Phillies Falling Apart On West Coast

GAME RECAP: Dodgers Dominate Phillies 9-3

The Dodgers' offense kept on humming as home runs from Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner powered them to a 9-3 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night. With the Giants falling, 2-0, in Miami, the Dodgers (64-49) moved into a tie for first place in the National League West. While starter Kenta Maeda didn't have one of his better nights, going just five innings and allowing three earned runs, the offense more than picked him up. And they did it quickly. After the Phillies jumped ahead, 2-0, in the second inning on Aaron Altherr's home run, Los Angeles put up crooked numbers for three consecutive innings. "I thought he caught it at first, but I was just glad it kept rolling, so I'll take it," Kendrick said of his second-inning homer. "A lot of guys have been putting in the same work all year and you're starting to see the fruits of their labor. Hopefully, we can continue to do the same thing and keep the ball rolling." Along with the home runs, Adrian Gonzalez put up doubles in consecutive innings, his second game with multiple extra-base hits in three days. The offensive explosion came entirely at the expense of Phillies starter Vince Velasquez, who allowed a career-high nine earned runs and saw his ERA increase from 3.22 entering Tuesday to 3.94. "The whole mentality going into today's game was just attacking the hitters," Velasquez said. "And then it just went south from [the first inning]."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Velasquez grew up in nearby Pomona, Calif., so he had a whole bunch of family and friends in attendance, but after he struck out the side in the first inning, things fell apart for him. He is the first Phillies' starter to allow nine earned runs in a start since David Buchanan allowed 11 in 1 2/3 innings in Arizona on Aug. 11, 2015. "Everything was hard, hard, hard," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Velasquez's outing. "He had a pretty good fastball. We've seen him throw harder. He had plenty to get them out. But against a team like the Dodgers, especially against lefties, he's got such a good changeup that he didn't use. I think he should have used it more. I think he would have been more effective."
• Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said before the game that Altherr could move to center field at some point, but he needed to prove he could hit big league pitching first. Altherr hit his third homer of the season in the second inning, a two-run homer that gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
• Altherr has not been in the big leagues long, but he has piled up extra-base hits: 24 of his 44 hits (54.5 percent) have gone for extra bases.
• Freddy Galvis singled in the second inning and soon stole second base with Cody Asche up to bat. The Dodgers challenged that Corey Seager's glove reached Galvis before Galvis reached second, but the safe call stood to give Galvis his 11th stolen base of the season. He would get No. 12 a batter later when he took third.
• The Angels claimed left-hander Brett Oberholtzer off waviers. The Phillies designated him for assignment over the weekend.
• Phillies left-hander Elvis Araujo joined the team Tuesday after the Phillies placed right-hander Zach Eflin on the 15-day disabled list with sore knees. Araujo is expected to help in the bullpen until Sunday, when they will need to add a starter to take Eflin's turn in the rotation.
• Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph has 15 home runs, which are the most by a Phillies rookie since Ryan Howard hit 22 in '05. He entered Tuesday averaging one home run every 14.33 at-bats, which is the fifth-best home run rate in the National League this season.
• Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner enters Wednesday's game on a season-high 10-game hit streak. He's one game away from tying his career-high, an 11-gamer in 2011.

NEXT GAME:

The red-hot Dodgers will look to sweep the Phillies and take their fifth straight win on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. With Tuesday night's win, Los Angeles (64-49) moved into a tie with the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. Jeremy Hellickson will take the ball for Philadelphia opposite the Dodgers' Scott Kazmir. The Phillies surprisingly held onto Hellickson at the non-waiver Trade Deadline despite the right-hander's impending free agency. Hellickson has been a model of consistency over the last two months, holding a 2.98 ERA in his last 10 starts and reaching six innings pitched in all but one of his starts. The sole time he didn't reach that mark was on July 30, when he went 5 2/3 innings. That's a level of steadiness Kazmir would envy. The southpaw has suffered an erratic first season with the Dodgers, reaching the six-inning mark in less than half of his 22 starts. He gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings in his last time out against Boston on Friday.

PHILS PHACTS:

