Closer But Still A Loss

GAME RECAP: Diamond Backs Shut Down Phillies 4-1 

Zack Greinke extended his winning streak to seven as he tossed eight outstanding innings to lead the D-backs past the Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Greinke (10-3) has won seven straight starts and on Saturday, after he allowed a first-inning homer to Odubel Herrera, he did not allow another hit until Andres Blanco led off the seventh with a single. Overall, the right-hander allowed three hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts. "I threw a lot of strikes, and there were a lot of balls put in play early," Greinke said. "There were a couple of longer at-bats that got the pitch count up a little bit. But mainly just attacking the zone and trying to get balls put in play weakly." The Phillies had a 1-0 lead until the fifth when Nick Ahmed tied things up with his fourth homer of the year. Later in the inning, Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run blast and Jake Lamb added a solo homer in the seventh to cap the scoring.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Eickhoff started the game strong. He struck out four batters in the first two innings and didn't allow a run until the fifth. The first time Peter O'Brien -- who hit two home runs in Friday's 10-2 game -- stepped to the plate, Eickhoff sent him a fastball up and in. He threw a couple more on the inside corner and continued to attack the inside portion of the plate for much of game. "That's what I've always done," Eickhoff said. "Going inside is important, and I feel like I do that. I was able to do that for the most part today." Even in the final two innings, Eickhoff and Phillies manager Pete Mackanin felt he was still attacking. Instead, Eickhoff blamed balls finding the holes, as he gave up two homers. Mackanin said he thought Eickhoff lost his command the final two innings, so he eventually turned to Andrew Bailey with the bases loaded and two outs. "He could've gotten out of it, but I chose not to leave him in there," Mackanin said. "Bailey did a nice job bailing him out, going right after the hitter. I hate bringing a guy in with the bases loaded, but I felt like I had to."
• The Phillies set a franchise record in Friday's game, allowing their 17th home run over four games. The pattern continued into Saturday. Although the Phils did not join the 1977 Yankees as the only team to allow at least five home runs in three consecutive games, they came only two shy, with Eickhoff surrendering two in the fifth (becoming the sixth Phillies player to allow multiple home runs in an inning since Tuesday). Mackanin sees a disheartening trend in that a number of the home runs have come on two-strike counts. Both Goldschmidt and Lamb's blasts came with two strikes, 0-2 and 1-2, respectively. "It boils down to being able to command your slider or your breaking ball or secondary pitch or fastball up and in," Mackanin said. "You have to command that pitch, and if you leave it out over the plate, you get burned."
• When Mackanin made out the lineup card Saturday, Maikel Franco was penciled in the lowest spot he'd hit this season, sixth. It also included, in an attempt to stimulate the offense, Cody Asche hitting leadoff for the first time in his pro career and Herrera out of the top spot for the first time since April 19. But Mackanin's message was to Franco. After Friday's game, he said he believes Franco is getting into his own head and that he was going to move him down significantly. Mackanin kept his word, but it didn't help his young third baseman. Franco came to the plate as the tying run with one out in the seventh. Blanco stood on third and Jimmy Paredes on second. Greinke fell behind 3-0 to Franco. Yet, the at-bat ended with Franco's helmet on the dirt of the batter's box after he struck out swinging on a 3-2 curve from Greinke. "We sure need his bat," Mackanin said. "We need him to be what he's capable of. For some reason, he just got out of sync. He's not giving us disciplined, professional at-bats right now. Partially I think that's because he's overanxious, and he feels he needs to do too much." Franco denied that he was pressing, but he admitted that he might be over-swinging at times. "It's totally frustrating for everybody," Franco said. "You wanna do something, you want to go out there with energy and everything like that. Nothing good is happening right now. It's frustrating for everybody."

NEXT GAME:

Zach Eflin (0-1, 27.00) will make his first career start at Citizens Bank Park at 1:35 p.m. ET. In his Major League debut against the Blue Jays in Toronto, Eflin didn't make it out of the third, allowing nine runs on nine hits while serving up three home runs. The 22-year-old right-hander is ranked as the Phillies' No. 13 prospect by MLBPipeline.com

PHILS PHACTS:

Eickhoff Improving – Jerad Eickhoff got ahead no balls, two strikes on Peter O'Brien with no outs in the second. Then he sent a message. On the third pitch, Eickhoff fired a 91-mph fastball up and in. O'Brien dipped and dove out of the way, but Eickhoff made it clear: He was going to own the inside part of the plate in the Phillies' 4-1 loss to the D-backs on Saturday. "That's what I've always done," Eickhoff said. "Going inside is important, and I feel like I do that. I was able to do that for the most part today." Manager Pete Mackanin had been disappointed with the lack of aggressiveness his pitchers have shown, speculating that it contributed to the 20 home runs the staff has allowed over the last five games. Adam Morgan agreed after not making it out of the fifth inning in his start on Friday. Eickhoff was not deterred from the inner third, though. He continued to attack O'Brien inside, setting him up for a sweeping slider over the plate that the D-backs' rookie whiffed at. Eickhoff struck out O'Brien twice more before leaving the game after 5 2/3, having allowed three runs on nine hits. Through four innings, the 25-year-old right-hander had yet to surrender a run and had recorded five of his six strikeouts. He was pitching with moxie and challenging D-backs hitters, who had mustered no more than singles off him. The fifth inning wasn't the same story. Nick Ahmed kicked off the scoring with a home run to left-center. Jean Segura followed with a single, and Paul Goldschmidt brought him home with Arizona's second blast of the inning. It was the sixth time in five games a Phillies pitcher allowed multiple home runs in an inning. But neither Mackanin nor Eickhoff felt the starter backed off. "I went after them like I had the whole game," Eickhoff said. "Balls just found the holes, and that's kind of what I'm looking at it as." Where Mackanin felt Eickhoff faltered was with his command in the sixth inning, which he did not make it out of. After loading the bases, Mackanin pulled Eickhoff with two outs, calling on Andrew Bailey to erase the threat. "He could've gotten out of it, but I chose not to leave him in there," Mackanin said. "Bailey did a nice job bailing him out, going right after the hitter. I hate bringing a guy in with the bases loaded, but I felt like I had to." Eickhoff has been the lone bright spot on a starting staff that had an 8.45 ERA over their last eight games before Saturday. That number included Eickhoff's six shutout innings in Toronto. Over his last four starts, Eickhoff has gone 25 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (2.13 ERA). In comparison, twice in the last week, other Phillies starters allowed at least that many runs in a single start. On Saturday, Eickhoff offered an example of what it will take to turn it around.

Pitch, Hit, & Run At CBP – Of more than 600,000 Scotts Pitch, Hit & Run participants nationwide, 23 descended on Citizens Bank Park on Saturday morning to determine the Phillies' team champions and compete for a possible trip to San Diego for the MLB All-Star Game. The 23 competitors consisted of three baseball and softball participants each in the 7/8, 9/10, 11/12 and 13/14 age divisions. Those lucky enough to play on the same field as the Phillies got there by beating our hundreds of others at eight Delaware Valley sectional competitions. To move on to Petco Park for National Finals -- which will take place prior to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 11 -- a player must finish in the top three in the age group nationwide. The winner of the baseball 13-14 division, Karim Mullen Jr., has high hopes of making it to San Diego, but just playing at Citizens Bank Park was exciting enough for him. "It's very cool," Mullen said. "I've never experienced something like this before." Softball isn't even Amelia Atkins' favorite sport. It takes second place to horseback riding for the Chester Springs, Pa., native. But that didn't stop her from showing off her skills and winning the 7-8 softball division. Atkins, like every one of the eight first-place finishers, said Ryan Howard is her favorite player. The slugger's recent struggles haven't overshadowed his community involvement and role on the Phillies' division-winning ballclubs. Mullen wears No. 6 because of Howard. "I play first base, he plays first base," Mullen said. "He hits home runs, I hit home runs." Scott's Pitch, Hit & Run is part of Major League Baseball's Play Ball initiative, a partnership program with USA Baseball that encourages widespread participation in all forms of baseball activities among all age groups, especially youth. This marks the 20th year of the Pitch, Hit & Run competition. List of the winners, by age group: Baseball 7-8: Tyler Reinhart (Lebanon, Pa.); Softball 7-8: Amelia Atkins (Chester Springs, Pa.); Baseball 9-10: Bronson Kilmer (South Gibson, Pa.); Softball 9-10: Meghan Fisher (Dauphin, Pa.); Baseball 11-12: Callan Fang (Yardley, Pa.); Softball 11-12: Abby Tobelman (Gap, Pa.); Baseball 13-14: Karim Mullen Jr. (Philadelphia); Softball 13-14: Zoey Gross (Mays Landing, N.J.).

