GAME
RECAP: Cards Outlast Phils 4-3
Randal Grichuk does not want to get sent back to the
Minors -- and he's playing like it.
Jhonny Peralta led
off the 11th inning by hammering a double into left. An out later, Grichuk
followed with a two-bagger of his own, driving home Peralta and giving the
Cardinals a 4-3 lead that St. Louis top prospect -- per MLBPipeline.com -- Alex Reyes closed out in the bottom half of the
inning on Friday at Citizens Bank Park, earning his first career save. The win
was the Cardinals' fifth in a row and gave them a two-game lead over Pittsburgh
for the second National League Wild Card spot. The double was Grichuk's third
hit of the game. He finished a triple shy of the cycle after homering down the
left-field line in the second and adding a single in the fifth. He's hit safely
in all seven games he's played in since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis,
driving in nine in that span. "We all know what he's capable of
doing," Cardinals second baseman Jedd Gyorko said.
"He's just got to get a little more consistent. As far as talent or stuff
like that, you're not going to find someone with more talent than what he's
got. He's just going to keep getting better and better. He's gonna be a guy we
rely on going down the stretch here." Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez allowed a two-run, game-tying blast
off the bat of Gyorko in the ninth inning to blow his fourth save of the year
and erase a stellar outing from Adam Morgan, who
outdueled Adam Wainwright,
tossing six innings of one-run ball. Odubel Herrera and Freddy Galvis led off the sixth with back-to-back
blasts to open up a 3-1 Phillies lead off Wainwright. The dingers followed
Wainwright's complaint about the mound condition after he slipped delivering a
pitch to Herrera. He wasn't the same after the grounds crew manicured the
mound. After the homers, Wainwright issued walks to Aaron Altherr and Ryan Howard but he escaped, erasing Altherr on a
double play and Howard on a caught-stealing. "We just didn't capitalize on
scoring opportunities," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We had
our chances. A man on third base with less than two outs twice. We couldn't get
him in. We couldn't make contact." Overcoming home runs and mound
troubles, Wainwright tossed his first quality start after four tries. He got
back on track with six innings of three-run ball against the Phillies after
having given up six and seven runs, respectively, in his last two starts. "I'm
still not where I want to be," Wainwright said. "I'm patiently,
slash, impatiently waiting on my good stuff to come. I know it will come. But
today was significantly better than last time out for sure."
PHILS PHACTS:
- Mackanin said before the game that Morgan "has to
start doing something" to keep a job in the big leagues, pointing to
his 1-7 record and 6.62 ERA heading into the game. Morgan delivered, and
he allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings for the first time in
nine starts, dating to May 21 against Atlanta. "I don't really want
to look at it that way," Morgan said, asked if he considers these
final few weeks make-or-break for him. "I just want to take advantage
of the opportunity. I feel like once you start looking back, like, 'Oh,
gosh, I've really got to do good here to stay in the big leagues,' I feel
like the mind wanders. It's pretty simple. I'm trying to take advantage of
the opportunity and give the team a chance to win every time I go
out."
- Gomez has been one of the Phillies' best stories of the
season, beginning the season as a middle reliever only to become their
closer in early April. He entered the game having saved 32 games in 35
opportunities, but he could not put away Gyorko in an eight pitch at-bat
in the ninth. "He hung a split to Gyorko," Mackanin said.
"It was center cut. He's been so good for us this whole year. He's
been very good for us. I can't fault him."
- Dating back to Aug. 5, the Phillies have homered in 13 consecutive
games for the first time since homering in 14 straight games from May
27-June 9, 2013. The team has 19 homers in those 13 games.
- Tommy Joseph,
pinch-hitting for Howard, ripped a ball into the left-center-field gap off Kevin
Siegrist in
the eighth inning and stretched a single into a double, at least
initially, after he was called safe on Grichuk's throw. The Cardinals
challenged, and after a two-and-a-half minute review, the call was
overturned. "It was so close," Joseph said. "I felt myself
hit the bag with Kolten [Wong] tagging right away. That was a tough
play."
- Matheny challenged for a second time in the ninth inning on a
tailor-made double-play ball. The Phillies didn't turn two, but Matheny
challenged that Emmanuel Burriss's foot came off second. It did not, the umpires confirmed.
- The Phillies challenged a call that Stephen Piscotty was hit by a
pitch in the 10th inning, but the replay official confirmed the call.
NEXT
GAME:
Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65 ERA) returns to the mound
Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Cardinals after tweaking his back Aug. 10
at Dodger Stadium. Hellickson had been scheduled to pitch this Wednesday
against the Dodgers in Philadelphia, but the Phillies pushed back his start a
few days to make sure his back was healthy. He said it is.
