GAME RECAP: Cards Clobber Phils 10-1
The Cardinals and Phillies have held true to form in the first two
games of their three-game series this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The
Cardinals, who have the best record in baseball, beat the Phillies on Saturday
night, 10-1, to take the first two games of the series. Randal Grichuk led the offense with two home runs, including
a three-run, tie-breaking shot in the sixth and a solo homer in the ninth. "I'm
seeing good at-bats," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "That's
characteristic of our club of the past, just grinding when we need at-bats and
not giving anything away. That's something that we take a lot of pride in and
the competition of each and every pitch." John Lackey made easy work of a Phillies offense that
is last in Major League Baseball in scoring. The Phillies, who have the worst
record in baseball, managed their only run in the second inning when Cody Asche homered. They have lost 11 of their last
12 games and 23 of their last 28. "We've got to do what we can do and not
worry about what's going on around us," said Phillies right-hander Aaron Harang, asked if the frequent losing could
result in changes. "We've just got to stick together. We don't want to
start pointing fingers because then you get a clubhouse that just separates and
you don't want that. Because that's when it gets really bad."
OTHER NOTES
FROM THE DAY:
- Harang carried a 1-1 tie into the
sixth inning when he allowed back-to-back singles to Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina. But
that 2-1 fastball over the heart of the plate to Grichuk sunk him. Harang
has a 7.61 ERA in his last four starts.\
- Asche hit his third home run of the
season and his first since April 22, while Utley went 1-for-4, including
fly outs in the fourth and sixth innings. Since Utley's batting average
reached a season-high .207 on June 2, he has hit just .100 (5-for-50) with
one double and three RBIs. "I
would say so," Asche said, asked if the team feels beat up after
being outscored 48-14 in their last five games. "A couple of our last
losses, those hit you hard. They're not fun games to be a part of."
- "That's why they're in first
place. That's why they have the best record in the league. They do the
little things. They do the hit-and-runs. They move runners over. The
defense is there. The pitchers make pitches when they need to. They're
going on all cylinders and they're all working at the same time." -- Harang,
on the Cardinals outscoring the Phillies 22-5 in two games.
NEXT
GAME:
Left-hander Adam Morgan will make his big league debut in Sunday's
series finale at 1:35 p.m. ET. The Phillies picked Morgan in the third round of
the 2011 Draft, and he had been on a fast track to the big leagues before he
suffered a left shoulder injury in May 2013. Morgan did not have great numbers
in Triple-A Lehigh Valley (0-6, 4.74 ERA in 13 starts), but he had a 2.51 ERA
in his last three outings. Michael Wacha will take the mound for the Cardinals
on Sunday, putting his 9-2 record on the line in a 12:35 p.m. CT start. It will
be the second time the right-hander faces the Phillies this year after a win he
earned on April 28. Wacha has been stellar on the road this year as his ERA
away from St. Louis is 2.02 and he is 6-1 in eight starts.
PHILS PHACTS:
One Pitch – Aaron Harang still figures to be an intriguing trade
chip come the July 31 Trade Deadline. He is 4-9 in 15 starts this season, but
he has a solid 3.41 ERA following Saturday's 10-1
loss to the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. He
also has a little more than half of a one-year, $5 million contract on the
books, which is a bargain for contending teams not looking to invest big money
(and big risk) into a pitcher for a postseason push. Can't afford Cole Hamels? Harang could be the guy. Of course,
Harang has a 7.61 ERA (20 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings) in his last four
starts, which might alarm some teams. But Harang chalked up the struggles in
the first two starts of this four-start stretch to facing a hot Reds lineup
twice. The last two? Two pitches in two games that amounted to a pair of
three-run home runs: a three-run homer to Baltimore's Matt Wieters on Monday and a three-run home run to
St. Louis' Randal Grichuk on
Saturday night. Before those homers, in his last two games Harang had allowed
two runs in 10 innings. "I'm trying to make too perfect a pitch in that
situation," Harang said about the at-bat against Grichuk. "Literally,
it's two pitches. You have two pitches back or you have no runners on in that
situation and it's totally different. It's frustrating, but it's part of the
game." But teams will remain interested in Harang. There were plenty of
scouts at the ballpark Saturday, many of them keeping their eyes on Harang. In
fact, there is almost no reason to think Harang will not be traded before the
Trade Deadline. Why wouldn't he? He has value and he can help the Phillies'
rebuilding effort. He won't get a haul like Hamels, but he could net the
Phillies something.