Today In Phils History – Double trouble seems to be a trend on this day in Phillies history beginning in 1927 when Jack Scott started both games on the mound of a double header against Cincinnati going the distance in both the earlier win and latter loss. 2 years later, the Phillies and Giants completed a double header in 7 hours and 42 minutes (the longest double header of the decade) with the Phillies dropping both games. The only faceoff between Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and Tom Seaver happened on this day in 1970 with Seaver dominating the Phillies while Bunning lasting only 2 batters. The following year, Larry Bowa recorded 2 stolen bases on a single play as he reached third on the double steal and advanced home when Oscar Gamble got caught in a rundown (Gamble also reached second safely thanks to Bowa’s aggressiveness). Some of the other notable occurrences include Willie Jones inside the park grand slam in 1951 and Randy Wolf surrendering a homerun in what would be the last in a team record 12 straight starts in which they allowed a homerun.   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 30-39 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 47-55-0 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!

Some Looking To Find A Spot

PHILS PHACTS:

Asche Looking To Improve Value – The morning after the Phillies traded Chase Utley to the Dodgers in August, Utley spent his final minutes inside the clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park signing bats for a bunch of people in the organization. Cody Asche received one of them. "That's one of my most prized possessions for sure," Asche said Saturday at Bright House Field. Utley had an affinity for Asche. The Phillies put Asche's locker next to Utley's because they thought they shared a similar mindset, and they wanted Asche to learn as much as possible from the hard-working, no-nonsense second baseman. The similarities between Utley and Asche are why many in the organization hope Asche can get on track this season and prove he deserves a job with them. It might be his final shot with the Phillies. Asche is the first to say he did not play well last season. The Phillies expected him to improve from his first full season in 2014, when he hit .252 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs, 46 RBIs and a .699 OPS in 434 plate appearances. Instead, he hit .245 with 22 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 39 RBIs and a .689 OPS in 456 plate appearances. He lost his job at third base to Maikel Franco, and he could be pushed out of regular playing time in left field as Phillies manager Pete Mackanin looks at Odubel Herrera, Peter Bourjos, Aaron Altherr and possibly even Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel in the outfield. It is why the Phillies have asked Asche to pick up a first baseman's mitt this spring. He worked out there for the first time Saturday, borrowing a mitt from utility infielder Andres Blanco. "It's going to help him a lot," Mackanin said. "We need Cody to try to get as many at-bats as possible. So I told him to get himself a first baseman's mitt for a double-switch possibility or an occasional start over there. The more positions he can play … he could be an outstanding double-switch guy. He could get some starts. It's a way for me to get him more at-bats." It would be easy for Asche to sulk and come up with a million reasons why he did not play well last season, or think how the Phillies are not giving him a fair shake this spring. He said he battled those thoughts last year, but he took the offseason to clear his mind and take responsibility for what happened. "You're the one playing," he said. "Create your own destiny. I've always been a guy who has the most confidence in himself. You won't be able to talk me out of the belief that I'm better than most players. That's just what I am and how I got here. And I'll never lose that belief. That helps me when I do my work and come here to compete." If he sounds motivated, he is. "You have to look at yourself first before you look at anything else," he said. "If you do that, you can create a clear mind for yourself. That's the biggest thing I was able to achieve this offseason, a clear mind. If I want it, I have to go get it 100 percent. You have to show it. I'm not going to sit here and complain about anything. I'm not going to complain about having to work three different positions or complain about not having a set position or set position in the lineup." Because it's simple, really. If he plays like he thinks he can play, Asche will be in the Phillies' lineup. "It's pretty clear cut," Asche said. "I haven't done too much to solidify any sort of role right now on this team. So really it's up to me to show him what I am, what I've tried to make adjustments on and how I can get better." And if it works out, maybe Asche will be the starting left fielder when he sees his old buddy Utley at Dodger Stadium in August. So what did Utley write on that bat anyway? "Just normal Chase stuff," Asche said with a smile. "We'll keep that between me and him."

Today In Phils History - In an unusual move for the time, in 1917 the Phillies signed Grover Cleveland Alexander to a 2-year contract for a record, according to local press, $12,500 per season. One of Alexander's former teammates also had reason to celebrate as John Titus was born on this day in 1876. 

THE BEGINNING:

With the Phillies having finished the 2015 season with a spectacularly awful record of 63-99 it will be interesting to see what kind of team new President Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak put on the field. At the same time I am definitely looking forward to the games against Boston with former GM Ruben Amaro on the field. Given the departures, lingering contracts, a history of injuries, bipolar performances, and unproven talent, it should, at the very least, be an interesting season for the Phillies. Who knows, maybe they can avoid 100 losses... hopefully by more than one game!