Can’t Go Home Again – Vince Velasquez had a plan of attack Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. He wanted to be aggressive with his fastball. It worked in the first inning when he struck out Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Josh Reddick on 95, 94 and 95 mph fastballs, respectively. But Velasquez's night quickly deteriorated. He allowed a career-high nine runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 9-3 loss to the Dodgers. He allowed a career-high 11 hits, including home runs to Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner. Velasquez's ERA jumped from 3.33 to 3.94. "The whole mentality going into today's game was just attacking the hitters," Velasquez said. "And then it just went south from there." Velasquez grew up 30 miles away in Pomona, Calif. He had more than 100 family and friends scattered across the ballpark, so he had hoped to fare better. But he allowed four runs in the second inning, two in the third, two in the fourth and one more run in the fifth before Phillies manager Pete Mackanin pulled him. "Everything was hard, hard, hard," Mackanin said. "He had a pretty good fastball. We've seen him throw harder. He had plenty to get them out. But against a team like the Dodgers, especially against lefties, he's got such a good changeup that he didn't use. I think he should have used it more. I think he would have been more effective." Velasquez rolled his eyes at the suggestion that he should have thrown his changeup more. He threw 16 changeups out of 100 pitches. "Again, I had a plan to attack the guys," he said. "I challenged the guys inside, outside. I mean, you can't go wrong with that. "I mean, I think I threw enough [changeups]. There were guys who were late on my fastball and then they ended up turning on it on the next pitch. I'm not going to throw a fastball and then a changeup. You have to keep them guessing. They were on my stuff." Mackanin said he asked Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp during the game why they weren't throwing more soft stuff. "Rupp told me that he didn't want to throw it for whatever reason," Mackanin said. "I don't know, he gave up a hit to [Joc] Pederson early in the game and then decided he didn't want to use it." Call it a clear difference of opinion. But both manager and pitcher allowed the idea that this game could be a learning experience for the 24-year-old, although maybe in different ways. "You're not always to go out and throw a shutout, especially against a team like this that's fully loaded," Velasquez said. "You have to attack them all the way through, one through nine. … Missed locations, it happens. There is a positive out of this. You have to learn from your mistakes. We have a long flight going back home. So refer back to the video and learn from this." "I think as he gets older and continues to grow, he'll learn from outings like this that it's important to use all his pitches, especially against a team like this with all the power they have," Mackanin said. "He'll get it. He'll get it."

Another DL Bound – Zach Eflin's knee condition is more concerning than originally believed. The Phillies announced Tuesday they had placed Eflin on the 15-day disabled list with patellar tendinopathy in both knees. He will be evaluated by specialists in Philadelphia, and it is unclear if he will pitch again this season. "It's pretty confusing," Eflin said. "I'm confused, too." The Phillies recalled left-hander Elvis Araujo to help in the bullpen until Eflin's turn in the rotation comes up Sunday against the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. It is unclear who will make that start, although left-hander Adam Morgan and right-hander David Buchanan are options. But with Aaron Nola on the DL and the workload of both Vince Velasquez and Jake Thompson being monitored closely, it should be interesting to see what the rotation looks like at the end of the season. "We're not in a tizzy, we're in a quandary," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Eflin, 22, has had knee issues since he was 11 or 12 years old. "I've had it my whole career," Eflin said. "I've gotten treatment my whole career. And it's getting to be a little much right now. I woke up this morning and they were pretty stiff and sore." Eflin went 0-2 with a 13.85 ERA in his last three starts, allowing 22 hits, 20 earned runs, nine walks, six home runs and striking out five in 13 innings. He allowed seven runs in three innings in Monday's 9-4 loss. He is the third Phillies' starter to allow six or more earned runs in three consecutive starts since 2000. Sean O'Sullivan ('15) and Joe Blanton ('12) are the others. Eflin was 3-2 with a 2.08 ERA in seven starts before his recent slump, which made his struggles somewhat alarming. "It's kind of affected me enough to where we're going to back to Philly, we're going to reevaluate everything," Eflin said. "We're going to get some studies done and see what's really going on. I really don't know what to expect. Like I've said, I've had it for so long. It's always been tolerable. It's always been maintainable. I guess we'll see what happens. "It's always been maintainable. But just recently this year has probably been the worst year."

Altherr In CF? – It is too early to say what the Phillies' outfield will look like next season, but it is not a stretch to think Aaron Altherr could be in center field. Of course, first things first. "Altherr still has to prove himself offensively," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Tuesday before Altherr hit a two-run homer in a 9-3 loss to the Dodgers. "I like what I see and I think he's going to. But he's a darn good center fielder. He plays anywhere well. He glides to the ball. It's fun watching him play. A good chance he'll be the center fielder and we'll move Odubel [Herrera]. But we're not doing anything right now." Herrera has been the team's everyday center fielder since last season, when he joined the team as a Rule 5 Draft pick. He made the National League All-Star team this season, but he has taken a step back defensively. His UZR (ultimate zone rating) dropped from 9.9 in 2015 to 0.2 in '16. "At some point, the thought crossed my mind to make that switch this year," Mackanin said. "Maybe in September, just to get Odubel familiarized with a corner. But he adapted to center field so well last year. This year, he's not quite the same guy. If I have what I consider a better defender in center field, that's what I'd like to do." One reason the Phillies are reluctant to have Herrera work out on the corners right now is that he has struggled offensively. The Phillies' don't want to put too much on his table. But it sounds like a change is coming at some point. If it's not Altherr in center field it could be Double-A Reading prospect Roman Quinn, for example.