Up And Down Seasons Continue – The Phillies purposely put Cody Asche's locker next to Chase Utley's upon his big league arrival in 2013. They
wanted Asche to soak up Utley's experience and knowledge like a sponge. But
while they are kindred spirits in many ways, they both have had their share of
struggles this season. Asche homered in the second inning in Saturday night's 10-1
loss to the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. It
was his third home run of the season and first since April 22. Asche is hitting
.227 with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, seven RBIs and a .593 OPS
in 186 plate appearances. His season included a trip to Triple-A Lehigh Valley,
where he learned to play left field. "It's not what I expect out of
myself, not what I know that I have in me," Asche said. "That gets
frustrating at times. I'm not a .230 hitter, I know that. I'm not going to be.
It's just a thing you've got to keep working through. Hopefully they keep
trusting me and trusting in my ability. Hopefully tonight is a step in the
right direction." Utley went 1-for-4, flying out twice and singling to
left field in the eighth inning. Since Utley's batting average reached a
season-high .207 on June 2, he has hit .100 (5-for-50) with one double, three
RBIs and a .306 OPS. Utley finished the night hitting .182. According to Stats
Pass, only two hitters in baseball history have hit less than .182 with 500 or
more plate appearances in a season: Rob Deer, who hit .179 with the 1991
Tigers; and Dan Uggla, who hit .179
with the 2013 Braves. More important, Utley finished the night with 244 plate
appearances, meaning he needs only 256 more plate appearances in the season's
final 92 games to automatically vest a $15 million club option for next season.
"Just out in front of pitches, hitting fly balls," Phillies manager
Ryne Sandberg said about Utley's night at the plate. "It wasn't the best
night for a lot of our offensive guys. But for Chase, he was just in the air a
lot tonight."
“Oh No” Sent Back Down – Phillippe Aumont is not sure if he has a future with the
Phillies, but he sounded hopeful Saturday he will. He got designated for
assignment Saturday, after he allowed five hits, six runs, seven walks, two
home runs, one wild pitch and threw behind one batter in four innings in
Friday's 12-4 loss to the Cardinals. He threw 104 pitches, but just 56 for
strikes. The Phillies selected the contract of Triple-A right-hander Seth Rosin
to take his place on the roster. "I have no objection to going back to
[Triple-A] Lehigh Valley and staying with this organization," Aumont said.
"If they feel they want to keep me and want to keep working with me, I
don't see any [reason] to go anywhere else. A change of scenery can be an
excuse, I think." Aumont, 26, is 1-6 with a 6.80 ERA in 46 appearances
over four seasons with the Phillies. His inability to consistently throw
strikes has been an issue, but Aumont said his struggles are a mental block
more than anything else. "Am I ever going to figure it out?" he said.
"Maybe. Sometimes it's there. Sometimes it's not there. It's more so
figuring out why are there days when I can just dominate the world and the next
day a Little Leaguer would absolutely beat my [butt.] It's between the ears, just
making sure the confidence is still there and being able to work it out." If
Aumont clears waivers, the Phillies could outright him to Triple-A. Lehigh
Valley's game notes had Aumont listed as Thursday's starter. In the meantime,
Aumont planned to drive seven hours to his home in Ottawa, Canada, to
decompress, spend time with family and friends and await his fate. Aumont is
the only remaining piece from the Phillies' Cliff Lee trade with Seattle in Dec. 2009, but he
does not think a fresh start elsewhere would help him flip a switch and fulfill
his potential. "It doesn't matter where you are or what team you're
on," Aumont said. "You've just got to do it. These guys do it. I know
the season isn't going so well, but they still go out there and battle. I think
it's more so myself. The bottom line is you have to be mentally strong and
physically strong."
