Asher Puts Suspension Behind Him Against Nationals

GAME RECAP: Phillies Nab Nationals 4-1

Right-hander Alec Asher, making his first start of the season for the Phillies, proved to be too much for the Nationals as Philadelphia won the series opener, 4-1, at Nationals Park on Thursday night in Asher's first big league win. Washington's magic number remains at 15 to win the National League East. The second-place Mets had the day off on Thursday. The Phillies also snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Nationals. Asher's counterpart, A.J. Cole, pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. All four runs were scored in the third inning, on homers by Peter Bourjos and Ryan Howard. "Cole wasn't bad at all," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "It was the three-run homer [from Howard] that did him and us in. Cole was pretty good, actually. The one homer [by Bourjos] hit the foul pole. The other one scraped the wall." Said Cole: "Howard hit a good pitch. At the same time, if I'm going to throw that changeup, I [should] throw it in the ground." Asher, who pitched six shutout innings, retired six of the first seven hitters he faced. The only time the Nationals had runners in scoring position against the right-hander was in the third inning. Washington had runners on first and second with two outs, but Daniel Murphy flied out to left field to end the threat. "He showed makeup," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said about Asher. "Last year he looked like he was a little nervous most of the time and got rocked around. It was good to see him confident." Washington would finally put a run on a board in the eighth inning off reliever Hector Neris. With the bases loaded, Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Aaron Altherr, scoring Stephen Drew.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Asher returned from an 80-game suspension earlier this week after testing positive for oral turinabol, dazzling in his season debut. He allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings. Asher is the first of three pitchers the Phillies acquired in July 2015 in the Cole Hamels trade who will face the Nationals this weekend. Jake Thompson starts Friday night and Jerad Eickhoff starts Saturday night. "I just said that I was going to go out there and have fun," Asher said. "I felt like I wasn't myself at the end of last year and let the moment get to me. I was going to go back to being me. It definitely worked and I'm looking to build on it."
• Howard's three-run home run to center field handed the Phillies a 4-0 lead. It was the 378th homer of Howard's career, which ties him with Matt Williams for 72nd place on the all-time home run list. Next up are Hall of Famers Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, who each hit 379 homers. "Howie came up with that big three-run home run," Mackanin said. "That's [about] all we had offensively, but it was obviously enough."
• "Someone asked me last year, a legitimate question after he was getting rocked around so much, 'Do you think it was a good idea to call him up?' And I said, 'Yes it is, because when he goes back down, he's going to understand what he's up against and let's see what kind of makeup he's got, if he's going to fight and battle back.' And sure enough, he went out there tonight and looked very confident. He felt like he was in control. He got away with a few line drives here and there, but nevertheless he threw strikes and only gave up two hits. I'm really proud of him for that." -- Mackanin, on Asher.

NEXT GAME:

Thompson hopes to keep the good times rolling on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. He went 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in his first four starts, unable to pitch past the fifth inning in any of those starts. But Thompson is 0-2 with a 1.93 ERA in his last two starts, pitching seven innings in both.

PHILS PHACTS:

Asher Returns – Does Alec Asher have more of this in him? It is just one start, but his season debut Thursday in a 4-1 victory over the Nationals at Nationals Park had to intrigue a few people in the Phillies' organization. Asher allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings, throwing a mere 75 pitches (55 strikes). It snapped the Phillies' nine-game losing streak against the Nationals. Asher's teammates commemorated his first big league win by taking him into the Phillies' shower fully clothed and dumping beer on him. "I just said that I was going to go out there and have fun," Asher said. "I felt like I wasn't myself at the end of last year and let the moment get to me. I was going to go back to being me. It definitely worked, and I'm looking to build on it." Asher went 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA in seven starts late last season with the Phillies, who acquired him in July 2015 in the Cole Hamels trade with the Rangers. Asher knew he would not last long with performances like that, so he worked on a two-seam fastball in the offseason. It helped. He went 1-2 with a 3.20 ERA in four starts this season with Double-A Reading before being promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, for which he went 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in four starts. Everything looked great until Major League Baseball suspended Asher 80 games for testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), which is an anabolic steroid designed by East Germany in the 1960s. The steroid is better known as oral turinabol. Former teammate and Rule 5 Draft pick Daniel Stumpf also tested positive for DHCMT this year. Both have maintained their innocence, saying they have absolutely no idea how the easily detectable steroid entered their systems. "We're all in the same boat," Asher said about himself and four other players that tested positive this year for DHCMT. "We're all looking for a resolution on what had happened. But that's all I got for you." Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he isn't interested in Asher's explanation about his PED suspension. "I don't even want to talk to him about it," Mackanin said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's water under the bridge and let's just put it behind us." Asher figures to make four more starts before the end of the season. If he pitches well, he could put himself in good position to make the 2017 rotation out of Spring Training. But there should be plenty of competition. If everybody is healthy -- that is always a big "if" -- the group of starters in camp should include Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, Jake Thompson, Adam Morgan, Asher and probably a veteran starter or two. "If he pitches like he did tonight, he's definitely in the conversation," Mackanin said. "It was noticeable to me, just his demeanor on the mound. It looked like he was confident from the start. He threw strikes. He wasn't pitching away from contact. That's huge. For him to go through what he's gone through and develop a new pitch over the winter and to come out against a real good hitting team, a first-place team, speaks volumes."

