Triple The Fun In San Diego

GAME RECAP: Phillies Stun Padres 6-5

Tommy Joseph's pinch-hit RBI in the top of the seventh inning pushed the Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Padres, in a Sunday rubber match in which Maikel Franco started the first triple play in Petco Park history. Philadelphia tallied 14 hits for the sixth time this season, with seven coming in the fourth inning against San Diego starter Jarred Cosart. "It's a beautiful thing, huh?" Franco said about the triple play. "Oh, I like it." Jerad Eickhoff allowed only five hits over his six innings, but two of those hits were of the home run variety, accounting for three of the four earned runs the right-hander surrendered. Eickhoff struck out five batters without issuing a walk on 98 pitches. Cosart threw five innings and allowed five earned runs. Most of the damage came when he allowed five consecutive two-out hits in the fourth inning, but Odubel Herrera also homered against him in the first. The 26-year-old may take solace in the fact that he didn't walk a batter for the first time this season, but he still surrendered 10 hits. "I don't remember the last game I have not walked somebody," Cosart said after the game. "I really can't tell you that off the top of my head. We'd talked about this being a process when I got over here. There's a lot of stuff that [pitching coach Darren] Balsley and I wanted to accomplish. "No. 1 was learning how to utilize the cut on my fastball, and for the most part I think I'm in a pretty good comfort zone with that right now."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Phillies right-hander Edubray Ramos found himself in trouble in the seventh inning when he walked Derek Norris and Jose Rondon to start the inning. But then Jabari Blash hit a grounder to Phillies third baseman Franco, who stepped on third base to begin the 5-4-3 triple play, the Phillies' first since Aug. 23, 2009, when Eric Bruntlett had an unassisted triple play against the Mets at Citi Field. "I've told these guys a couple of times: I thought I would hit into one before I would be on the successful end of one," first baseman Joseph said. "That's pretty awesome, needless to say."
• The Phillies' seven hits in the fourth inning, scoring four runs were their most hits in a single inning since July 31, 2015, when they had seven in the fifth inning against Atlanta. It spotted Eickhoff a 5-1 lead. Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz each got hits in the inning. The veterans have been hitting the ball better recently, despite limited playing time. "That's why Howie's playing," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Like I said, I tell everybody, you want to play you've got to hit. Howie's swinging the bat well. So is Chooch."
• "If they ask me to I would because I really owe them one." -- Ramos, on if he owes Franco, Hernandez and Joseph dinner for bailing him out of a jam in the seventh with their triple play.
• The triple play turned by the Phillies in the seventh inning was the first in Petco Park history and the 32nd in Phillies history.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies face a former friend in Monday night's series opener against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium at 10:10 p.m. ET. It will be their first time facing Chase Utley since they traded him to Los Angeles in August 2015. Utley is the greatest second baseman in franchise history, having played for the Phillies from 2003-15. Taking the mound for the Phillies will be Zack Eflin whom the Phillies received from the Dodgers as part of the Jimmy Rollins trade in December 2014.

PHILS PHACTS:

