GAME
RECAP: White Sox Wreck Phillies 9-1
Carlos Rodon has grown accustomed to winning ways.
The southpaw went from May 23 to Aug. 11 without a victory, but factoring in
his 6 2/3-inning shutout performance during a 9-1 trouncing of the Phillies on
Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox hurler has gone four
straight starts without a setback. In those four starts, Rodon has yielded four
earned runs on 19 hits over 24 2/3 innings, with 21 strikeouts and six walks.
He gave up three hits over 109 pitches against the Phillies. "It's all
about strike one and strike two. When you get ahead of guys and you've got good
stuff, you can beat 'em," Rodon said. "You can cause more contact
when you get ahead, you can just flip up there whatever you want when it's 1-2,
0-2. Omar [Narvaez] back there calling that game is huge. Just comfortable, got
on a roll and everything worked out." Phillies rookie Jake Thompson, who
entered with an 8.79 ERA, was hit early and often by the White Sox offense. The
team scored one in the first on Adam Eaton's triple
and Tim Anderson's
groundout, added three in the third and three more in the fifth, including
back-to-back homers from Jose Abreu and Justin Morneau. "I'm
not used to this," Thompson said. "The issue is pretty evident. I'm
not throwing strikes, and when I am throwing strikes, they're not good strikes.
It's coming back to the drawing board and figuring it out a little bit." Philadelphia
avoided the shutout when Freddy Galvis homered off of reliever Chris Beck with two outs in the seventh. Every
White Sox starter but Todd Frazier had at least one hit, as the White Sox
won a third straight game.
PHILS PHACTS:
- Thompson is
the No. 66 prospect in baseball according to MLBPipeline.com,
but his first four starts have been a nightmare. He allowed seven runs in
five innings against the White Sox. Thompson's 9.79 ERA is the
second-highest in franchise history among pitchers making four starts to
open a career. Only Mike Maddux is higher. He had a 9.98 ERA through his
first four starts in 1986. "I don't really have the answer right now
to fix it," Thompson said. "I feel I'm certainly a lot better
than my performance has indicated."
- Galvis hit
his 13th homer of the season, a towering shot to right field in the
seventh inning to keep the Phillies from a second consecutive shutout. "We're
not counting on Freddy to hit home runs for us, but he's got 13 now,"
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I feel like telling him to
start hitting home runs. We keep telling him not to and he keeps hitting
them."
- "How many guys do you see come to the big leagues at 22 years
old and just flat-out dominate every time they go out? There's not very
many. He's young. When you come up and you pitch so well all year and then
you finally get your opportunity, you want to impress. It puts a lot on
you. And as a kid, you've got to be able to control it, and it's tough,
it's hard. It's hard to go through. It's something that's going to make
him better when he does finally figure it out and overcomes some of the
rough patches he's having." -- Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp,
on Thompson.
- Thompson appeared to pick off Anderson at first base in the fifth,
but first-base umpire John Tumpane called him safe. First baseman Tommy Joseph immediately
signaled to the Phillies' bench to challenge the play. The replay official
agreed with Joseph and overturned the call, crediting Thompson with a
pickoff.
NEXT
GAME:
Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (8-12, 3.91 ERA) will be trying to
straighten out a few things Wednesday night (8:10 ET) against the White Sox. He
has been one of the team's most reliable starters this season, but he has a
5.60 ERA in three starts this month.
PHILS PHACTS:
Still
Searching – Jake Thompson needs answers and he needs them badly.
Right now, he is coming up empty. Thompson got hit hard again Wednesday night
in a 9-1 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular
Field. He allowed seven runs in five innings as he fell to 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA
through four big league starts. He is tied with Alec Asher for the second-highest ERA in
franchise history for a pitcher who started his first four big league games. Only
Mike Maddux fared worse. He posted a 9.98 ERA through four starts in 1986. "I
don't really have the answer right now to fix it," Thompson said. "I
feel I'm certainly a lot better than my performance has indicated." Certainly
Thompson had been billed as much better than this, ranking as the Phillies' fifth-best prospect and No. 66 across
baseball. A key piece in the Cole Hamels trade
with Texas in July 2015, Thompson went 8-0 with a 1.21 ERA in his final 11
starts this year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, solidifying his status as one of
the top pitching prospects in baseball. He struck out 42 and walked 18 in 74
1/3 innings with the IronPigs. But in 19 1/3 innings with the Phillies, he has
allowed 22 hits, 21 runs, 13 walks and five home runs. He has struck out 13. He
has retired the side in order just five times in the 20 innings he has started.
He threw first-pitch strikes to just 11 of the 25 White Sox batters he faced. "I'm
not used to this," Thompson said. "The issue is pretty evident. I'm
not throwing strikes, and when I am throwing strikes, they're not good strikes.
