GAME
RECAP: National Edge Phillies 5-4
Maybe manager Dusty Baker said it best: Trea
Turner is a
difference-maker. The rookie center fielder proved it once again at Nationals
Park on Friday night, when he clubbed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the
ninth to lead the Nationals over the Phillies, 5-4. Washington's magic number
dwindled to 14 to win the National League East. The second-place Mets defeated
the Braves, 6-4. With the score tied at 4, Turner battled reliever Frank
Herrmann for
nine pitches. Turner connected on a 1-2 fastball and hit the ball over the
center-field fence to end the game. It was also his second home run of the
night. "I finally got a pitch up in the zone. I put the barrel on
it," Turner said. "I'm still laughing at how it ended up over the
fence. I felt good." Turner now has eight home runs in 223 at-bats. He had
only six home runs in 331 at-bats with Triple-A Syracuse this year. Baker had
nothing but praise for his center fielder. "Keep it coming. The sky's the
limit. He is probably doing some things that even amazes himself," the
skipper said. "He just let it flow and let it be. He is playing an
outstanding center field. His first two-homer game, his first walk-off homer
game. This one he will remember for a long time." The Nationals blew a
three-run lead before Turner's homer ended the game. The score was tied at 1
when the Nationals took the lead in the sixth inning off Philadelphia starter Jake
Thompson. After Daniel
Murphy doubled
with one out, Bryce Harper singled to right field, sending Murphy
home. An inning later, Phillies right-hander Colton
Murray was
on the mound when Turner hit a two-run homer to give Washington a three-run
lead. But Washington's lead didn't last long. In the eighth inning, Koda
Glover allowed
a three run homer to Cameron
Rupp to tie
the score at four. "That kid Turner is a good-looking player,"
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
PHILS PHACTS:
- He did not get the win and he did not pitch six
innings, but Thompson continues to make strides following a rough start to
his big league career. He had a 9.78 ERA after his first four starts, and
he was unable to pitch more than five innings in any of them. But after he
allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Nationals, Thompson has a
2.33 ERA (five earned runs in 19 1/3 innings) in his last three. "I
thought I had it," Thompson said.
- Rupp belted a game-tying, three-run homer to
left-center field in the eighth inning. Rupp has struggled lately since
hitting .278 with 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 38 RBIs and an
.831 OPS through Aug. 5. In fact, he had hit a mere .185 with two doubles,
one home run, seven RBIs and a .515 OPS in his previous 71 plate
appearances, entering the game. Perhaps this shot gets him back on track. "I
was ready for it," Rupp said. "I would say I sold myself on
getting a fastball there."
- "I thought about hitting [Tommy] Joseph there or [Darin] Ruf,
someone to maybe hit a home run, but my biggest concern was going 14
innings and having to go to those guys. That would be the worst-case
scenario for me." -- Mackanin, on Herrmann
hitting in the ninth. Mackanin said he hit Herrmann there because
relievers Edubray
Ramos, Hector
Neris and Jeanmar
Gomez have
pitched too much recently.
- Herrera left the game in the fifth inning with a bruised right leg
after Roark hit him with a pitch in fourth. X-rays were negative. He is
day to day.
NEXT
GAME:
Right-hander Jared Eickhoff (10-13, 3.86 ERA)
faces the Nationals on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series
at Nationals Park. He has pitched six innings in each of his last four starts,
allowing three or fewer runs in each of his last three.
PHILS PHACTS:
Rupp Goes Deep – Cameron
Rupp needed
that one. He mashed a game-tying, three-run home run to left-center field in
the eighth inning Friday night in a 5-4
loss to the Nationals at Nationals Park.
The 2-0 fastball from Nationals reliever Koda Glover left Rupp's bat at 106 mph
and traveled a projected 420 feet, according to Statcast™. But it looked
like it traveled faster and farther than it did. He crushed it. "I was
ready for it," Rupp said. "I would say I sold myself on getting a
fastball there." Rupp hopes the shot reverses his fortunes following a
rough few weeks. He had hit .278 with 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 38
RBIs and an .831 OPS in 283 plate appearances through Aug. 5, making him one of
the most productive catchers in baseball this season. But he has struggled
since then. He entered Friday night hitting .185 with two doubles, one home
run, seven RBIs and a .515 OPS in his last 71 plate appearances. "I just
hit one of those spots," Rupp said. "It's part of the game. At some
point every hitter goes through it. It took me a little longer to get out of
it. It was a little frustrating at times. I got away from myself a little bit
and finally found my approach again and got back to getting the ball in the
zone and putting a good swing on it." Said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin:
"He's pulling off the ball. I talked earlier about how he changed his
approach at the plate and changed his swing path. Well, he was reverting back
to his old swing path. That's common for players to do. When you do something
one way your whole life you kind of creep back to it little by little. But he
put a charge into that one." But Rupp never needed to worry too much. He
solidified himself as the team's No. 1 catcher with his strong play through
early August. Even with his recent struggles, he still ranks seventh out of 20
catchers in OPS, making him the projected Opening Day starter behind the plate
next season. "You've got to have success in this game to keep your
job," Rupp said. "It was nice to get off to a good start, but I
really can't worry about that. I've got to stick with my strengths and worry
about pitch selection and calling games and working with the pitchers and just
let the offense happen."