Nagging Injuries – Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco is day to day with a sore right thumb. Franco could be back in the starting lineup as early as Friday against the Nationals at Nationals Park, although he could pinch-hit in Thursday's series opener. Franco took ground balls, and he planned to hit in the batting cage Thursday. Franco jammed the thumb Sunday against the Braves in Philadelphia, but he played Monday and Tuesday in Miami. He went 0-for-8 in those games to drop his batting average to .246 and his OPS to .721.

Today In Phils History – George Davis of the Braves no hit the Phillies in the second game of a double header on this day in 1914. Jimmie Foxx hit the final of his 534 career homeruns in 1945. The Phillies struck out 26 times in a double header against the Mets in 1970 with Nolan Ryan adding 13 to his career tally in game 1. In the 2^nd game of that double header, Greg ‘The Bull” Luzinski made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter and unceremoniously struck out (he was the Phillies 1^st player born in the 1950’s. 2003 saw the Phillies hammer the Braves 18-5 with both Tomas Perez and Jason Michaels each hitting the 1^st grand slam of their career. The following season Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff inside the park homerun which was his 4^th homerun to begin a game that season tying the franchise record. In that same game, Jason Michaels bobbled a ball so badly that he forced the ball over the fence for a homerun which was soon forgotten with 5 homeruns and a Phillies win. Other debuts on this day include Jeff Stone (1983) and Nick Punto (2001). Finally, happy birthday to Hugh Mulcahy (1913), Ron Stone (1942), and Todd Zeile (1965).   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 63-77 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 54-42-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Morgan Turns Corner As Phillies Beat Marlins

GAME RECAP: Phils Fluster Fish 4-3

Games are starting to run out on the Marlins' playoff chances, and the Phillies are thoroughly happy to take on the role of spoiler as they develop their own young talent. On Tuesday night, left-hander Adam Morgan kept Miami off stride, allowing one run in six innings, and Philadelphia held on for a 4-3 victory at Marlins Park. Odubel Herrera had two hits, reached four times and scored three runs for the Phillies, who have taken the first two games of the series, while the Marlins dropped their fifth straight and 10 of 11. With 23 games remaining, the Marlins are struggling to stay in reach of the second National League Wild Card spot, falling to six games behind St. Louis. "A big part of it is catching a team when they're scuffling," said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin. "[The Marlins] have been scuffling, and we took advantage of it. These last two games reminds me of games we were winning early in the season where we'd scuffle, scratch and claw and come out on top." Morgan had lost nine straight decisions, the longest skid in the Majors this season, and hadn't won since beating the Phillies on May 10. Herrera recorded his 33rd multi-hit game of the season and 18th on the road. The sluggish Miami offense came to life in the eighth inning. Ichiro Suzuki belted his first career pinch-hit home run, a two-run drive to right off reliever Hector Neris. The Marlins threatened with two on and two out in the inning before Neris struck out Jeff Francoeur. And they threatened again in the ninth, putting runners on first and second with one out against closer Jeanmar Gomez after third baseman Maikel Franco's throwing error. But Gomez ended the threat by striking out Dee Gordon looking. The Phillies scored twice off Jose Urena in the first inning, on Tommy Joseph's sacrifice fly and Freddy Galvis' RBI single. Herrera had a triple and scored on Joseph's double, making it 3-0 in the third, and Galvis knocked in a run in the fifth. "This team is grinding it out, it was big," said Morgan, who came into the game getting an average of just 2.67 runs per nine innings of support over his nine-game losing streak -- lowest of any NL starter. Adeiny Hechavarria had an RBI single off Morgan in the fifth, and the Marlins received a boost in the inning when Giancarlo Stanton, reinstated on Tuesday after sustaining a Grade 3 left groin strain on Aug. 13, delivered a pinch-hit single. Stanton immediately was removed for pinch-runner Robert Andino, who was stranded.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• For a team with recent trouble scoring runs, the Phillies wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. They put the first three batters of the game on base, with two of them scoring. Cesar Hernandez and Herrera opened with consecutive singles before Franco drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Joseph followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Hernandez, and Galvis sent Herrera home with single to make it 2-0. "That was huge," Mackanin said of the fast start. "It was nice to jump out to a 2-0 start, and then we added on after that. But we still left 11 men on base. We had opportunities to score more runs and blow it wide open, but we didn't." Urena was tagged for four runs in five innings. "Early on, it didn't seem like we had a whole lot going on," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Jose, they got him early. He was out of the zone, and it basically seemed like he was up more today than we'd seen in the last couple of outings. More balls up in the zone, more offspeed up in the zone, more unfavorable counts, things like that."
• In addition to his contributions at the plate, Herrera made a nice running catch of a long fly ball in center field off the bat of Jeff Francoeur in the second inning that kept the Marlins off the scoreboard. That's because the next batter, J.T. Realmuto, lined what could have been an RBI double. Instead it became just a two-out hit, and Realmuto was left stranded. "Defense made some awesome plays behind me, helped me minimize the damage," a grateful Morgan said.
• In his remarkable career, Ichiro has collected 3,019 big league hits in 9,646 at-bats. On Tuesday night, the 42-year-old celebrated another first. When he connected off Neris in the eighth inning, it was his first career pinch-hit home run. Ichiro's drive over the wall in right field pulled Miami to within 4-3. According to Statcast™, the home run landed a projected 369 feet away with an exit velocity of 97 mph. It also was Ichiro's first home run of the season. Ichiro is now one hit shy of matching Rafael Palmeiro (3,020) for 26th on MLB's all-time list. "It gives us a little bit of life," Mattingly said. "So that was obviously big for us."