It's coming back to the drawing board and figuring it out a little bit." Phillies
manager Pete Mackanin said he expects Thompson to remain in the rotation,
adding that he needs to speak with general manager Matt Klentak about it. But
Mackanin is concerned that if Thompson keeps pitching and struggling, he could
lose his confidence, which could set him back. "He looks like a confident
kid, but at some point it doesn't always mean he has that confidence just
because he looks confident," Mackanin said. "You know, he's 22 years
old and this is a big event in his life." Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp agrees. "How many guys do you see
come to the big leagues at 22 years old and just flat-out dominate every time
they go out?" he said. "There's not very many. He's young. It was his
first time in Triple-A this year and he pitched really well, and now he's got a
chance in the big leagues. I'm sure he feels like there's pressure. When you
come up and you pitch so well all year and then you finally get your
opportunity, you want to impress. It puts a lot on you. And as a kid, you've
got to be able to control it, and it's tough, it's hard. It's hard to go
through. It's something that's going to make him better when he does finally
figure it out and overcomes some of the rough patches he's having."
Long
Shot – Do not expect another round of Tebowmania in Philadelphia. But,
the Phillies will have a scout at former college football star Tim Tebow's
workout Aug. 30 in Los Angeles. Tebow, who failed to make the Eagles as a
backup quarterback last summer, has not played baseball since his junior year
of high school, in 2005. With NFL teams no longer interested in him, Tebow now
hopes to pick up a bat and begin a professional baseball career. It would be
stunning if the Phillies actually signed Tebow, who just turned 29. Their
presence at his workout likely is a matter of due diligence.
Relief
On The Way? – The Phillies are expected to promote a handful of players once
the 25-man roster expands on Sept. 1. But don't expect those promotions
to come all at once. "We'll probably do callups in stages," Phillies
general manager Matt Klentak said Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field. "A few
guys on the first just to make sure this team is covered, but not so many that
we deplete the Double-A and Triple-A teams who are playing meaningful games.
When their seasons end, that's another stage. But it's not going to be everybody
arrives on the first." The Phillies could call up relievers like Luis Garcia, Dalier Hinojosa and Colton Murray on Sept. 1 to help the bullpen.
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Tuesday that he is looking for a couple
more relievers to prevent Hector Neris, who
leads the big leagues with 63 appearances, and Jeanmar Gomez from being overused. Right-hander Alec Asher seems likely to make an appearance in
September. His 80-game suspension for testing positive for
performance-enhancing drugs ends Sept. 5, the final day of the IronPigs'
regular season. Asher is not eligible to compete in the Minor League
postseason. In terms of prospects, catcher Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Roman Quinn already are on the 40-man roster,
which helps their chances. They could be up once Double-A Reading's season is
finished. Triple-A outfielder Nick Williams seemed like a smart bet at one point,
but he has hit .192 with four home runs, 19 RBIs and a .551 OPS in 132 plate
appearances since July 15. He is not on the 40-man roster. Triple-A shortstop J.P. Crawford, ranked as the
club's top prospect, is not
expected to be promoted. Infielder Andres Blanco will rejoin the team at some point. He
is recovering from a broken left finger. First baseman Darin Ruf,
right-hander David Buchanan and outfielders Cody Asche and Darnell Sweeney also
are on the 40-man roster.
Today
In Phils History – The Phillies and Cubs set a NL record in 1905 when
it took 20 innings for the game to be decided with both pitchers going the
distance in the Phillies loss. Pitcher George McQuillan was suspended in 1910
despite a winning record and sub 2.00 ERA by manager Red Dooin for being out of
shape. Cy Williams hit for the cycle in a Phillies loss against the Pirates in
1922 winning him $100 courtesy of a Pirate sponsor after nearly breaking a
clock beyond the right field wall. In 1979, the Phillies retired Richie Ashburn’s
uniform number (1) before Steve Carltons complete game win over the Astros. 2
years later, the Phillies released John Vukovich. Today is also the day when
Juan Samuel made his major league debut with the Phillies in 1983. 8 years
later, in 1991, Mitch Williams picked up his 8th win of the month
tying the club record for pitchers and setting a new MLB record for relievers. In
2010, after Ryan Howard was ejected for flipping his bat following a strikeout
in extra innings, Raul Ibanez moves to 1B and Roy Oswalt enters the game in LF
where he makes a routine play but also, batting in the clean up spot, strikes
out to end the game. 3 years later, the Phillies set a record for the longest
game in team history after an 18 inning, 7 hour 14 minute marathon which saw
two position players (Casper Wells and John McDonald) take the mound. 2 years
ago, Jerome Williams picked up his 2nd career RBI on a safety
squeeze over a decade after collecting his 1st setting a new MLB
record for the longest span between RBI (4,000 days).
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 58-68 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 47-62-1 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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