final start before the All-Star break. The Phillies breathed a sigh of relief
July 18, when he pitched six scoreless innings against the Marlins at Citizens
Bank Park. But Nola has allowed 14 hits, nine runs and five walks in nine
innings in two starts since. "He's not the same guy," Phillies manager
Pete Mackanin said. "He's just struggling with command once again. He's
not dotting his fastball like he normally does. His curveball is erratic. He
needs to get back on track." "I feel like I have the command for the
most part, but there's some areas I still need to get better at and work to get
better at," Nola said.
Mid-Season Prospect Rankings – The
Phillies entered the season with one of the top farm systems in baseball, and
that has not changed. MLB.com's midseason Top 100 prospect list,
released Thursday, includes five Phillies: shortstop J.P. Crawford (third
overall), outfielder Mickey Moniak (34th), outfielder Nick
Williams (62nd),
catcher Jorge
Alfaro (72nd)
and right-hander Jake
Thompson (73rd).
Only the Astros (seven) and Pirates (six) have more players in the top 100. The
Phillies had seven players in the preseason top 100, but right-hander Mark
Appel, outfielder Cornelius Randolph and outfielder Roman
Quinn dropped
out because of injuries. Moniak, whom the Phillies selected with the first
overall pick in the 2016 Draft, joined. The ranking of baseball's top prospects is completed by MLBPipeline.com Draft and prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum, who compile input
from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on
analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential
immediate impact to their teams. Only players with rookie status are eligible
for the list. The rankings follow the Collective Bargaining Agreement
guidelines for which players fall under the international pool money rules:
Players who were at least 23 years old when they signed and played in leagues
deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) are not eligible. Interestingly,
16 prospects in the Phillies' top 30 joined the organization since the Phillies
officially began their rebuilding process following the 2014 season. Nine of
the 16 joined via trade: Williams (ranked third in the organization), Alfaro
(fourth), Thompson (fifth), Appel (11th), right-hander Nick
Pivetta (18th),
right-hander Thomas Eshelman (19th), right-hander Ben
Lively (24th),
right-handerJimmy Cordero (26th)
and right-hander Alberto Tirado (30th).
Six came in the last two Drafts: Moniak (second), Randolph (sixth),
right-hander Kevin Gowdy (10th), second baseman Scott Kingery (14th), third
baseman Cole Stobbe (15th) and left-hander JoJo Romero (25th). One joined as an
amateur free agent: outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz (21st).
Today
In Phils History – It was Orlando Cepeda’s 1st career
homerun in 1961 that led the Giants to a victory over the Phillies who would go
on to lose the next 22 consecutive games. 4 years later, the Phillies Ray Culp
threw a 2 hit shutout against the Pirates while the two teams combined for 26
strikeouts. In 1974, Steve Carlton tossed a 2 hitter while Mike Schmidt
connected for 2 homeruns against the Pirates. A decade later, Juan Samuel and
Von Hayes became the 1st players in MLB history to hit back to back homeruns in
the first 2 at bats of the game. 4 years later, Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe
stole home against the Phillies. The following season, in 1989, the Phillies
retired Steve Carlton’s uniform number 32. In 2002, the Phillies parted ways
with former Rookie of the Year Scott Rolen as they traded him to the Cardinals
for Placido
Planco, Bud Smith, and Mike Timlin. 5 years later, Antonio Alfonseca recorded a
strikeout on a single pitch after entering the game for the injured Ryan
Madson. In 2009, the Phillies obtained Cliff Lee from the Indians. The
following season, the Phillies acquired Roy Oswalt from the Astros. Finally,
happy anniversary to Todd Pratt (1992) and Ricky Bottalico (1994) who made
their MLB debuts with the Phillies on this day.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 47-57 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 55-50-0 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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