NEXT GAME:

Jeremy Hellickson (10-8, 3.88 ERA) takes the mound on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET to wrap up the series at Marlins Park. The right-hander is looking to shake off his last two outings in which he gave up a combined nine runs over 10 innings.

PHILS PHACTS:

Ending The Skid – It was a long time coming, but Phillies starter Adam Morgan got just enough run support to come out a winner in Tuesday's 4-3 decision over the Marlins. The lefty went six innings and gave up just one run on five hits. He struck out five, and for the second consecutive outing, he did not walk a batter. Morgan came into the game having lost nine consecutive decisions while posting a 6.72 ERA over his last 15 games, which included 13 starts and two relief appearances. It was the longest losing streak in the Majors this season, and longest by a Phillies pitcher in a single season since Kyle Abbott, who dropped 11 consecutive decisions from April 10-July 6, 1992. Hugh Mulcahy holds the franchise record for consecutive losses. He dropped 12 straight from Aug. 4-Sept. 23, 1940. Continuing to develop a two-seam fastball, which Morgan began throwing upon his recall from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, is making a big difference in his game. "The two-seamer, the changeup and he's keeping the ball down better," said Phils manager Pete Mackanin. "He needed to make a change and pitch differently than he had in the past, and he's starting to do that." The new pitch is paying dividends for Morgan, who said he still has some work to do with it. "It definitely can get better, more consistent. For now, I'll take it," said Morgan, who struggled with the idea of adding a new pitch mid-season. "You've got to buy into it. You can't go into it half-hearted. It was one of those things where I needed a pitch that goes away to righties and into lefties that gets them to mis-hit it." What makes Morgan's big league streak even more unusual is that upon being called up from Triple-A, Morgan had a six-game win streak going. He allowed three runs or fewer in each of those six starts with the IronPigs, and had a 2.72 ERA over that span. Morgan was named International League Pitcher of the Week prior to his recall for the week of Aug. 1-7, after going 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings. "It's been the same game plan; keep it down, keep it simple," said Morgan, whose game plan for the Marlins remained just as simple. "Don't try to do anything too crazy. This is an aggressive team. I just went out and executed." Morgan said he stayed focused through the tough times as hard as that was at times. "I wouldn't say that I lost confidence," he said. "It did get tough there for a while. But you can't lose confidence; you can't lose belief in yourself. You do that and this game will kick you out real fast." Besides, it hasn't been all on Morgan. He'd only gotten 20 runs of support in 67 1/3 innings. That's 2.67 runs of support per nine innings, the lowest for any National League starter. On Tuesday, four runs were enough to give Morgan his first win since May 10.

Asher Returns – Phillies utility player Darnell Sweeney was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, and it was made official after Tuesday's 4-3 win that right-handed pitcher Alec Asher will take his place on the roster. Asher, just off an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use, will get the start on Thursday when the Phillies open a four-game series in Washington. The 24-year-old from Lakeland, Fla., was a fourth-round pick by Texas in the 2012 Draft and acquired by the Phillies as part of the Cole Hamels trade. With Phils starter Vince Velasquez shut down for the rest of the season and the team in need of arms to finish out the year, Asher could be an option to fill that spot in the rotation. Asher scuffled with the Phillies late last season, posting an 0-6 record with a 9.31 ERA in seven starts. He got a no-decision in the only game the Phillies won during that span. Over 29 innings, Asher yielded 30 runs on 42 hits, including eight homers. He struck out 16 and walked 10. Opposing batters hit .339 over that stretch. In five Minor League seasons with the Rangers and Phils, "The Big Cat," as the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder is also known, has put together a 32-33 record with a 3.39 ERA. This season in the Minors, he went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA, with 46 strikeouts and 10 walks over 64 2/3 innings. "I haven't seen him," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I've heard he's now throwing a very good two-seam fastball, which he didn't have last year. I'm anxious to see him." Asher fills the 40-man roster spot opened up when Sweeney was outrighted. Sweeney cleared waivers and will finish out the season with the IronPigs, where he hit .232 in 443 plate appearances this season. Sweeney was acquired by the Phils as part of the Chase Utley trade, but the 25-year-old struggled last season with the team, hitting just .176 in 37 games. He played second and third base, as well as all three outfield positions. "He's got to hit, it's pretty simple," Mackanin said. "Improve his defense. At this level you have to produce. Numbers matter and he doesn't have numbers." Mackanin said that while Sweeney still possesses great potential, it hasn't been realized yet. "At some point you have to live up to your potential," Mackanin said.