Injuries And Opportunities

PHILS PHACTS:

Another Injury – The Phillies expect right-hander Jerad Eickhoff to be in their five-man rotation come Opening Day. But Eickhoff experienced a setback recently with a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb. The Phillies said it should not affect his ability to start the season, although manager Pete Mackanin said Eickhoff has not yet thrown a bullpen session. "He did it bunting before camp started," Mackanin said. "A ball just got away from him. But he shouldn't be far behind. It set him back a little bit, but not much." Eickhoff, 25, went 3-3 with a 2.65 ERA in eight starts last season with the Phillies, who acquired him in July in the Cole Hamels trade with the Rangers. If healthy, he is expected to open the season in the rotation with Aaron Nola, Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton. The No. 5 job is wide open with Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer and Adam Morgan the top candidates.

A Quartet Of Closers – The moment the Phillies traded Ken Giles to the Astros, they needed a closer. They already needed a setup man, and maybe another reliable reliever or two. They signed David Hernandez to a one-year, $3.9 million contract shortly before the Giles trade in December. But rather than sign another free-agent closer or setup man or acquire one in a trade, the rebuilding Phillies made more minor moves, which included signing four reclamation projects to Minor League contracts with invitations to Spring Training: right-handers Andrew Bailey, Ernesto Frieri and Edward Mujica and left-hander James Russell. The Phillies hope one of them can be their closer or setup man in 2016. If they are lucky, two or more of them will find their mojo and stabilize a bullpen that has few certainties other than maybe Hernandez and Jeanmar Gomez. "I can't say they're all going to be as impressive," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Friday afternoon at Bright House Field. "I'd like to believe that more than a couple guys are going to make our job difficult. I'd like to believe that all of them are going to compete well enough that we're going to have a tough decision to make. That's what we're hoping for." Bailey, Frieri, Mujica and Russell have made a combined 1,395 appearances with 226 saves. But each of them has plenty to prove. That is why they are here. "I know they're rebuilding," Russell said. "But it's always a good opportunity for somebody that's not coming off the greatest year and trying to get back on track." Russell, 30, had a 5.29 ERA in 49 appearances last season with the Cubs. He posted a 1.71 ERA in 33 appearances from May 5 through July 7, but had an 11.08 ERA in 16 appearances the rest of the way before the Cubs designated him for assignment Sept. 1. "I don't know what it was last year," Russell said. "I felt like I was cruising for a little bit then had a couple bad outings going into September that really hurt me. If I could take away three outings, I have a great year again." In fact, remove Russell's two worst performances in August and he had a respectable 3.16 ERA in 47 of 49 appearances. Bailey, 31, has pitched in just 59 games the past four seasons because of a shoulder injury. He pitched with the Yankees last season. He had a 1.80 ERA in 28 Minor League appearances before he posted a 5.19 ERA in 10 appearances with New York. Before injuries hit, Bailey, who is from Haddonfield, N.J., had a 2.07 ERA with 75 saves from 2009-11. He made the American League All-Star team twice. "I'm coming off injuries and working my way back, so it's the opportunity I was looking for the most," Bailey said. "The Phillies presented me with a great one and I hope to take full advantage of it." Frieri, 30, had a 2.76 ERA in 228 appearances from 2009-13, but he had a 7.34 ERA in 48 appearances with the Angels and Pirates in 2014. The Rays have had tremendous success fixing pitchers in the past, so they took a shot on him in 2015. Tampa Bay designated Frieri for assignment in June after he posted a 4.63 ERA in 22 appearances. At the time they said they needed more relievers who could pitch multiple innings, and they thought Frieri was just a one-inning pitcher. Mujica, 31, is a former All-Star who has made 494 appearances with 50 saves in his career. He had a 4.75 ERA in 49 appearances last season with Oakland and Boston. He has battled a neck injury the past couple of seasons, which he said has been resolved. He also fractured his right thumb in May. He said he might have returned too early from that injury. "It's a different experience for me," Mujica said about being in camp as a non-roster invitee. "This is my first time in this position. You don't have a spot on the roster. It's a little crazy." But while each pitcher can point to a reason for his recent struggles, there is no question each will need to pitch well to win a job. They are guaranteed nothing, which is why the Phillies are taking a shot. They are low-risk, high-reward arms on a roster filled with inexperience. "We don't know yet," Mackanin said about who will be the Phillies' closer. "That's one of the things that's going to be a lot of fun looking at. By the end of Spring Training, we'll come up with somebody. We'll look at all of them."