Today In Phils History – In the wake of the walkway collapse from the previous day in 1903, the NL postpones the remaining Phillies home series (an NL record 9 games in total were postponed) so that repairs could be made to the park. Grover Cleveland Alexander entered the game in relief against the Phillies and pitched 4 innings against his former team to record his 373^rd, and final, victory. Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch suffered a minor heart attack in 1956 after hosting a post-game TV interview following a game between the Phillies and Giants at the Polo Grounds. In the 1^st game back following a 2 month strike in 1981, Pete Rose recorded his 3631^st career hit breaking Stan Musial’s NL record. 6 years later, Kevin Gross is ejected for scuffing a ball with sand paper that was later discovered in his glove (he was subsequently suspended for 10 games). Former single season saves record holder joined the Phillies for the stretch run on this day in 1993. Former coach and player John Vukovich was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on this day in 2007. The following season, Greg Dobbs hit a RBI double against the Pirates for his new team record 21^st pinch hit of the season. 5 years ago, the Phillies came from behind to defeat the Dodgers after surrendering 6 unanswered runs over the 1^st 3 innings to set a new mark by recording their 9^th win on a 10 game road trip.  

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 52-63 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 43-61-0 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.

Phillies Fight Back But Fall In The 9th

GAME RECAP: Giants Top Phillies 8-7

The San Francisco Giants took an uphill climb to grab a share of the Major League lead in victories, striving to win their 49th game with an 8-7 decision Sunday over the Philadelphia Phillies. This series finale resembled a basketball game as the score was tied at 1, 5, 6, and 7 runs apiece. Conor Gillaspie broke the final deadlock with one out in the ninth by lining a double to right field off Phillies reliever Severino Gonzalez (0-1). It scored Ramiro Pena, whose double into the right-field corner immediately preceded Gillaspie's hit. The outcome pulled the Giants (49-28, .638) even with the Texas Rangers (49-27, .645) atop the Majors' win column. The Chicago Cubs (48-26, .649) maintained the top winning percentage in either league. While such numbers are written in shifting sand, Bruce Bochy achieved a measure of posterity by recording his 800th victory as Giants manager. Only three of his predecessors -- John McGraw (2,583), Dusty Baker (840) and Bill Terry (823) -- reached this level. "As far as the number, I know how lucky I am," said Bochy, who also won 951 games in 12 seasons with San Diego. He jokingly added, "I don't think John McGraw has anything to worry about." Angel Pagan contributed heavily to the Giants' 14th victory in their last 18 games against Philadelphia by going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Yet the first seven batters in the Phillies' order hit safely or drove in at least one run as they overcame a 5-1 deficit after three innings. "I'm real proud of the guys," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "They really played hard. We fell behind, 5-1, and battled back against a tough pitcher. San Francisco has been a good team. I think we're a little bit of a thorn in their side. It's disappointing to lose, but I'm real proud of the way the guys never gave up."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Nola is a critical piece of the Phillies' rebuild and he had been building his case to make the National League All-Star team through June 5, going 5-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 12 starts. But he allowed 10 hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Giants to end a forgettable month. Nola became the first Phillies starter to pitch fewer than four innings in four consecutive starts -- posting a 15.23 ERA in that stretch -- since Marty Bystrom in 1982. "He's a little confused right now," Mackanin said. "He's approaching his first full year in the big leagues, so he's going to have some adversity. He probably hasn't had any in quite a while, if at all. You can see his confidence is shaken a bit. But he's smart and a competitor. He'll bounce back at some point."
• The Phillies had two outs and nobody on base in both the fourth and fifth innings, but scored two runs in each to tie the game. They also answered the Giants with game-tying runs in the seventh and eighth innings, including Odubel Herrera's solo homer to center field in the seventh.
• "I wasn't surprised. I knew something was going to happen. I know he's coming at somebody." -- Franco, on Cueto drilling him with a pitch in the fourth inning. Nola hit three Giants batters, but battled control issues, hitting two batters with breaking balls.
• Closer Jeanmar Gomez became the fastest Phillies pitcher to 20 saves in club history, going by team wins. No closer had picked up 20 saves in 32 wins. Ricky Bottalico held the previous record with 20 saves in 34 wins.
• D-backs starter Robbie Ray beat the Phillies on June 17, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out seven.
• Arizona starters entered Sunday with a 3.56 ERA in June, which was the seventh-best mark in baseball behind the Cubs (2.61), Indians (2.62), Giants (3.09), Mets (3.31), Cardinals (3.34) and Astros (3.42).

NEXT GAME:

Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez rejoins the rotation for Monday's series opener against the D-backs at Chase Field. He has been on the disabled list since earlier this month because of a strained right biceps, but he declared himself ready to go after one rehab start last week. The Phillies are hopeful Velasquez can help the Phillies fare a little better against Arizona. The D-backs swept the Phillies in a four-game series from June 17-20 at Citizens Bank Park. The D-backs scored 22 runs and bashed 10 home runs in the series. Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, Peter O'Brien and Yasmany Tomas each hit a pair of homers against the Phillies.