Howard Nominated – Ryan Howard's legacy is secure, both for his works on the field with the Phillies and off the field in Philadelphia. Howard has been nominated for Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award. The league announced the 30 club nominees Tuesday for its annual recognition of a player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Each club nominates one player to be considered for the award in tribute to Clemente's achievements and character by recognizing current players who truly understand the value of helping others. Wednesday marks the 15th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which MLB established to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially acknowledge local club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. Clubs playing at home on Wednesday will recognize their local nominees as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies. Visiting clubs will honor their nominees before another September home game. Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, fans are encouraged to participate in the new process of selecting the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award by posting any nominee's voting hashtags to MLB's official social media accounts, @MLB on Twitter and Facebook.com/MLB. Howard's hashtag is #VoteHoward. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards, and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks. The original "Commissioner's Award" for philanthropic service was renamed in 1973 in honor of Clemente, the Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star who died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Howard's works in the community are almost too numerous to mention. He and his wife, Krystle, created The Ryan Howard Big Piece Foundation in 2013. The foundation focuses on "engaging children, specifically those who lack athletic and educational opportunities, in the fundamental area of literacy." Its first program, "The Ryan Howard Reading Challenge," challenged students in a Philadelphia public school to read 20 minutes a day, seven days a week. The program resulted in more than one million minutes of reading by students, which Howard used as an incentive to award the school a grant for a new reading room. The interactive, baseball-themed room, dubbed "Howard's Homeroom," is filled with books, computers and iPads for students to read, create and dream. Howard raised $75,000 to provide the room by holding events on his off-days. Of course, the new Phillies Urban Youth Academy was unveiled this summer in South Philadelphia, and it was named the Ryan Howard Training Center. "It's been our passion to give back to our community, especially when it relates to baseball and education," Howard said in July. "It's an extreme honor to be part of something we hope will help thousands and thousands of kids." Ryan and Krystle wrote a children's book series called "Little Rhino." Howard and Krystle invited students for a pregame "Little Rhino Read-Along," where he and his teammates acted out scenes from one of the books. The performance shared the joy of reading with K-5 grade students and raised funds for The Phillies Urban Youth Academy. Ryan and the Phillies will soon announce his significant and long-term commitment toward the construction of the Academy's educational building. Ryan's reading program will also be announced as a featured part of the curriculum.

Today In Phils History – In a battle of the titans, the Phillies and Pirates faced off on this day in 1901 with the Phillies having lost 10 in a row and the Pirates having lost 9 (the Phillies won the game). 10 years later, in his rookie year, Pete Alexander defeated 44 year old Cy Young who was playing his last season in MLB. With a homerun off of Don Newcombe at Crosley Field in 1959, Wally Post had recorded at least 1 homerun in every NL park. Greg Luzinski hit his 1^st MLB homerun into the 500 level at the Vet on this day in 1971. That same day, Mike Anderson appeared in the resumed portion of the game which was started on August 1^st and suspended in the 12^th inning… given the original start date of the contest this is considered his first game despite appearing in 7 games the week prior. The following season Steve Carlton defeated St. Louis for his 100^th career win and 23^rd victory of the season setting a new franchise record for lefties… he also brought his season strikeout total to 272 surpassing Jim Bunning's team mark of 268 set in 1965. In 1996, Scott Rolen is hit in the hand ending his season 1 at bat shy of losing his rookie status… he would win rookie of the year the following season. The next year, Expos shortstop Mark Grudzielanek hit his 49^th double of the year against the Phillies breaking the NL record set by Phillie Dick Bartell in 1932. Finally, 1 notable MLB debut occurred on this day in 1980 when Marty Bystrom took the mound for the Phillies.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 62-76 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 55-65-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Phillies Shutout In Sunday Matinee