Triple Play! – Maikel Franco summed up those 4.6 seconds in the seventh inning Sunday at Petco Park perfectly. "It's a beautiful thing, huh?" he said with a big smile. "Oh, I like it." Franco, Cesar Hernandez and Tommy Joseph turned the 32nd triple play in franchise history in a 6-5 victory over the Padres at Petco Park, and it came at a critical point in the game, too. Phillies right-hander Edubray Ramos had walked Derek Norris and Jose Rondon to start the inning when Jabari Blash hit a ground ball to Franco, who caught the ball and quickly stepped on third base before throwing to Hernandez at second. Hernandez took the throw on the bag and threw to Joseph at first to complete the team's first triple play since Aug. 23, 2009, when Eric Bruntlett turned a game-ending unassisted triple play against the Mets at Citi Field. It was the Phillies' first 5-4-3 triple play since April 21, 2007, when Abraham Nunez, Chase Utley and Wes Helms turned one in Cincinnati. "Yeah, as soon as he hit the ball, I knew because it was close to the base," Franco said, thinking he had a shot at a triple play. "I just thought I'd go to second. After that, whatever happens happens." It took Franco 1.01 seconds to catch the ball, step on third and throw to Hernandez, according to Statcast™. It took Hernandez 0.5 seconds to catch Franco's throw and throw to Joseph. Hernandez's throw clocked at 70.2 mph. Blash hit the bag 4.69 seconds after he hit the ball, arriving just a tad after the throw. "I didn't know if he was going to throw to second or first, but I always go there just to be ready," Hernandez said. "Every time there's a ground ball to third base, I go to second. It's my instinct." Joseph said he thought Franco would step on third base and throw to first, but he certainly is glad he got greedy and tried for three. "I've told these guys a couple of times: I thought I would hit into one before I would be on the successful end of one," Joseph said. "That's pretty awesome, needless to say. Maik just knew what he was doing, which is what you're supposed to do as an infielder. Be heads-up. Know the play. We had a good runner to do it on. It all worked out. It was a heck of a play. Fun to be a part of." Franco, Hernandez, Joseph and Ramos said they had never been part of a triple play before. "It was exciting," Hernandez said. "That's pretty cool," Franco said. "It helped the team. First and second, nobody out. To get out of that is a beautiful thing for me and my team." Nobody was happier than Ramos, who got bailed out of a big jam. "It really, really helped me," he said. "If they ask me to (buy them dinner) I would because I really owe them one."

Turning Back The Clock – Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz figure to have a little less than two months remaining in their Phillies careers. Both are in the final year of multiyear contracts, and although they have club options for 2017 the Phillies are expected to take buyouts on both deals. But while the end in Philadelphia is likely coming for the pair, they have been hitting the ball well recently, including Sunday in a 6-5 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. Howard singled to center to begin a seven-hit, four-run fourth inning to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead. Ruiz went 3-for-4, which included a RBI in the fourth. Howard is hitting .311 (19-for-61) with four doubles, six home runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.026 OPS in 23 games since June 23. Ruiz is hitting .362 (17-for-48) with two doubles, five RBIs and an .878 OPS in 14 games since June 23. "We both want to be able to go somewhere and play beyond this year," Howard said. "We've got to try to make the most of what we can while we're still here. … I just keep doing my work. I've been doing this thing for 12 years, playing for 12 years. You figure out how to play the game. That's the game of baseball. Things come in waves. You have good waves and you have bad waves." The recent good wave has not changed Howard's feelings about the future. He said he always planned to play beyond this season. Ruiz does, too. "For whatever reason everybody else thinks I'm done playing," Howard said. "I know I can still play. I know I'm still capable of it. This year one bad month and you're done. For me it's about not having the opportunity to rectify the one bad month.” Howard hit .101 with a .421 OPS in May. He hit .140 with a .585 OPS in June, but he hit .250 with a .793 OPS before entering August. "Everybody looks at May and says I can't play anymore," Howard said. "I know I can play and I still want to play in the future. That's where my mindset is. Now it's just taking advantage of the opportunities I get and put it in play for next year." Said Ruiz: "I'm trying to keep myself ready for when I get the opportunity to play. I'm happy with the way I feel right now. I hope it continues that way and I finish the season strong. My body feels great. I feel strong. I don't have any soreness. I would like to play as many years as I can. We'll see what happens."

