GAME
RECAP: Braves Edge Phillies 2-1
A 24-minute rain delay cut Jerad Eickhoff's
impressive start short on Sunday at Turner Field, and the Phillies ultimately
paid the price, as Jeff Francoeur's
two-run homer in the seventh inning propelled the Braves to a 2-1 win and a
series split. "It was nice," said Francoeur about his homer. "I
got a pitch up in the zone. I put a couple good swings on the first few. The
first one, if I'm in Philly, I've got a homer. But this was a good win for us.
When you have an opportunity to split the series, you want to, but especially
when you've got [Joel] De La Cruz going 50 pitches." Eickhoff picked up
right where he left off in his start against the Marlins on Tuesday, allowing
no runners to reach base until Jace Peterson broke up the right-hander's perfect
outing with a leadoff single in the fourth inning. Eickhoff didn't allow the
base hit to deter him, however, as he retired five of the next six batters he
faced before the rain delay in the middle of the sixth ended his day after just
51 pitches. "It was definitely unfortunate," Eickhoff said. "I
was looking to get right back out there. I had some quick innings. I think I
had a relatively low pitch count. It was frustrating. But you can only control
what you can control." With Eickhoff out of the game, Atlanta took
advantage. Nick Markakis reached base on a one-out single in
the seventh before Francoeur hit his seventh home run of the season in the
ensuing at-bat to give his team a 2-0 lead. Jimmy Paredes led off the top of the eighth with his
third homer of the year, but the Braves held on to improve to 5-8 vs.
Philadelphia this year.
PHILS PHACTS:
- With his two-run homer on Sunday, Francoeur notched his fourth home
run in his previous 45 at-bats. The blast marked his only hit of the
contest, as the outfielder is batting just .196 (9-for-46) with 19
strikeouts over his past 14 games. Despite his average, though,
Francoeur's recent knack for the long ball and his leadership skills could
still make him a possible trade target before Monday's non-waiver Trade
Deadline. "[It was] a big hit," said Peterson about
Francoeur's homer. "He's a guy who comes to the clubhouse every day
the same guy. He keeps the energy up, and we know in those situations he's
the guy we want at the plate. He's down 0-2 there, [Andrew Bailey] leaves one over the middle and Frenchy was
able to poke it out."
- The Phillies managed just five hits against the Braves, and it was
a rough week for the middle of their lineup. Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph batted 2-3-4 for most of the four-game series, but they hit a
combined .149 (7-for-47) with two home runs and six RBIs. They were a
combined 2-for-11 on Sunday.
- Phillies right-hander Bailey allowed the two-run homer
to Francoeur in the seventh. Bailey has a 10.43 ERA (17 earned runs in 14
2/3 innings) in his last 15 appearances after posting a 3.06 ERA in his
first 18. "I'm battling some things, obviously," Bailey said.
"I felt like I made some good pitches that inning. It's just kind of
the way it's going for me right now. Clearly, I'm struggling. It's
frustrating to be going through this, especially when Eick's start gets
cut short. They needed me to step up and throw a zero. There's nothing to
do but keep working and grinding it out. Got to finish strong for
sure."
- "I thought it was more important to get him out of there and
not take any chances. He sat for a half an hour. You know, the rest of the
pitchers have a job to do. They've got to do their job. They're getting
paid. It's as simple as that." -- Mackanin, on the decision
to pull Eickhoff following the rain delay.
- The Phillies went 4-6 on their road trip through Pittsburgh, Miami
and Atlanta. They hit just .151 (13-for-86) with runners in scoring
position.
- Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp is quietly putting up
some of the better numbers among catchers in baseball. He entered Sunday
with a .797 OPS, which ranked fourth among 21 qualified catchers. Giants
catcher Buster Posey ranked third (.803 OPS).
- The Giants are happy to leave July behind. They entered
Sunday with a 10-13 mark in July, making it their worst month of the
season.
- Giants infielder Eduardo Nunez went 2-for-5 with two
runs and a stolen base Saturday in his first start with his new team.
Since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920, the only other Giants to
drive in two runs and steal a base in their first start for the Giants are
Johnny Vergez (1931 at Philadelphia) and Fran Healy (1971 vs. Cubs).
NEXT
GAME:
The last time Giants
ace Madison Bumgarner faced the Phillies, he allowed three runs in 6 1/3
innings in a loss at AT&T Park in June. Bumgarner (10-6, 2.09 ERA) hopes for
better results Tuesday night against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, where
the teams open a three-game series. Bumgarner is 4-3 with a 3.27 ERA in eight
career starts against the Phillies. He faces Phillies rookie Zach Eflin (3-4,
4.23 ERA). Eflin allowed seven runs in five innings last week in a loss to the
Marlins in Miami, but he had a 2.08 ERA in his previous seven starts, including
a shutout on July 22 against the Pirates.