GAME RECAP: Cards Crush Phils 9-0

The homer-happy Cardinals belted four balls out of Citizens Bank Park on Sunday and ended their road trip with an offensive outburst in a 9-0 win over the Phillies. Brandon Moss, Stephen Piscotty, Jedd Gyorko and Jeremy Hazelbaker all went deep for St. Louis, and the team has now homered in 11 straight games -- 10 of which have been multi-homer contests. Moss and Piscotty hit leadoff homers in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, while Gyorko and Hazelbaker each hit two-run shots in a four-run eighth. Mike Leake pitched seven shutout innings for the Cardinals in the rubber match of the series. "It's not the only way we can score runs, but it's our main way," Moss said of his team's homers. "We got a lot of guys in the lineup who can do a lot of damage and put some stress on pitchers." The Cardinals threatened all afternoon against Phillies starter Vince Velasquez. The right-hander allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base, and though the Cardinals only scored one run in the first, they tagged Velasquez for five runs on seven hits. Velasquez made it through six innings but needed 106 pitches to do so. Leake had to work around seven hits and nine total baserunners, but he got through seven frames unscathed on a rainy afternoon. It was the first time Leake had gone more than six innings since his last start before the All-Star break on July 10. The biggest threat the Phillies had against the righty came in the sixth inning when Maikel Franco and Ryan Howard both singled to put runners at the corners with no outs. However, Leake ended the threat by retiring the next three hitters. "The good news is that we had a winning homestand," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We went 5-4 against three real good hitting teams. That's the bright spot."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• The past few weeks have not been kind to Velasquez, who has a 10.47 ERA in his last three starts and a 7.29 ERA in his last six. Before his struggles against the Cardinals, he allowed 14 runs in 10 1/3 innings in his previous two starts against the Dodgers. The long ball has really hurt Velasquez in that stretch. After he allowed 11 home runs in his first 103 2/3 innings this season, he allowed eight in his last 15 1/3 innings. "You've got to stay positive," Velasquez said. "If you let yourself [get] down, you're not going to get anywhere. The way I see it is everyone has a turning point. I'm not figuring it out. I haven't found that turning point yet. I have a couple days off [to] regather, and I'll bounce back against New York. That's the way I see it, just try to be optimistic and keep working."
• The Phillies had runners on first and third with no outs in the sixth, but they were unable to score a run. They finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position in the series. "We had a couple opportunities early in the game to score some runs, didn't capitalize and after that, it was kind of a moot point," Mackanin said.
• "I told him to enjoy learning about climbing the ladder, enjoy the fight, the struggle to get to where you want to be. Because he's going to be real good at one point. He's got to keep battling and working at it." -- Mackanin, on Velasquez's recent struggles.
• The Phillies' streak of 14 consecutive games with a home run was snapped. It was their longest such streak since May 27 to June 9, 2013 (also 14 games). After homering in 14 consecutive games, the Phillies had their streak snapped on Sunday.
• Thompson is the No. 67 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. He has struggled in his first three starts and has not thrown more than five innings in any of them.
• Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (8-12, 3.91 ERA) faces White Sox right-hander James Shields (5-15, 5.98 ERA) on Wednesday night.

NEXT GAME:

The last time the Phillies visited U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox were a year away from winning their last World Series, while the Phillies were four years away from winning their last World Series. The teams open a two-game series Tuesday night, their first on the south side of Chicago since 2004. White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon (3-8, 4.26 ERA) faces Phillies right-hander Jake Thompson (1-2, 8.79 ERA) in the series opener. Rodon has been on a roll this month, going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in three starts. He has walked five and struck out 16 in 18 innings.

PHILS PHACTS:

Trying To Find The Bright Side – Vince Velasquez could allow these past few weeks to torment him, if he desired. But Velasquez sees no point in that, even though his struggles continued in Sunday afternoon's 9-0 loss to the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed seven hits, five runs, two walks, two home runs and struck out seven in six innings. Velasquez has a 10.47 ERA in his last three starts and a 7.29 ERA in his last six. Velasquez also has allowed eight home runs in his last 15 1/3 innings after he allowed just 11 in his first 103 2/3 innings. "You've got to stay positive," Velasquez said. "If you let yourself [get] down, you're not going to get anywhere. The way I see it is everyone has a turning point. I'm not figuring it out. I haven't found that turning point yet. I have a couple days off [to] regather, and I'll bounce back against New York. That's the way I see it, just try to be optimistic and keep working." Velasquez has thrown 119 innings, which is just 5 2/3 innings short of his career high in the Minor Leagues. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin does not believe Velasquez is running on fumes, although the Phillies are closely monitoring Velasquez's workload. Instead, he sees a young pitcher struggling as he learns on the job. "I told him to enjoy learning about climbing the ladder, enjoy the fight, the struggle to get to where you want to be," Mackanin said. "Because he's going to be real good at one point. He's got to keep battling and working at it." Plenty of successful starting pitchers struggled early in their careers. Roy Halladay is an excellent example of that. He had a 10.64 ERA in 19 appearances (13 starts) with the Blue Jays in 2000, prompting Toronto to send Halladay all the way to Class A Dunedin. Tom Glavine went 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA in his first full season with the Braves in 1988. This is not to compare Velasquez to Halladay or Glavine, but it should provide a little perspective. Velasquez (8-6, 4.31 ERA) is still very early in his career. He has time. Velasquez avoided major damage in the first inning when he loaded the bases with none out. Brandon Moss hit a ball to the wall in center field, but Odubel Herrera made a nice leaping catch for a sacrifice fly. No other runs scored in the inning.  Moss hit a solo homer to left-center field in the fourth and Cardinals pitcher Mike Leake hit a two-out single to score two runs in the same frame. Stephen Piscottyhit a solo homer to left in the fifth to make it 5-0. Velasquez struck out the side in the sixth to end his afternoon. "Why can't I just do what I did in that last inning?" Velasquez said he told Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure. Velasquez hinted in his last start last week against the Dodgers that he could make three or four more starts. If that is the case, he might have two or three more to right himself and go into the offseason with some positive vibes. "You just have to put the pieces together, and you have to figure it out," he said. "I've got to figure them out. Yeah, I agree with [Mackanin]. I know I've got to enjoy this adversity here, and I've got to manage to go with the flow and build on it."