Fixing The Enigma – Cesar Hernandez is having the best season of his career, but he remains an enigma to the Phillies. The second baseman entered Sunday's series finale against the Padres at Pecto Park hitting .292 with 11 doubles, seven triples, two home runs, 27 RBIs and a .727 OPS in 405 plate appearances. He has hit .362 with an .877 OPS since Phillies manager Pete Mackanin benched him two games in Minnesota in June. "He could be a hell of a player," Mackanin said after Saturday's 9-7 loss to the Padres. But Mackanin's praise came at the end of an answer to a question that has been asked repeatedly this season: Why does Hernandez keep making so many mental mistakes on the field? He got caught stealing third base in the seventh inning Saturday, which befuddled Macakanin and coaches because the Phillies trailed by four at the time. "I have no idea why he went," Mackanin said. In fact, a couple of Hernandez's teammates approached Hernandez after the game and told him that it was not a smart time to run. "I know this situation wasn't ideal," Hernandez said Sunday through an interpreter. "But I'm learning. I'm trying to get better. It's a learning process for me. But I really thought I could have stolen that base. I just wanted to go to third so if there was a deep fly ball I could have scored a run." Hernandez has stolen 11 bases this season, but he has been caught eight times. His 57.9 stolen base percentage is 46th out of 48 qualified basestealers. He also has been picked off once and made four other outs on the bases. The 13 outs on the bases, plus other head-scratching decisions on the field, are why Hernandez's future with the Phillies is not secure. The Phillies' top prospect J.P. Crawford could be the team's everyday shortstop as early as next season, which means Freddy Galvis could compete with Hernandez for regular playing time in 2017 and beyond. Galvis is not the offensive player that Hernandez is, but Phillies coaches love his defense, instincts and leadership qualities in the clubhouse. Second base prospects like Scott Kingery also are moving up through the system. "Cesar is in a rut where he's making too many mental mistakes," Mackanin said. "We've got to keep working with him and talking to him about it. He's got so much talent. We have to corral it and figure out a way to get him on track. That's the one thing he's missing right now. He needs to be a little smarter on the bases, and all-around baseball." Hernandez seems to recognize this, although discussions about focus and concentration with Phillies coaches have not stuck. "It's something I definitely want to get better at," Hernandez said. "I'm going to keep working to learn. It's concentration."

Today In Phils History – It was on this day in 1903 when 12 people were killed and over 200 injured when a section of walkway that hung over the street behind the Baker Bowl collapsed. Gavvy Cravath hit 4 doubles and collected 8 RBI against the Reds on this day in 1915. Despite the Phillies scoring 11 total runs, it was a different story in 1922 when the Pirates recorded 46 total hits in a double header sweep. In 1954, Granny Hamner, Danny Schell, and Herm Wehmeier each tripled in the 8^th inning to tie the NL record and beat the Cubs. 2 years later, Ted Kazanski hit and inside the park grand slam against the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Rick Wise threw a complete game 1 hitter against the Dodgers in 1968 with the lone Phillies run coming off the bat of Dick Allen who homered in the 8^th. 20 years later, the Phillies and Cubs started the 1^st night game in Wrigley Field history only to have the game rained out in the bottom of the 4^th erasing Phil Bradley’s name from the history books as the 1^st to record a hit. In 1997, Mark Lieter surrendered Mark McGwire’s 1^st NL homerun (364^th overall). The Phillies lost a few players on this day including Bo Diaz (1985), Mariano Duncan (1995), and Gregg Jefferies (1998). Finally, the team has also honored a couple of players on this day as Granny Hamner was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame (the precursor to the Wall of Fame) in 1987 and inducted Juan Samuel into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2008.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 52-61 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 48-62-1 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.

Rookies Lead Phillies To Victory

GAME RECAP: Phils Filet Fish 3-1

Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez set the tone, working out of a first-inning jam, and struck out 10 in five shutout innings. The bullpen kept the K's coming, Phillies pitchers racking up 17 in a 3-1 win over the Marlins on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Tommy Joseph, who picked up his first big league hit on Monday, homered for the first time in his career in a 3-for-4 night. The drive off the foul pole in left in the second inning was the first of three runs (two earned) allowed by Miami lefty Wei-Yin Chen in six innings. The Marlins had their three-game win streak snapped. "Tonight was all about Tommy Joseph and the bullpen," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "It was nice to see Tommy get his first home run. He made that great play to end the game. Not much more you can ask for from him." The 17 strikeouts by the Phillies is the most since the club fanned 18 on May 6, 2011, against the Braves, which also is a franchise mark for a nine-inning game. For Miami, the 17 times striking out matches a team high for nine innings, with the last coming on April 10, 2014, at Washington. Miami had runners on second and third with no outs in the first against Velasquez. But the right-hander worked out of it, and he also stranded runners at the corners in the third. Miami did manage to raise his pitch count, and after 103 pitches and five innings, the Phillies were into their bullpen. "To win a game when your starter throws over 100 pitches in five innings is really a bonus," Mackanin said. With the win, the Phils moved a half-game behind the Nationals for first place in the National League East. Miami's Marcell Ozuna had his 16-game hit streak snapped. "[Velasquez] gets off the hook in the first there, we get him in trouble," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "He's got 75 through three innings. We did a nice job of battling him. He's got good stuff. It seems like from there, we didn't really put anything together until there at the end." Miami loaded the bases in the ninth against Jeanmar Gomez, who allowed a Derek Dietrch sacrifice fly, but got Martin Prado to ground out to Joseph to seal the win and earn his 15th save.