PHILS PHACTS:

Struggles Continue – Is there reason to be alarmed? Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola's career had gone almost perfectly since the organization selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 Draft. He posted a 3.12 ERA through his first 25 starts in the big leagues, using pinpoint command to elevate his status in the Phillies' rotation. But Nola has misfired wildly in his last four starts, including Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park, going 0-3 with a 15.23 ERA. "He's a little confused right now," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He's approaching his first full year in the big leagues, so he's going to have some adversity. He probably hasn't had any in quite a while, if at all. You can see his confidence is shaken a bit. But he's smart and a competitor. He'll bounce back at some point." Nola allowed 10 hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Giants. In his last four starts, he has allowed 32 hits, 25 runs (22 earned) and seven walks and has struck out 14 in just 13 innings. He has hit four batters, too, including three Sunday. He hit just one batter over 131 innings in 21 starts from Aug. 12, 2015, through June 5. "His fastball command is a little off," Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz said. "I think he's trying so hard. He's pushing himself to get his command back. I know it's tough. He's a young kid. He tries so hard to pick it up. He gets himself ready and everything. That's the only thing I see, you know? We've got to move on to the next start, man." Nola is the first Phillies starter to pitch fewer than four innings in four consecutive starts since Marty Bystrom in 1982, although Bystrom made relief appearances between starts. He is the first Phillies starter to pitch four or fewer innings and allow four or more runs in four consecutive starts in the same season since Lefty Weinert in 1923. Nola has never experienced struggles like this before. "No, not really," he said. "No, this is the first time." Nola has said after the past couple of starts that he is not finishing his pitches, which is another way of saying he is not getting his hand on top of the ball before he releases it. It has him pulling pitches out of the strike zone. "In my eyes, that might be the key," Nola said. But it also might be a combination of mechanical and confidence issues. "Yeah, you can see that a little bit," Ruiz said, asked if Nola's confidence is down. But Mackanin said Nola will make his next start Saturday against the Royals at Citizens Bank Park, if anybody had any thoughts of him ironing out his problems in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. "You have to battle through adversity; at this level, especially, you see what a guy is made of," Mackanin said. "I think he has pretty good makeup."

Off To The Bullpen – Adam Morgan is out of the Phillies' rotation, but he has landed in the bullpen. The Phillies announced after Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park that they had activated right-hander Vince Velasquez (5-2, 3.65 ERA) from the 15-day disabled list. He had been on the DL since earlier this month because of a strained right biceps. He will start Monday's series opener in Arizona. The Phillies optioned left-hander Elvis Araujo (1-1, 5.87 ERA in 27 appearances) to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Velasquez on the 25-man roster. It moves Morgan (1-6, 6.55 ERA) into a relief role for the first time in his career. "We're going to get a look at him in that role for the time being, which doesn't mean he's never going to start again for us," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "But at this point we want to give it a look to see if he can pitch out of the bullpen." The Phillies think Morgan's combination of pitches and stuff might play better in the bullpen. "It's an awesome opportunity," Morgan said. "I need to take advantage of it. I've never done it before, but I will give it a shot. I'm excited."

Staying In Center – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said nobody should read into Odubel Herrera taking fly balls in right field Saturday afternoon at AT&T Park. He said it's not a wakeup call. He said Herrera is not going anywhere. "He's my center fielder," Mackanin said before Sunday's series finale against the Giants. But Herrera has taken a step back defensively this season, appearing to lose his concentration at times. He has committed seven errors in 74 games compared to five in 136 games last season as a rookie. His Defensive Runs Saved has dropped from 10 to minus-7, according to FanGraphs. "Go out there and take some fly balls to change your perspective a little bit," Mackanin said about his motivation to have Herrera work in right field. "That's it. There's no plans to move him. If he reads something into it, good. Maybe he'll think that he needs to do better. There's nothing imminent. There's no plans for me to move him out of there."

Today In Phils History – It is quite the interesting mix of Phillies history for today beginning in 1952 when manager Eddie Sawyer was fired and replaced by Steve O’Neill the following day. In 1963, 2 Phillies had opposite experiences during a 13-4 blowout of the Pirates when Johnny Callison hit for the cycle and Tony Gonzalez had his MLB errorless streak halted at 205 games. In 1980, Steve Carlton set the franchise record for strikeouts with his 1,872^nd K. Later in the decade, in 1986, the Phillies pulled off a 2-1 marathon victory in 17 innings in St. Louis. Similarly, in 2003 the Phillies and Orioles set a MLB record for longest interleague game when Jason Michael hit a walk off homerun in the 17^th inning. 4 years later, Ryan Howard’s homerun set the record for the longest homerun in Citizens Bank Park history (505 feet) and also set a record as the fastest player to 100 career homeruns (325 games). Speaking of homeruns, in 2010 Jamie Moyer became the all-time homeruns surrendered leader giving up his 506^th long ball surpassing Robin Roberts (he also reached 4,000 innings pitched in the game game). And, finally, happy 40^th birthday to Johnny Estrada.   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 32-45 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 55-61-0 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. Let the rebuild begin!