Face Time Protection? – Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis remains upset and shaken that a foul ball he hit into the stands struck a young fan in the face on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. The girl had to be transferred to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for further evaluation. No update was available on her status as of late Sunday afternoon. "They told me she was OK," Galvis said. Galvis is a passionate advocate for installing more protective netting down the left- and right-field lines. The Phillies extended netting behind home plate about 10 feet on both sides in the offseason, but it stops once it reaches both dugouts. The Phillies said they received conflicting opinions from fans about sitting behind netting, many of whom feel it obstructs their view or takes away some of the enjoyment of being close to the action. "The Phillies expanded our netting this season to the sides of the dugout near home plate, as was suggested by Major League Baseball," Phillies executive vice president and chief operating officer Mike Stiles said in a statement. "We decided earlier this season to consider the possibility of further expansion next season. In making that determination at the conclusion of the 2016 season, we will take into account a number of factors -- including the opinion of our uniformed personnel and, most importantly, the wishes and safety of our fans." But Galvis cannot shake the image of the girl getting hit in the face with the ball. He was late on a 98-mph fastball from Sam Tuivailala in the eighth inning and watched the ball fly into the stands. "What if I broke all her teeth? What if I broke her nose?" Galvis said. "If I hit her in one eye and she loses that, what are they going to do? It's going to be a big deal for two, three days. Everybody in TV, media, whatever. But after three days, what's going to happen? They're going to forget. But that family won't forget that." Galvis said he understands that families want to sit as close to the field as possible, so children can see their heroes. He just says further protection makes sense in light of what happened. As for those who have mixed feelings about the extra netting taking away from the fan experience, Galvis offered a compromise. "Why not put up a net that can go up and down, if you want fans to get the balls and stuff between innings?" he said. "Two days ago, I saw one fan with his baby, maybe like 1 year old, 2 years old. They were in the third row. If you're a father and you know we don't have a net right now, you should sit behind a net or sit really far away, you know what I mean? I think they should worry about that."

Today In Phils History – It was not a good day to be on the mound in 1952 when both starters ended up in the hospital as Reds starter Frank Hiller suffered a broken nose and spike wound in a 1B collision with Richie Ashburn and Phillies starter Curt Simmons took a line drive off the back of the wrist. 2 years later, the Phillies lost Jim Konstanty to the Yankees. In 1961, Art Mahaffey ended his personal 10 game losing streak by throwing a 1 hit shutout against the Cubs. Greg Luzinski appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on this day in 1977. The Reds Alex Ochoa hit the record setting 142^nd grand slam during the 2000 MLB season when he connected off of the Phillies Bruce Chen. Randy Wolf had a heck of birthday in 2002 when he threw 8 shutout innings and connected for his first career homerun. Happy 40^th Birthday Randy Wolf! 4 years later another lefty joined the Phillies when the recently acquired Jamie Moyer made his Phillies debut.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 58-67 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 55-55-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Phillies Overpowered By Los Angeles