PHILS PHACTS:

• If getting his first Major League hit and home run on back-to-back nights wasn't enough, Joseph piled on, collecting two more hits in addition to his long ball and driving home two of the Phillies' three runs. Tuesday marked the first time Joseph batted cleanup, and Mackanin's decision paid off. It was just the third time in 40 games this season that a Phillies No. 4 hitter recorded three hits. Spanning 202 games since the start of 2015, it was just the 10th such occurrence. "I didn't expect that," Joseph said of being penciled in the No. 4 hole. "To hit cleanup for this team, who's playing really well right now, it's pretty awesome."
• Velasquez didn't retire the Marlins 1-2-3 in an inning until the fourth, when he was already at 91 pitches. He allowed the first two to reach base in the first inning, but a strikeout paired with smart play from Freddy Galvis at short prevented any damage. In the third, Miami again had a runner at third base, but Velasquez got Justin Bour to whiff on a curveball to end the threat. Velasquez dodged trouble all night, but the 103 pitches it took him to do so prevented him from going any deeper. It was his fourth start this season in which he's allowed zero runs on three hits or fewer, but he's only reached the seventh inning once. "Velasquez, he was just spraying the ball all over the place," Mackanin said.
• Ichiro Suzuki is inching closer toward 3,000 hits. The 42-year-old, called upon to pinch-hit in the seventh inning for Chen, swatted an opposite-field single to left. The flare fell just out of the reach of a sprinting Galvis. It was career hit No. 2,949 for Ichiro, now 51 away from 3,000. The pinch-hit also had significance because it gave Miami two runners on and one out in a three-run game.
• Velasquez is used to posting big strikeout numbers. He fanned 16 Padres in a win on April 14. In the third inning, Velasquez achieved a rarity when he struck out Prado, who had gone 59 at-bats between striking out.
• The Marlins picked an opportune time to challenge a close play at third base. Joseph was on third in the sixth inning, and with the Phillies up by three, Miami asked for a replay review on catcher Jeff Mathis' pickoff attempt of Joseph, who dove back into the base as Prado applied the tag. The Marlins challenged the safe call, and after a review of one minute and 33 seconds, the ruling was the call on the field stands.

NEXT GAME:

Jeremy Hellickson (3-2, 4.12) takes the ball for the Phils in Wednesday's series finale. Philadelphia will be looking to secure its fourth straight series victory and seventh in its last eight. Hellickson was phenomenal his last time out, going seven innings and only surrendering two unearned runs to the Reds in a 3-2 win.

PHILS PHACTS:

Rookie Cleans Up – Less than 24 hours after receiving a standing ovation while standing on first base after his first big league hit, Tommy Joseph stepped on the bag again -- but didn't stay there very long. Joseph's second-inning solo homer bounced off the left-field foul pole, and the 24-year-old first baseman trotted around the Citizens Bank Park basepaths for the first time. The home run would be almost all the Phillies needed in a 3-1 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday night, but Joseph didn't stop there. He singled to right in the fourth and to center in the sixth, where Marcell Ozuna misplayed the ball and let Joseph get to third and Cesar Hernandez to score the Phillies' third and final run. By the time Jeanmar Gomez recorded the final out, when Joseph made a diving stop at first base, he was 3-for-4. "Tonight was all about Tommy Joseph and the bullpen," manager Pete Mackanin said. "It was nice to see Tommy get his first home run. He made that great play to end the game. Not much more you can ask for from him." Not since 2009 has a Phillies player homered in a multihit effort within his first three Major League games. It's been done 11 times in franchise history, but the last to do so was John Mayberry Jr., going 2-for-3 against the Yankees on May 23, 2009. Joseph's big night gets even larger when put into context. Mackanin threw him into the cleanup hole because, "Why not?" he joked pregame. But Joseph gave his manager a better answer going forward. "I didn't expect that," Joseph said of seeing his name in the No. 4 slot on the lineup card. "To hit cleanup for this team, which is playing pretty well right now, it's pretty awesome." Only three times this season has a Phillies No. 4 hitter recorded three hits in a game -- Joseph joining Maikel Franco, who had three singles against the Padres on April 11, and Ryan Howard, who enjoyed a 3-for-5 night against the Indians on April 29. In 202 games since the start of 2015, it's now only been done 10 times. Despite the big game, Mackanin said the plan is to stick to the platoon at first base with Howard. Joseph, however, likely won't get pulled against righty relievers like Darin Ruf did. The rookie can hit right-handers, but it's important to Mackanin to keep Howard in the lineup, too. "I might mix in Joseph against a couple of right-handers here and there," Mackanin said. "But Howie's still a big a part of the team. We all know what he's capable of doing. It's nice to see Joseph add some offense to the team, but we'll just play it a day at a time." The Marlins' Wei-Yin Chen is the last lefty starter the Phillies will face for the foreseeable future, but Joseph will get his chances against righties when the Phils head to Detroit a series from now, where he and Howard will share first base and designated hitter duties.

Continues To Show Promise – Opportunity came early for the Marlins on Tuesday night, when they put runners on second and third with no outs in the first inning against hard-throwing Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez. But as quickly as the chance to break through came, it went away. Velasquez pitched out of the jam, and Miami was scrambling to simply make contact the rest of the way in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. "It's one of those times," manager Don Mattingly said. "You never know what changes the game, or where the momentum slips away. He gets off the hook there. It would have been nice to put a couple up." The big inning, and the big hit, eluded the Marlins throughout. They ended up striking out 17 times, which matched the franchise record for most K's in a nine-inning game. It's been done four times now, with the last being on April 10, 2014, at Washington. Velasquez, who had his pitch count run up, fanned 10 in five innings. "To win a game when your starter throws over 100 pitches in five innings is really a bonus," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. The Marlins avoided being shut out for the first time this year, pushing a run across in the ninth inning on Derek Dietrich's sacrifice fly. In the first inning, Dietrich singled to open the game. He went to third on Martin Prado's double to left. The inning quickly turned after that. Christian Yelich stung a sharp grounder to short. Even though the Phillies were playing their middle infielders deep, conceding a run on a grounder, Dietrich held at third. "We're definitely going on contact," Mattingly said. "The one thing that ball does is it comes off the bat, not on the ground. It comes off on that low one-hopper at short, so it's a little tweener read. Obviously, we want to be moving on that ball, but Deet kind of froze there." Giancarlo Stanton struck out and the inning ended on Justin Bour's pop foul to third. "We've got to score there," Yelich said. "That's something you've got to take advantage of early off the bat, and we didn't. It came back and cost us." The Marlins stranded 10 and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. It was the second straight game in which the club wasn't able to break through for a big inning. In Monday's 5-3 win, the Marlins left 12 on base and went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. "After the first three [innings], we didn't really seem to have the same type of at-bats," Mattingly said.