Phillies Shock Nationals By Completing Sweep

GAME RECAP: Phillies Sweep Nationals 3-0

The Nationals and Phillies found themselves in a pitchers' duel on Thursday afternoon, but thanks to some clutch ninth-inning hitting, the Phillies completed their three-game sweep, winning 3-0 at Nationals Park. It was the Phillies' first sweep at Nationals Park since 2009. Scoreless heading into the ninth inning, the Phillies loaded the bases with one out and Jonathan Papelbon on the mound. On a 2-2 pitch, Cameron Rupp doubled over Bryce Harper's head in right field to score Odubel Herrera and Freddy Galvis. Two batters later, David Lough reached base on an infield single, scoring Maikel Franco. All three runs were charged to Nationals reliever Felipe Rivero, who allowed two hits and an intentional walk to start the inning. Rivero started the inning because manager Dusty Baker didn't like the matchup between Papelbon and the top of the Phillies' batting order. "Sometimes, those things don't work. It's just one of those days where nothing worked," manager Dusty Baker said. "We'll get it fixed. It's not easy while you're in it, and it doesn't take long to get in a funk like that. You don't have any choice. You just gotta keep playing, keep grinding." The upstart Phillies finished their road trip at 5-1. "When we started 0-4, that obviously wasn't a good start, but the guys just hung in there," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "This is huge to get our confidence back. The guys scrape and scratch, but you've got to hand it to the pitching. The pitching is the reason we're able to win games." The Nationals collected four hits in the game against four Phillies pitchers and scored only three runs during the three-game series.

PHILS PHACTS:

• After walking Harper five times in the first two games, the Phillies wound up pitching to Harper in two key situations on Thursday. Harper grounded out to second with a runner on third to end the sixth inning and struck out swinging on three pitches with the bases loaded to end the bottom of the eighth.
• With Hernandez on second and two out in the fifth, Peter Bourjos hit a hot smash down the third-base line that Stephen Drew drove to grab. As the ball slithered behind him, the seasoned veteran lunged to pick it up, and with a spinning move, he tagged out the sliding Hernandez.
• The Phillies held the Nationals scoreless for 22 consecutive innings. In Thursday's game, the Nationals went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. "It was one of those days where nothing worked our way -- offensively or defensively," Baker said.
• After walking to lead off the game against Roark, it appeared Herrera had stolen second base. But after a 45-second review, the call was reversed, and Herrera was thrown out by Nationals catcher Pedro Severino.

NEXT GAME:

They open a three-game Interleague series against the Indians on Friday at Citizens Bank Park at 7:05 p.m. ET. With the season-ending hamstring injury to Charlie Morton, Mackanin has yet to announce a starter for the opener. Corey Kluber is expected to start for Cleveland.

PHILS PHACTS:

No Trouble With The Curve – Phillies starter Aaron Nola was on a mission to find himself on Thursday against the Nationals. And what he found at Nationals Park was the right combination of a split-finger fastball with a devastating curve. "I felt better about that pitch," Nola said, when asked about the curve. "I felt like I had a much better feel for it than the last few games." It was certainly enough for him to stymie the Nationals, as he allowed just two hits during seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win. The win gave the Phillies their first sweep at Nationals Park since May 2009. It was also enough for Nola to match Nationals starter Tanner Roark, who also worked seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball. Neither pitcher was around when the Phillies scored three times in the ninth inning to end their road trip 5-1. "Nola was pretty darn good today," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He had a low pitch count. I even thought about letting him go back out for the eighth inning and not hitting for him. But we had to try to score some runs." Mackanin saw a pitcher who has now made a pair of stellar starts since allowing seven runs on seven hits in the first five innings of an 8-1 loss to the Nationals at home on April 16. Nola threw seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball in a 5-2 win over the Brewers in Milwaukee on April 22 and followed it up on Thursday with this gem. The Phillies' manager had so much confidence in Nola that he let him pitch to Nationals slugger Bryce Harper with a runner on third and two out in the sixth inning. In the previous two games, Mackanin had walked Harper five times, twice intentionally. Not this time, though. "Why not? We can't walk the guy every time," Mackanin said. "Somebody has to get him out. Eighth inning I might have done it. But not in that situation. I'm not going to do it." Harper bounced the ball to the right of second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who made a fine play by just beating Harper to first base with an impressive throw. Harper, 2-for-8 in the series with no extra-base hits or RBIs, slammed his helmet to the turf in frustration. "I felt like I could get him out right there," Nola said. "I knew he was going to be aggressive with guys on. All I needed to do was execute a pitch. I did it and got a ground ball out of it." It was a learning experience, too, for the 22-year old right-hander, Mackanin said. The manager wanted to show that he believes in Nola. "I like that," Nola said. "I like that he does have the confidence in me."