GAME RECAP: Dodgers Down Phillies 9-4

The Dodgers slugged four home runs, including two by rookie Corey Seager and one from Chase Utley in his first game against his former club, in a 9-4 win over the Phillies Monday night. "It was cool," Utley said of playing against his team of 12 1/2 seasons. "You're still trying to go out there and compete and win. Obviously I know lot of faces in that dugout, but the main goal is to win a game and we did. It was definitely different. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it was exciting to see those guys for sure." Seager set a Los Angeles Dodgers single-season mark for home runs by a shortstop with 21. The franchise record is 22 by Glenn Wright in 1930. "When you don't think he can do any more, he continually exceeds that," manager Dave Roberts said of Seager. "Every time he comes up to bat, something special can happen. His defense has been consistent all year long. He's done so many things for us, obviously he's a special player." Yasmani Grandal also homered with his career-best 17th in support of rookie Julio Urias (2-2), who allowed three runs in five innings while making his final start as a teenager (he turns 20 on Friday)and notching his first win at Dodger Stadium. Two of the Phillies' runs were unearned, scoring on Urias' throwing error. Phillies starter Zach Eflin (3-5) allowed three homers and seven runs in three innings. Joc Pederson had two doubles and three RBIs for the Dodgers. Tommy Joseph hit his 15th homer for the Phillies. "When he's got it, he's good," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Eflin. "When he doesn't have command, he's very hittable."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Things got ugly quickly for Eflin, which continued a troubling trend. He allowed five runs in the first inning and has a 13.85 ERA in his last three starts, becoming just the third Phillies starter since 2000 to allow six or more earned runs in three consecutive starts. Sean O'Sullivan (2015) and Joe Blanton ('12) are the others. "It could be mechanical, it could be mentally," Eflin said about recently leaving pitches in the middle of the plate. "I've got to bear down and really execute the pitch. I haven't been doing that and I've got to do a lot better job doing that."
• The Phillies need a first baseman next season and the rookie Joseph is making his case. His 15 homers are the most by a Phillies rookie since Ryan Howard hit 22 in '05. Joseph is hitting .325 (26-for-80) with four doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 26 games since July 3.
• Velasquez has seen the Dodgers before, but much has changed in his career since that relief appearance on Aug. 23, 2015, when he was still with Houston. The two Dodgers he faced have also seen some changes, with Yasiel Puig recently demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City and Carl Crawford getting designated for assignment in June.
• Howie Kendrick had a rare day off against a left-handed starter on Monday, but he should be back in the lineup against Velasquez.
• The Dodgers will be watching a pair of rehabbing starters before Tuesday's game. Rich Hill and Brandon McCarthy are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions to determine if they will make their respective starts on Friday and Saturday.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies and Dodgers will each have one of their best starters on the mound as Vince Velasquez faces off with Kenta Maeda on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Maeda leads the Dodgers in innings pitched with 125 2/3, while also sporting a 3.22 ERA and 125 strikeouts. He is one of just two starting pitchers who have been in the Dodgers' rotation all season, the other being Wednesday starter Scott Kazmir. Since being activated from the disabled list on June 27, Velasquez holds a 2.85 ERA and has been striking out a batter per inning. His 3.33 ERA leads all Phillies who have thrown at least 60 innings in 2016.

PHILS PHACTS:

The Slump Continues – Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin has remained calm throughout his recent three-start skid. Turning red is not his style. But he knows he must improve. He allowed seven hits, seven runs, two walks and three home runs in just three innings Monday night in a 9-4 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Chase Utley accounted for one of those runs when he hit a solo home run to right field in the second inning. Eflin is 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 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. "It could be mechanical, it could be mentally," Eflin said about recently leaving pitches in the middle of the plate. "I've got to bear down and really execute the pitch. I haven't been doing that and I've got to do a lot better job doing that." Eflin was 3-2 with a 2.08 ERA in seven starts before his recent slump, so his struggles have been a bit surprising. "When he's got it, he's good," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "When he doesn't have command, he's very hittable." Mackanin mentioned Eflin has been recently battling knee soreness. "There's a little soreness," Eflin said. "Kind of gone through it every single season. You kind of just wake up and see how you feel. Sometimes you get out there and you just don't feel like yourself. Today was one of those days, but no I don't think it's affected me the past three outings." Eflin's struggles and injuries this season to Aaron Nola and Vince Velasquez are reasons why the Phillies probably want at least one veteran starter in their rotation next season. (There is a good chance they make a qualifying offer after the season to Jeremy Hellickson.) Not that veteran pitchers cannot struggle or get hurt, but the Phillies need more depth in their rotation as they enter Spring Training. "A lot of young guys," Mackanin said. "They're going to have their ups and downs. I remember when Greg Maddux went to the big leagues for the first time, he wasn't as good as he turned out to be. There's a lot of learning to do and a lot of hard work ahead of them." Eflin knows he needs to get back on track. "We're looking for guys who are mentally tough and can overcome their struggles," Mackanin said. "When a pitcher is not pitching well, we want guys who are going to fight and battle their way out of it. We think he has that kind of makeup." Said Eflin: "I've remained mentally tough throughout my whole career. I was brought up in a really good way by my father, realizing and looking at and analyzing situations and stuff. I'm pretty good on that. I really don't get too down on myself. I think about a loving family at home that are all healthy and safe, so I kind of look at it that way. I really kind of thank God more that I'm here and I kind of stay away from being upset or disappointed or being mad."

Nearing Return – Peter Bourjos could rejoin the Phillies as early as Friday when they open a series against the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. "Then we'll make a move on somebody," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said before Monday's series opener against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. "I don't know who yet. We've talked about some guys." Regardless of what happens, it seems like Bourjos' role will change upon his return. He had been playing nearly every day in right field before he injured his right shoulder in Miami late last month. Aaron Altherr took his place on the 25-man roster, and he is expected to remain an everyday player the rest of the season. That means there is a numbers crunch and a time crunch with Bourjos, Cody Asche, Tyler Goeddel and Jimmy Paredes in the outfield. "I don't know if [Triple-A outfielder Nick] Williams is in the picture," Mackanin said. "I haven't talked about it. It depends on who we send out. But it would be nice to have [Bourjos] in the outfield with his speed." Mackanin said there are no plans to have center fielder Odubel Herrera practice as a corner outfielder the remainder of the season. Herrera has been struggling lately. He has hit .222 with a .641 OPS in 27 games since July 7, although he had three hits Sunday in San Diego. But Herrera has been bothered by an infection in his right foot, which he said has bothered him on the field. "To run, to swing the bat," Herrera told the Phillies' interpreter. "Then I started treatment for it, so it feels much better." Herrera said his foot has been bothering him since the team's last homestand. Does he have any other theories why he has been struggling for longer than that? "I don't know, I don't know," he said. "Who am I to know?"