PHILS PHACTS:
Things Happen – The
Phillies packed their bags for their flight to Philadelphia on Sunday evening
with almost everybody secure they would be at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday. But
some players had to wonder. The Phillies lost Sunday to the Braves at Turner
Field, 2-1,
to fall to 48-59. They have players that could help contending teams in the
final two months of the season, and Monday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade
Deadline is fast approaching. So far, the Phillies have not struck a single deal,
but they have been talking to numerous teams about numerous possibilities. The
Phillies and Rangers have been in serious talks about Vince
Velasquez, although sources told MLB.com that a deal is
unlikely. Velasquez is not going to let trade rumors ruin his day off Monday. "I'll
be on the golf course," he said. "But I'll have my phone with
me." MLB Network's Jon Paul Morosi reported Sunday that the Orioles and
Giants remain frontrunners for Jeremy
Hellickson. Other teams are also interested. "I
think we will make some changes," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said,
"but I haven't talked with [general manager] Matt [Klentak] about it.
We've touched on it briefly, but I haven't talked specifically. I'm sure
tomorrow I'll talk with him about that and see what he has in mind. "We
have to wait for the Trade Deadline to pass. Then I think he'll be willing to
do some things out of necessity." Phillies closer Jeanmar
Gomez figured
to have some value. Peter
Bourjos could
have been traded this month, but a stint on the disabled list with a strained
right shoulder scuttled those chances. Others, like Carlos
Ruiz and David
Hernandez, are available. "I'm trying not to think
about it," Ruiz said. "I'm doing my best to help this team win.
Whatever happens, happens. Maybe I'll stay here, who knows?" Ruiz has full
no-trade rights, so he could reject any deal. But he also would love to compete
for another World Series ring, something that will not happen this season in
Philadelphia. "I would like to taste the playoffs again," Ruiz said.
Velasquez, Hellickson and other Phillies will learn their fate no later than 4
p.m. on Monday.
A Bruised Target – For
those contenders out there in need of starting pitching, Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson said his right hand felt better Sunday
morning. He bruised the palm of his hand when he got jammed on a pitch while
batting in the fifth inning in Saturday's 9-5 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.
Hellickson had trouble gripping his curveball in the sixth inning and
eventually had to leave the game, making it the first time since June 4 that he
didn't pitch at least six innings. "I'll be all right," Hellickson
said. Hellickson said the rest between starts should have him ready to go
before his next outing, which is scheduled for Friday against the Padres at
Petco Park. Of course, he could be pitching somewhere else by then. The
non-waiver Trade Deadline is at 4 p.m. ET Monday, and MLB Network's Jon Paul
Morosi reported Sunday afternoon that the Orioles and Giants remain among the
top contenders for Hellickson. Baltimore and San Francisco have been following
the Phillies for some time. But other teams like the Blue Jays, Tigers and
Marlins have scouted Hellickson's starts in recent weeks, too.
Today
In Phils History – In 1950, Curt Simmons became the 1st MLB
player drafted into military service as he would be deployed to Korea. 3 years
later, Warren Spahn 1 hits the Phillies with Richie Ashburn recording the only
hit of the day. In a complete game effort, Robin Roberts earned his 200th
career win on this day in 1958. In 1966, Dick Allen hit a walk off inside the
park homerun against the Astros as Jim Wynn broke his arm and was knocked unconscious
when he crashed into the wall trying to make the play. 5 years later, the
Phillies eventually lost the game against the Cardinals when it was resumed on
September 7th after having been delayed 3 times by rain, postponed,
and stretched to 13 innings. The following season, the Phillies dropped the 1st
game of a double header in the 18th inning against the Mets at Shea
Stadium but won the second game despite Steve Carlton’s scoreless streak coming
to an end at 30 innings (the first game was over 2.5 hours while the second was
less than 2 hours). In 1996, Scott Rolen doubled in his 2nd at bat
in his MLB debut in the 1st game of a double header against the
Cardinals. Desi Relaford also made his MLB debut that day. Despite surrendering
a hit to the first batter he faces, Randy Wolf still retired 3 Cubs on 3 pitches
on this day in 2004. Finally, happy birthday to Gregg Jeffries (1967), Greg
Gross (1952), and Pete Mackanin (1951).
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 48-59 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 63-42-0 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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