Hinojosa Exits Early – Phillies right-hander Dalier Hinojosa suffered a bruise on the palm of his pitching hand when he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Washington center fielder Matt den Dekker in the eighth inning of Philadelphia's 3-0 win at Nationals Park on Thursday. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said X-rays were negative, but he intends to watch the reliever closely. "We're just going to go day to day and see how swollen it gets," Mackanin said. "Let's see what happens. Did he get hit hard? It sure looked like it." Hinojosa came in to relieve starter Aaron Nola in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, he walked Pedro Severino. The next batter, pinch-hitter Chris Heisey, lined a shot off Hinojosa's glove that second baseman Cesar Hernandez turned into a forceout. Lightening then struck twice as den Dekker's shot deflected off Hinojosa's hand for an infield single, putting runners on first and third. Mackanin and the trainers went to the mound to examine Hinojosa. "At that point, I was going to make a change anyway," Mackanin said. Left-hander Elvis Araujo came in, and Washington manager Dusty Baker countered with pinch-hitter Anthony Rendon, who walked on a full count pitch to load the bases. But Bryce Harper whiffed swinging on three pitches to end the Nationals' last threat of the evening.

Pitching To The Lineup – When the Phillies faced the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park earlier this month, Bryce Harper pummeled Philadelphia pitching. So prior to this week's three-game sweep that ended on Thursday with a 3-0 win at Nationals Park, the Phillies' baseball brain trust decided on a different strategy: pitch around the left-handed power hitter, who is again tearing up the National League to the tune of a .314 batting average, nine homers and 24 RBIs. "When [the Nationals] were at our place, he was hitting everything. I don't care if the pitch was a foot off the ground or over his head, he crushed it," Phils bench coach Larry Bowa said of Harper, who was 7-for-11 in that series, with three homers, six RBIs, 16 total bases and one walk. "I mean he wore us out." Harper's OPS of 1.252 entering Thursday's game is impressive, and it compares favorably to the all-time leaders for a single season in that category. Barry Bonds holds three of the top four and has the best ever of 1.422 in 2004. A guy name Babe Ruth has the third best and three of the top six. Now, the Phillies are giving Harper the Ruth and Bonds treatment. They walked Harper five times in the first two games of the series -- both Philadelphia victories -- including two intentionally. And then suddenly on Thursday, they didn't. Mackanin allowed 22-year-old starter Aaron Nola to go right at Harper in the sixth inning with two out and a runner on third. Harper grounded out to second. Why did the manager decide to deviate from the plan? "Why not? We can't walk the guy every time," Mackanin said. "Somebody has to get him out. Eighth inning, I might have done it. But not in that situation. I'm not going to do it." In the eighth inning, Mackanin didn't have any choice. The bases were loaded when Harper came up to face young left-hander Elvis Araujo. He whiffed on three pitches, swinging at strike three toward the inner part of the plate. It's a game of constant adjustment, as other great players before Harper have found. Bonds walked 2,558 times in 22 years, 688 of them intentionally, both of them all-time records. Ruth is third with 2,062 walks. Harper has only 294 (27 intentional) during the first four-plus years of his career. But other teams are just getting started. "Let somebody else beat you," Bowa said. "They've got a good club over there, but [Ryan] Zimmerman is not swinging too well right now. Obviously, when he starts swinging, you've got to think a little bit. But when they left our place, Harper just kept hitting. "We'll have to pitch to him eventually, but if you have a base open or something right now, you'd be dumb not to walk him." To Bowa's point, Zimmerman -- the cleanup hitter behind Harper -- is 6-for-29 with no homers and four RBIs in his past six games, which gave the Phils the option of pitching around the reigning NL MVP Award winner. It worked. Harper was 2-for-8 in the series, and despite the five walks, he didn't score once. Zimmerman hasn't hit a homer since April 19 and hasn't had an extra-base hit since April 20. Consequently, Harper has scored only five times during that period. And the Nats' once five-game NL East lead over the defending league champion Mets has shrunk to a half-game. "Yeah, they're going to walk him," said Dusty Baker, Harper's third manager in his short career. "He's learning a lot in the process. He's learning about patience. He's taking his walks. It's just a matter of whether they can play on his emotions and patience, so he loses his concentration and stays in the strike zone. "Zimm has a track record where he can handle it, I think. It's just a matter of him not taking it personal, either. I batted behind Hank Aaron. I was a good hitter, but, dang, I was 23 years old. His advice to me was not to try to do too much." Harper seemingly has been part of baseball's fabric for so long, one can forget he's just 23 years old. He was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse exactly four years ago Thursday at the tender young age of 19. Harper has had transgressions like most young players, but from the Phillies' point of view, they're not worried about getting inside either Harper or Zimmerman's head. They're just trying to keep the MVP off base. Bowa said he, Mackanin and pitching coach Bob McClure sit on the bench and discuss strategy when Harper comes up. "I mean, we talk about it, but Pete has to implement it," Bowa said. "McClure, he'll sit there and he may say, 'Hey, I don't want to pitch to him right here.' Pete asks, but he has to make the decision. Before a series, we go over the team, and if there's one guy where we say, 'We don't want him to beat us,' we try not to let that happen." In this series, that guy was Harper, and thus far what the Phils are doing has altered the game more than a bit. Advance scouts from other teams are watching, and that's the way trends emerge.