Fatherly Intuition – Glenn Giles never played baseball, but he might make a
pretty good scout. The father of Phillies relief pitcher Ken Giles, Glenn was the person who recognized his
son's talent for baseball and encouraged him to pursue it. But here's the
kicker: Glenn saw this talent before his son was even in preschool. "He
never played baseball, so it was just one of those things like a freak of
nature," Ken Giles said. "He saw talent and he was like 'This is what
he's going to do.' I was probably like an infant and I was throwing a ball and
stuff at almost like two years old." The elder Giles was correct in
thinking baseball is what his son would end up doing, and Sunday he will get
the chance to see this firsthand. The Phillies are flying Glenn into
Philadelphia for the series finale against the Cardinals to represent all of
the Phillies' fathers on Father's Day. Ken said this has been in the works for
a few weeks. The Phillies asked him if he thought his father would be willing
to be the liaison, and Ken said knowing his father that wouldn't even be a
question. "My dad jumps all over those kind of opportunities, so of course
he was going to say yes," Ken said. Ken went on to say that his father
watches every Phillies game he can on television and even traveled to Denver to
see him pitch in May. Despite this, he said his father doesn't brag about him
so much as people brag to him about how proud he should be to have a son in the
Major Leagues. Glenn will be staying with Ken this weekend and will be
introduced before Sunday's game around the time of the first pitch. And though
he has time to spend with his dad on Father's Day, Giles said the one thing he
wants to do for his dad will come on the field. "Just pitch well in front
of him," Giles said. "That's all I can ask for."
While The Phils Are Away… - For
all eight of Saturday's Philadelphia-based MLB Pitch, Hit and Run presented by
Scotts winners, getting to play on and being honored on the field at Citizens
Bank Park is an achievement hard to quantify with words. But for one of the
eight winners, 11-12-year-old boys' champion, Josh Nielsen, being able to be on
the field was a culmination of the reason he fell in love with baseball. When
Nielsen was 6 years old, his uncle took him to a game at Citizens Bank Park
where the Phillies were hosting the Cardinals. He had no interest in the game
at that time, but after that he decided baseball was the sport he wanted to
play. So, just hours after beating out his competition in the 11-12-year-old
age group, Nielsen was honored on the field. His uncle was in attendance again.
And the Phillies are playing the Cardinals again. "Words can't describe
this," he said. In addition to Nielsen, seven other children were honored
before the game. They were, from youngest to oldest, Amelia Atkins, Ty Kaunas,
Maysen Fisher, Bronson Kilmer, Abby Tobelmann, Anastasia Rodites and Mike
Gorman. A majority of the winners picked the running portion of the event as
their favorite part with two of the girls boasting their times. Atkins, the
youngest of the female competitors, was able to complete the run in 9.82
seconds, while Rodites, the oldest, posted a time of 8.23 seconds. Two of the
eight, however, listed hitting as their favorite part and just one picked pitching
as their passion. Though neither of the offensively-inclined winners boasted
they were able to hit a ball over the Citizens Bank Park fence, they both were
secure in the fact that they can hit home runs in parks engineered with
dimensions more fitting of their age. Tobelmann was one of the kids who favored
hitting and one of the few who claimed she wasn't nervous to be out on the
field where the big leaguers play since she had competed in this event a year
ago. "I'm used to it," she said. The eight winners now await the
scores from the other competitions to see whether or not they advance to the
national finals in Cincinnati in advance of the All-Star Game in July. And
though no individual kid was quick to predict themselves as the national
favorite, they all used one word to describe their outlooks: confident. As for
Nielsen, the ability to play on the field where his childhood idols Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins made their home for so long was even
cooler than winning. As happy as he was to win, just stepping on the field was
the real prize.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the
NL east at 23-47. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance
this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All
time, the Phillies are 44-51-0 on this day.