Will They Win Again? – Everybody wants to know the Phillies' time frame to win again. Could it be 2017, '18 or '19? Phillies president Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak have wisely not offered any hints because nobody truly knows when they will win again. But they do believe '16 should give them a pretty good idea about it. "What we're going to find out this year more than anything is what kind of track we're on," MacPhail said Friday evening at Grapefruit League Media Day. "Are we on a fast track? Are we on a medium track? Are we on a slow track? That's going to be determined by the 25 we break with. It's also going to be determined by how some of those next-level guys progress and how many of them demonstrated they're ready to come to the big leagues." Those next-level guys include six of the top 100 prospects in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. They will be in camp this spring: shortstop J.P. Crawford, outfielder Nick Williams, right-hander Jake Thompson, right-hander Mark Appel, catcher Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Roman Quinn. "Matt has said this and he's absolutely right," MacPhail said. "You don't want to have to send somebody back. So it's important for the organization, when they promote them, they've got to feel like they're going to stick."

Today In Phils History - What may be surprising to some is that Shane Victorino made an appearance on a CBS drama on this day 4 years ago. What is not surprising is that the show was Hawaii 5-0. 

THE BEGINNING:

With the Phillies having finished the 2015 season with a spectacularly awful record of 63-99 it will be interesting to see what kind of team new President Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak put on the field. At the same time I am definitely looking forward to the games against Boston with former GM Ruben Amaro on the field. Given the departures, lingering contracts, a history of injuries, bipolar performances, and unproven talent, it should, at the very least, be an interesting season for the Phillies. Who knows, maybe they can avoid 100 losses... hopefully by more than one game!

Getting Ready For The Spring Competition

PHILS PHACTS:

Possibilities Aplenty – Matt Klentak finished his first General Managers Meetings this week in Boca Raton, Fla., setting up his first Winter Meetings next month in Nashville, Tenn. Klentak discussed numerous Phillies issues with reporters, including the possibility of trading closer Ken Giles and the importance of the international market. But he talked about much more than that: Alfaro and Knapp: Two of the top prospects in the Phillies' system are catchers Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp. The Phils acquired Alfaro from the Rangers in the Cole Hamels trade this past summer. MLBPipeline.com ranks him the 59th-best prospect in baseball. Philadelphia named Knapp its Minor League Player of the Year. The Phillies hope one of them develops into a front-line catcher. Of course, in a perfect world, both develop into top catchers and the Phils have a nice problem on their hands. But nobody is losing sleep about that possibility just yet. "We like having a lot of good players," Klentak said. "If they're at the same position, that's OK. "I want to try to think as open-mindedly and creatively as I can. We don't necessarily have to have the starting player-backup player. Maybe there's a more creative solution to that long term. Look, I hope both these guys are so good this becomes an issue. But for now, we're pleased with their development and their talent." A prospect-laden Spring Training: This could be one of the Phillies' most interesting Spring Trainings in years, because they may have a host of top prospects in the clubhouse. That group includes J.P. Crawford, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Knapp and Alfaro. "I think as a general rule, if there is a player that has a reasonable chance to impact your Major League club in the upcoming Major League season, having that player around the big league club, around the big league staff in Spring Training, tends to be a good rule of thumb," Klentak said. "That doesn't mean you'll do it every time. Sometimes you'll have popup guys that you didn't expect. Or sometimes you might have a good reason to not invite a guy to camp. But I think as a general rule, if you're that close, and there's a reasonable expectation of being in the big leagues, that's probably someone you should at least consider bringing to camp." Klentak, like many, is eager to get his first close-up look at those players. "I've studied up on them," Klentak said. "I've listened to people talk about them. I've read scouting reports. I've watched video on these players. But there's nothing like actually getting down behind the cage and watching them take swings or watching them pick up ground balls." Remember MAG? The Phillies signed Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to a three-year, $12 million contract in August 2013, making next season the final year of his contract. It would be surprising if he significantly contributed, considering his checkered health history. That said, if Gonzalez is healthy, he will get an opportunity to compete for a job. "If he's performing and he gives us the best chance to win, just like with any other player, we will give that player the chance to go out and compete," Klentak said. "If he doesn't, just as if anybody else doesn't, we're going to find the best guys to take the field and give us a chance to win." But one thing is certain: Gonzalez won't get a longer leash because he is set to be paid $4 million next year. "I mean, we're paying him regardless," Klentak said. "We're in the business of winning baseball games. And this is no knock on the player. If he's the best guy for the job, we'll give him the chance." Extra bases: Klentak said he expects left-hander Mario Hollands to contribute in the bullpen next season. Hollands had Tommy John surgery April 8; Left-hander Matt Harrison is on the 40-man roster, but it is unclear if he will compete for a job. Harrison had spinal fusion surgery in 2014, and his recovery has been slow.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.