Today In Phils History – On the day that we celebrate the first legal Sunday home game in Phillies history (1934), we also celebrate Steve Carlton for becoming the first left handed pitcher (and 6^th overall) in major league history to reach 3000 strikeouts in 1981. Robin Roberts also had a notable pitching performance when he threw a one-hit shutout against Milwaukee in 1954. The longest game in Phillies history also took place on this day in 1989… the Phillies won the rain shortened matchup 8-0 against the Reds after waiting out rain delays of 151 and 92 minutes respectively. One of the players waiting through the rain that day was Juan Samuel whom the Phillies signed exactly 9 years earlier in 1980. Most recently, this is the day when two franchise records for the month of April were eclipsed when, in 2011, Ryan Howard drove in his 27^th RBI and Placido Polanco recorded his 39^th hit breaking Chase Utley’s record set three years prior.  

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 12-10 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 46-47-0 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. Let the rebuild begin!

Phillies Crushed By Werth And Nationals

GAME RECAP: Nationals Sweep Phillies 12-2

Jayson Werth showed Wednesday night that you can come home again. Once a World Series hero with the Phillies, Werth hit two home runs and helped the Nationals roll past the Phillies, 12-2, at Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals swept the three-game series and find themselves on a four-game winning streak. In the seventh, Bryce Harper added himself to the record books by becoming the second player in Nationals history to hit 40 home runs in a season. Harper became the seventh different player to hit 40 homers in his age 22 season or younger. "It's been remarkable. He has been fun to watch," Werth said about Harper. "I'm proud of him. He has come a long way in a short period of time. I can't say enough good things about him. He has become a superstar right in front of our eyes. But I think he has a lot to learn and long way to go, too." The Nationals gained ground for the second straight day in the National League East race. They are now 7 1/2 games behind the Mets. "I always feel good about our club," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "I feel confident in anybody that we put in there. We have to continue to play well if we are going to have a chance. It starts tomorrow." The Nationals went to work on Phillies right-hander Alec Asher in the second inning. Werth scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Jose Lobaton. Werth then added to the lead two innings later by hitting a solo home run over the left-field wall. The Phillies tied the score in the bottom of the fourth when Darin Ruf hit a two-run homer off lefty Gio Gonzalez, who ended up having a quality start. He pitched seven innings, allowed the two runs on five hits and had a career-high 12 strikeouts -- the 13th time in his career he has reached double-digit strikeouts in a game. "Congratulations to Bryce on his 40th. That's unbelievable. J-Dub [Werth] was unbelievable. Everybody in the lineup helped out a lot," Gonzalez said. "A big credit goes to my catcher [Lobaton]. He mixed it up. He just increased confidence and just slowed it down for me." Asher went five innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. The Nationals added two runs on RBI hits from Anthony Rendon and Yunel Escobar, then scored eight runs against the Phillies' bullpen. In the sixth inning, Werth highlighted the scoring with another solo homer. The last time Werth had a multi-homer game was July 22, 2013.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• It has been a rough time for the rookie right-hander Asher since the Phillies promoted him from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is 0-4 with a 9.78 ERA in four starts. Wednesday night he allowed seven hits, four runs, one walk, one home run and struck out four in just five innings. "Failure is part of the game," Asher said. "It's frustrating. No one likes losing. I hate it. I'm trying to shorten the learning curve, learn a lot of things and get better."
• Ruf hit a two-run homer to left field in the fourth inning. It was his eighth homer of the season. Ruf is playing regularly at first while Ryan Howard is sidelined with a bruised left knee. If both are back next season, they could be platooning at the position. "We've got a lot of young guys that haven't played 162 before," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. "It's something you've got to learn to get used to."
• The Phillies were swept for the 12th time this season, which matches the Braves for the most in baseball this year.
• The Phillies challenged Ian Desmond's stolen base in the top of the second inning. Second-base umpire Tim Welke ruled Desmond safe, although replays showed Phillies second baseman Andres Blanco tagged out Desmond before his foot hit the bag. The call was overturned.
• In the fifth inning, Escobar was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Aaron Altherr. But Williams challenged the call and after one minute, 47 seconds, the replay confirmed that Escobar was out.
• Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco and first baseman Ryan Howard are injured, but both expect to play again this season. Franco definitely won't be back in time to face the Braves. Howard probably won't, either. Franco is recovering from a broken left wrist in Clearwater, Fla. Howard is still hobbling because of a bruised left knee.
• The Braves snapped a 12-game home losing streak Tuesday with a victory over the Blue Jays. The Elias Sports Bureau said only five teams since 1969 had lost more than 12 consecutive games at home, the last being the 2002 Mets, who lost 15 consecutive games at Shea Stadiuim.

NEXT GAME:

Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan gets the opportunity to pitch at home Friday night in the series opener against the Braves at Turner Field. Morgan is 5-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 14 starts in his rookie season, including a 4.50 ERA in two starts against the Braves. Morgan grew up in nearby Marietta, Ga., about 30 minutes north of Turner Field. He pitched at Turner Field on July 3, allowing two runs in seven innings. The Phillies will face right-hander William Perez (5-6, 5.36 ERA). He earned the win against the Phillies on Sept. 7, when he allowed two runs in seven innings at Citizens Bank Park.