PHILS PHACTS:
Making
His Case – Pete Mackanin did not mince words Friday afternoon when asked if
Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan needed to prove he belongs in the big
leagues. "That might be a question that doesn't need to be asked,"
the manager said. "Darn right, he has to do something." Mackanin
pointed to Morgan's 1-7 record and 6.62 ERA entering Friday night's 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals at
Citizens Bank Park. Morgan lost a Spring Training competition to be the team's
fifth starter, but when he was promoted in April to replace Charlie Morton, who
suffered a season-ending groin injury, he struggled. He recently rejoined the
rotation to replace Zach Eflin, who had season-ending knee surgery Friday. "He has to start doing
something," Mackanin said. "One and seven with a six ERA is not good.
I think he's better than that, but he has to start showing it. It's cut and
dried." Morgan delivered against the Cardinals and stood in line for the
win until Jeanmar Gomez blew his fourth save of the season in
the ninth. Morgan allowed five hits, one run, two walks and struck out three in
six-plus innings. "I was thrilled about the way Morgan pitched,"
Mackanin said afterward. "He looked almost masterful with his changeup,
keeping them off balance." It was the first time since May 21 that Morgan
allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings, when he allowed two runs in
six innings against the Braves. He went 0-5 with a 7.65 ERA in eight starts in
between. "I don't really want to look at it that way," Morgan said,
asked if he considers these final few weeks make-or-break for him. "I just
want to take advantage of the opportunity. I feel like once you start looking
back, like, 'Oh, gosh, I've really got to do good here to stay in the big
leagues,' I feel like the mind wanders. It's pretty simple. I'm trying to take
advantage of the opportunity and give the team a chance to win every time I go
out."
Unable
To Close The Door – Jeanmar Gomez has been one of the Phillies' best
stories this season. He entered the year as a middle reliever and only out of
desperation became the team's closer in early April. He took to the job
surprisingly well and entered Friday night's 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals at
Citizens Bank Park having saved 32 games in 35 opportunities. But Gomez blew
his fourth save in the ninth inning when Cardinals shortstop Jedd Gyorko hit a game-tying, two-run home run to
left field. Gyorko fouled off three consecutive pitches before hitting the
eighth pitch from Gomez -- an 86-mph splitter -- out of the park. Gomez left
the clubhouse immediately after the game, which has happened before following
blown saves, so he could not discuss Gyorko's at-bat. "He hung a split to
Gyorko," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "It was center cut.
He's been so good for us this whole year. He's been very good for us. I can't
fault him." Gomez certainly has been solid this season, but his long-term
future as the Phillies' closer will be interesting to watch. One reason the
Phillies received little to no interest in him before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline
-- despite numerous teams needing bullpen help -- is that he does not miss
enough bats. Teams love power arms in the bullpen, but Gomez entered the game
getting swings and misses on only 6.8 percent of his pitches, which ranked
215th out of 228 pitchers who have thrown 50 or more innings this season,
according to FanGraphs. His 5.98 strikeouts-per-nine innings average ranked
207th. That argument has many people thinking setup man Hector Neris could be the Phillies' closer at some
point. Neris gets swings and misses on 15.6 percent of his pitches, which
ranked seventh in baseball. He averages 11.26 strikeouts per nine innings,
which ranked 14th. Neris struck out Tommy Pham on three pitches to start the eighth. Stephen Piscotty grounded out on the first pitch for
the second out, and Matt Carpenter flied out on the first pitch for the
third out to end the inning. Five pitches, three outs. Impressive. "Neris
threw a heck of a good inning," Mackanin said. They needed another one in
the ninth.
Tattered
Rotation – The Phillies will enter the offseason hoping that two of their
top young pitchers will be healthy and ready to pitch by Spring Training. The
team announced Friday afternoon that right-hander Zach Eflin had season-ending surgery to repair
the patellar tendon in his right knee. He will be immobilized for the next six
weeks, which will allow a stress fracture in his right foot to heal. Eflin is
expected to have the same surgery on his left knee in six weeks. "It seems
like that's where it's headed," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said
about the second surgery. "If everything proceeds according to plan, he
should be no problem for Spring Training. We'll see. "The hope here is
that it's going to alleviate the problem and that he's not going to have to
deal with it. And in just talking candidly with Zach last night, while not
excited to undergo the knife today, he was pretty excited about the possibility
of coming to Spring Training next year pain-free for the first time in his
life." Eflin, 22, said he has had knee problems since he was 10 or 11
years old, a problem the Phillies said they have known since they acquired him
from the Dodgers in December 2014 in the Jimmy Rollins trade. But they also said they also
did not believe two knee surgeries were an eventuality. "There was not an
imminent surgery looming when we talked about Zach Eflin in Spring Training,
for example," Klentak said. "But we know that it's something he's
battled and knew it was a possibility that one day this would come, but didn't
know if or when, specifically." Before the Phillies placed Eflin on
the 60-day disabled list, they placed right-hander Aaron Nola on
the 60-day DL on Wednesday because of a low grade sprain of his UCL and a low
grade strain of his flexor pronator tendon. He received a PRP injection into
the elbow Monday. Nola will not throw for four weeks. The Phillies hope to see
improvement at that time. They said surgery for Nola is not a consideration at
this point. "Would we like all these guys to pitch a full season and reach
certain benchmarks and accomplish all their goals? Well, yeah," Klentak
said. "We want that for all of our players. A lot of our guys have made a
lot of progress this year. Injuries to pitchers, that's part of how baseball
works." The Phillies acquired Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton last winter to stabilize an inexperienced
rotation. Hellickson could return next season, if the Phillies make him a
qualifying offer and he surprises them and accepts it. But even if Hellickson
returns, it seems likely the Phillies will acquire another veteran starter in
the offseason. "I think that's the plan," Phillies manager Pete
Mackanin said. "I think that's what we have to do. We have to make at
least some progress for next year and you know, the younger guys, they have to
do something to get promoted. We're not going to run guys up here if we don't
think they're ready. So it's going to be interesting to see what happens over
the winter and then what happens in the spring." Eflin went 3-5 with a
5.54 ERA in 11 starts. He got hit hard in his big league debut against the Blue
Jays in June. He posted a 2.08 ERA in seven consecutive starts from June
19-July 22 before posting a 13.85 ERA in his final three starts. "I'm not
overly concerned about Nola ,and I'm not concerned about Eflin, because he's
had that for a long time, and I think with it behind him now and getting it
taken care of, he's got to feel good about that," Mackanin said. "I
expect him to be 100 percent, probably better than this year. Nola, time will
tell. Perhaps the time off will really help him."