Herrera Out – Phillies
center fielder Odubel
Herrera left
Friday night's 5-4
loss to the Nationals with a bruised
right leg. Nationals right-hander Tanner
Roark drilled
Herrera in the leg with a pitch in the fourth inning. Herrera stayed in the
game, but Aaron
Altherr replaced
him in the top of the fifth inning as a pinch-hitter. Phillies manager Pete
Mackanin said after the game that X-rays on Herrera's leg were negative. He is
day to day. Herrera doubled in his first-inning at-bat against Roark. He is
hitting .278 with 16 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 42 RBIs in 139
games this season.
Minor Awards – Dylan
Cozens and Rhys Hoskins had two of the best seasons in Minor League baseball
this year. So the Phillies on Friday announced both Double-A Reading sluggers
earned the organization's Paul Owens Award for its top position players. It is
the third time two players won the Paul Owens Award in the same season, and
first since 1997, whenJimmy Rollins and Jeff Key won it. Triple-A Lehigh
Valley right-hander Ben
Lively earned
the Paul Owens Award as the organization's top pitcher. Cozens, 22, hit .276
with 38 doubles, three triples, 40 home runs, 125 RBIs, 61 walks, 21 stolen
bases, 106 runs scored and a .591 slugging percentage. He led the Minors in
home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits (81) and total bases (308). Cozens, who the
Phillies selected in the second round of the 2012 Draft, set the Reading single-season
home run record and is just the second Phillies' Minor Leaguer since 1963 to
hit 40 or more homers in a season. Ryan
Howard hit
46 in 2004. The outfielder also earned the Eastern League MVP Award and earned
a spot on the MLB Futures Game roster. Hoskins, 23, hit .281 with 26 doubles, 38
home runs, 116 RBIs, 71 walks, eight stolen bases, 95 runs and a .566 slugging
percentage. He had three multi-homer games and seven games with four or more
RBIs. Hoskins ranked second in the Minor Leagues in home runs, third in RBIs
and total bases (282) and tied for ninth in extra-base hits (65) and
runs. The Phillies selected the first baseman in the fifth round of the
2014 Draft. "The hardest thing to develop is power, and the hardest thing
to find is a run-producing bat," Phillies player development director Joe
Jordan said in a statement. "We feel like both of these guys are going to
be that. It has been a fantastic experience to watch them, and the reward was
seeing them develop as players. We couldn't have drawn it up any better. I
think both of them should be a bright part of our future." Lively, 24,
went a combined 18-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP (42 walks, 118 hits), 139
strikeouts and a .192 opponents' batting average in 170 2/3 innings with
Reading and Lehigh Valley. He is the first Minor Leaguer to win 18 games in a
season since Colorado's Jhoulys
Chacin in
2008. Lively led the International League in WHIP and opponents' batting
average and finished second in ERA. Lively, who won Reds' Minor League Player
of the Year in 2014, was acquired from Cincinnati in a trade for Marlon
Byrd in
Dec. '14. "Ben opened himself up in Spring Training and said, 'I've got to
do what I can to get better,' and he has taken a huge step forward,"
Jordan said. "His delivery is sound and he is a big, strong guy that lives
at the bottom of the strike zone. We saw this summer what he has a chance to
be."
Today
In Phils History – It was on this day in 1955 that Robin Roberts broke
the NL record when he surrendered his 40th homerun of the season (he
would finish with 41 and break his own record the following year). A decade
later, Fergie Jenkins made his MLB debut pitching 4 1/3 innings of relief and
earning his 1st win. In 1974, Lou Brock broke Maury Wills’ single
season stolen base record (105) and Max Carey’s all time NL record (738) in a
loss to the Phillies. Marty Bystrom made news for the 1st time in
the 1980 season when he recorded a shutout in his 1st MLB start.
Mike Schmidt hit his 10th and final walk off homerun to break an 11th
inning tie with the Expos in 1985. 6 years later, Schmidt’s former teammate
Larry Bowa was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame. In
addition to Jenkins, other notable debuts that occurred on this day include
Harry Coveleski (1907), Willie Jones (1947), Vic Power (1964 – with the
Phillies), Bob Boone (1972), and Cameron Rupp (2013). Finally, happy birthday
to Harry Anderson (1931) and Danys Baez (1977).
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 63-78 this season putting them on pace to beat most
preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 35-70-0 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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