Looking Back – It is a little ironic that one of the most tightlipped players in Phillies history made one of the most memorable speeches in Philadelphia history. Phillies fans remember the speech well. Specifically, they remember three words Utley uttered at the 2008 World Series championship celebration at Citizens Bank Park. He announced to the crowd that the Phillies were "world champions," only he inserted an expletive in the middle to accentuate the exuberance of a fanbase that had not enjoyed a championship from one of its professional sports teams in 25 years. Utley still hears the famous line from that famous speech -- a Phillies fan sported a T-shirt with those three words this weekend at Petco Park -- even after the Phillies traded him to the Dodgers last August. "I hear it here at this stadium," Utley said before Monday night's series opener between the Phillies and Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. "There are Phillies fans all over the country. I see at last one or two Phillies jerseys every game to be honest and occasionally they say that statement. That was a good time back in 2008 for sure." Utley faced the Phillies Monday for the first time since they traded him, hitting a solo home run in helping hand his former team a 9-4 loss. The Dodgers visit Philadelphia next week. "Probably on the flight I'll think about it a little more," he said about his return to Philadelphia. "I'm excited to go back, say hi to the fans, play in a great stadium. It should be a lot of fun." Phillies broadcaster Larry Andersen kidded Utley and asked if he was worried about being booed. "I hope not," Utley said. He need not worry. The Man will be treated like a prince. His return should include a highlight video and plenty of tips of the cap and standing ovations. (By the way, the Phillies have to play Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" during Utley's first at-bat Aug. 16, don't they?) "It might be a bit emotional," Utley said. Utley never got a proper sendoff last August. The Phillies and Dodgers completed the trade Aug. 19, but the Dodgers could not contact one of the players involved in the trade, so both teams waited to make the official announcement. So Utley never got the opportunity to tip his cap to the fans during the game as the Phillies planned. "If I had to write it up all over again, it would have gone down a little differently, but you can't change what happened," he said. Utley played for the Phillies from 2003-'15, leaving as the greatest second baseman in franchise history. He entered Monday hitting .250 with 18 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 32 RBIs and .700 OPS in 94 games. e said he hopes to play next season. There are only seven active players remaining from the '08 team: Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson and Joe Blanton. Jimmy Rollins played for the White Sox earlier this season before being released. But Utley is not wistful for the past. He does not think about the end being near for the '08 team. "I'm trying to focus on me personally and what I need to do on a daily basis to help the Dodgers win," he said. "I think when it's all said and done there will be a lot more memories to look back on but right now it's status quo, get ready for a game." The Phillies got criticized for hanging onto the core of that '08 team too long, something the organization finally acknowledged late in the '14 season. Utley sees it a little differently. "I'm a little biased because obviously I was one of those players," he said. "From an organizational standpoint there's some difficult decisions that you have to make over the course of the years. I'm happy that we kind of hung on and tried to give it another shot. We obviously didn't win, but I enjoyed my time battling to try to win." Fans won't be reminiscing about the past few years next week in Philadelphia. They will be looking back an incredible run from 2007-'11, which included one World Series championship, two National League pennants, five consecutive National League East titles and one heck of a speech that summed everything up perfectly.

Today In Phils History – In 1887 the Phillies beat the White Stockings by a 17-4 score despite only giving up 1 hit. “Wild Bill” Donovan was fired and replaced by Irving “Kaiser” Wilhlem as manager in 1921 because Club President William Baker didn’t believe that Donovan was enough of a disciplinarian. In 1953 battery mates Bob Miller and Smokey Burgess set a MLB record for hits in a game with Miller collecting 4 and Burgess recording 5 including a homerun. Robin Roberts, with Houston at the time, threw a 4 hit shutout against the Phillies in 1965. 11 years later, Roberts was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. The hastily organized (thanks to a players’ strike) 1981 All Star Game in Cleveland saw Mike Schmidt hit a homerun to put the NL ahead for good. 2 years later, Pete Rose collected 2 hits bringing his season total to 100 for the 21^st consecutive season making him the first player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. In 1990, the Phillies received Tommy Greene from the Braves in order to complete the Dale Murphy trade. Following Greg Luzinski’s induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1999, Billy Brewer surrendered a grand slam to Fernando Tatis of the Cardinals as 1 of a record 5 grand slams hit in the majors that day. 2 years later the Phillies played through excessive heat at the Vet with the temperature on the playing field being measured as 118 degrees as the start of the game and 148.7 by the time the last out was made.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 52-62 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 34-70-0 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.