Likely
To Stay – Chase Utley enjoyed an unforgettable homecoming
this week at Citizens Bank Park, and the way Ryan Howard has played lately, he could receive an
even warmer farewell in a few weeks, too. Howard opened the season in a platoon
with Darin Ruf, but he
moved into a reserve role following the arrival of Tommy Joseph in May. Howard hit .148 with 11 home
runs, 25 RBIs and a .555 OPS in 208 plate appearances through July 1, but he
has hit .338 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.116 OPS in 71 plate appearances
since. "If he keeps hitting like he's hitting, somebody's going to want
him," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I'm happy for him. I like
him. I never expected Howie to be my best friend while he was going through
[the benching]. It's not fun doing that kind of thing, but the bottom line is I
pull for him. He's a great guy. I'd like to see him succeed and go on and play
as long as he wants to play. I'm hoping it works for him." Howard was a
topic of conversation Friday after Major League Baseball cleared him and
Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of any wrongdoing following an
investigation of the Al Jazeera documentary "The Dark Side" that
claimed in December that Howard and Zimmerman took performance-enhancing drugs.
"I'm happy it's over," Howard said. "It's something that weighs
on you, when you get stuff like that. I'm happy to put it behind me and keep
going." But Howard, despite his recent play, is expected to finish the
season with the Phillies. The Phillies might see more value in having the
iconic first baseman finish the year with them and continue to mentor the
team's young players than give him to a contender for a miniscule return. That
said, the Phillies are expected to exercise the $10 million buyout on Howard's
$25 million club option for next season. "Until somebody is not in our
uniform, I always expect they're going to be here the next day," Phillies
general manager Matt Klentak said. Like Mackanin, Klentak also is happy to see
Howard turn around his season. "I know especially early in the year, it
was a trying year for him," Klentak said. "To see the way that he has
handled all of that, and continued to grind, continued to work hard and to earn
the playing time and now to be performing as well as he is for the last month
or so, it's a really good story. If this is in fact Ryan's last year in
Philadelphia, he's helping to write a nice end to it."
Welcome
Back – Infielder Emmanuel Burriss rejoined the Phillies on Friday after
the team optioned Taylor
Featherston to
Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies made room for Burriss on the 40-man roster
when they placed Zach Eflin on the 60-day disabled list following surgery on his right knee. Featherston
hit .115 (3-for-26) with one double, one RBI, two walks and 11 strikeouts in 19
games with Philadelphia. Burriss hit .121 (4-for-33) with one double, one
triple, one walk and seven strikeouts in 27 games earlier this season. Phillies
second baseman Cesar Hernandez did not start for the second
consecutive game after fouling a ball off his foot earlier this week. "We
did give him an X-ray on the foot just to rule out any fractures, and there are
no fractures," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. "He should
be available if we need him, we're just trying to give him some extra
rest."
Today
In Phils History – The Phillies welcomed back George McQuillan
on this day in 1915. In 1951, Richie Ashburn recorded 8 hits in a double header
(still the last Phillie to accomplish the feat). 4 years later, following a
complete game shutout the day before, the Phillies brought in Robin Roberts in
the 9th inning to face Dodgers pinch hitting pitcher Don Newcombe. The
Phillies snapped a 23 game losing streak with a win over the Braves on this day
in 1961. The Phillies picked up, via trade, Al Oliver on this day in 1984. 2
years later, Juan Samuel became the second player in franchise history to score
the only run in an extra inning game via homerun when he took that night’s
starter Mike Krukow deep in the 10th.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 57-66 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-57-1 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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