PHILS PHACTS:

More Injury Updates – Two of the Phillies' best power hitters hope to be back in the lineup before the end of the season. Rookie third baseman Maikel Franco has been sidelined since Aug. 12 with a broken left wrist. He will travel to Clearwater, Fla., on Thursday to begin working out at Carpenter Complex. If his rehab goes well, he could rejoin the Phillies as early as Tuesday in Miami. "I'm excited because now I'm almost close to playing again. I'm happy for that," Franco said Wednesday afternoon. Franco has been taking swings and said while he is not 100 percent healthy he feels better every day. The Phillies have said they will not play Franco until he is completely healthy. But Franco has incentive. Teammate Jeff Francoeur told Franco that if he hits 15 home runs this season he would buy him a couple of suits. "I want to do it," he said. Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has a bruised left knee, which needed to be drained because of swelling. An MRI exam showed no structural damage, but he had his knee wrapped Wednesday. He might not travel with the team Thursday to Miami. But Howard said he expects to play at some point. "Yeah, I'm confident," Howard said. "I'm not going to do anything crazy. Now it's just a matter of getting the swelling and stuff out and go from there. Elvis Araujo has been on the DL since Aug. 28 with a strained left groin. He threw a bullpen session Wednesday. He will travel to Clearwater on Thursday. He will rehab there in preparation to pitch in winter ball, if he is healthy. Cesar Hernandez had surgery on Wednesday morning on his dislocated left thumb. His season is over, and his recovery could be around three months. But he is expected to be ready to play by Spring Training.

Learning The Hard Way – Alec Asher has found the big leagues anything but easy since he joined the Phillies on Aug. 30. His teammates know the feeling. Asher is 0-4 with a 9.78 ERA in four starts, his latest coming Wednesday night in a 12-2 loss to the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals swept the series as Asher allowed seven hits, four runs, one walk, one home run and struck out four in five innings. Asher has not pitched more than 5 2/3 innings in any of his starts. He has not allowed fewer than four runs. "Failure is part of the game," Asher said. "It's frustrating. No one likes losing. I hate it. I'm trying to shorten the learning curve, learn a lot of things and get better." The Phillies fell to 56-91. They need to finish 7-8 to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1961, when they lost 107. "It's not like we had a real good team and all of a sudden fell apart," said Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin, when asked if players might be pressing to avoid 100 losses. "This is a day-to-day experiment. A lot of young guys are getting opportunities. We're learning a lot about them, and that's very important for next year." Asher's struggles illustrate the organization's need to acquire more starting pitching. There figures to be just one lock for the 2016 rotation: rookie right-hander Aaron Nola. Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff and left-hander Adam Morgan have lines on jobs for next season, but other than that it seems clear the Phillies will need to sign some pitching in the offseason. Free agents like Doug Fister, J.A. Happ and Ryan Vogelsong could be placeholders until Minor League talents like Jake Thompson and Zach Eflin are ready for prime time. Asher will be in the mix, but he needs to pitch much better than he has pitched so far. But the Phillies need to hit better, too. They struck out a franchise-record 42 times in the three-game series. It is the first time the Phillies have struck out 13 or more times in three consecutive games since 1915, according to Baseball-Reference. The Phillies are struggling without Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez and Ryan Howard in the lineup because of injuries, but Mackanin sees another reason the Phillies can't seem to hit. "All of these [players] haven't played this deep into a season," Mackanin said. "It's getting to them a little bit, and they've got to learn to get over that hump. A lot of slow bats. We're not hitting the fastball like we're capable of doing." Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp agreed. "We've got a lot of young guys that haven't played 162 before," he said. "It's something you've got to learn to get used to. Some of the pitching staffs we've faced in our division … they've got guys that can pitch and we've got a young lineup. It's definitely not easy getting in that box every night."

No Limit Nola – Aaron Nola's magic number might not be any number at all. The Phillies have said for some time they planned to limit Nola's workload this season to 185 innings, but as he enters Sunday's start against the Braves at Turner Field with 175 innings they could be reconsidering. After all, 185 is an arbitrary number. "I've been trying to get my hands around that for a couple of days," Phillies interim general manager Scott Proefrock said, "just to figure out what we can do and what makes sense. I read an article the other day that talked about Tommy John, and this obviously doesn't apply to Aaron, but they were saying Tommy John was told by Dr. [Frank] Jobe, 'Go by how it feels, by how your arm feels.' "At this point, there's no indication that there's any reason or necessity to limit them other than what we've set. And I think we're just going to play it by how they feel going forward. We'll see." Nola is scheduled to make three more starts: Sunday in Atlanta, Sept. 27 in Washington and Oct. 4 in the season finale against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Nola has said repeatedly his arm feels strong, so perhaps the Phillies let him pitch a little more than 185 innings. Then again, maybe not. "We'll just see how it plays out," Proefrock said.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have returned to their lackluster ways and regained their grip on last place in the NL East with a record of 56-91. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this could still end up being the worst team in franchise history… at least that is something to hope for this year! All time, the Phillies are 55-49-0 on this day.