Goeddel Capitalizing – Pete Mackanin had exhausted all his options to extract any bit of offensive production from his corner outfield spots. Cedric Hunter had been optioned to Triple-A. Darin Ruf followed a few weeks later. So why not put some faith into the player taken No. 1 in this year's Rule 5 Draft? Since May 4, Tyler Goeddel has started all but two games in left field. And the vote of confidence from the Phillies manager is paying off. Goeddel entered Tuesday with a four-game hitting streak and has hit safely in six of the past seven games. While serving a limited role to start the season, Goeddel was hitting .160 (4-for-25) with nothing more than a single. He sat for three straight games leading up to May 4. The 23-year-old outfielder has raised his batting average 80 points since the calendar turned, hitting .303 to bring his season average up to .241. "To get regular playing time and confidence is huge," Goeddel said. "Coming to the field every day to see myself in the lineup, it's a feeling I didn't have last month. It's a lot more relaxing, less stressful." The month of April marked the first time Goeddel had spent any time above Double-A in his professional career. Playing sporadically only made the transition more difficult. "I'm sure after his season was over, he never thought he'd be in the big leagues this year," Mackanin said. "It's not easy to make the adjustment. It's a little overwhelming. I think that's what happened to him." Now that Goeddel is seeing pitchers for a second time, he's able to make adjustments -- just as they're doing to him. Goeddel found that he was late on the majority of fastballs he faced. So he began starting his leg kick earlier. He's also working on eliminating wrapping his hands as he starts his swing to get his bat into the zone faster. Prior to May 4, Goeddel whiffed on 26 percent of the fastballs he saw. He's swung and missed on only 6 percent of fastballs since then, putting 32 percent of them in play, compared to just 9 percent during the first month of the season. "You need to hit the fastball if you're going to play up here, and I feel I've made that adjustment," Goeddel said. It will be a year of adjustments for Goeddel. He faces the same challenge as every other young player: The more film opposing pitchers get, the better they can adjust to the hitter. It's a battle for who can stay ahead of the other, and Goeddel has the upper hand for now. Mackanin said he even considered moving Goeddel up to the second slot in the Phillies' batting order. On a team that's scored four or more runs just twice in its last 20 games, Mackanin will ride the hot hand as long as he can.

Today In Phils History – During a double header in 1929, during which Chuck Klein hit homeruns in each game, the Phillies and Dodgers combine to score 50 runs and split the twin billing. 35 years later, in 1964, Jim Bunning threw a 1 hitter against Houston… Don Hoak was released that same day. In 2000, Mark McGwire victimized the Phillies once again going deep 3 times (the second time he had done so as a visitor) ending the game with 539 homeruns, 8^th all time, after passing Mickey Mantle at 536. 5 year later, Bobby Abreu hit a homerun extending his team record streak of consecutive games with an extra base hit to 11. He was only 1 of four players in the history of the game to do so and the first since 1920. The homerun also tied a franchise record giving Abreu an RBI in 10 straight games.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 23-17 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 45-57-0 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!

A Shutout And A Sweep…

GAME RECAP: Phillies Shutout Diamondbacks 6-0

It'd been a long time since the Phillies last swept a team. It'd been even longer since Sean O'Sullivan added to his win column. With a 6-0 victory over the D-backs on Sunday, the Phillies did both. For the first time in 20 series, the Phillies completed a sweep, continuing a torrid 31-16 streak versus the D-backs dating back to 2008. O'Sullivan, who hadn't earned a win since May 12, 2011, hurled six shutout innings, allowing just five hits and striking out four while walking two. "Everyone's kind of feeding off each other," O'Sullivan said. "The rotation is kind of feeding off each other. It's almost like everyone's kind of accountable for their part because you don't want to be the guy that's not accountable for his part. I think everyone's really playing as a unit right now." Josh Collmenter was on the losing end of the decision for the D-backs, allowing four earned runs off of six hits in six innings. This was Arizona's fourth straight loss and seventh in nine games. "I thought he kept us in the game," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Early it looked like he didn't have his control, the ball wasn't moving like he wanted it to. I thought later on he started to really get it going. He had a low pitch count, which is typical of him. He was fine."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

·         O'Sullivan allowed five baserunners on three hits and two walks, one of which was intentional, through the first 2 2/3 innings of the game. However, after an official review turned what appeared to be the D-backs' fourth hit of the game into a 6-3 putout, wiping a run off the board and ending the inning, O'Sullivan settled down, retiring the next eight batters he faced.

·         In just his third game since a callup from Triple-A, third baseman Maikel Franco came through with his first signature hit, an RBI triple in the sixth inning that put the Phillies up 3-0. Franco came in to score on Cesar Hernandez's second double of the day. Two innings later, Franco pulled a ball over the left-center-field wall for his first Major League home run, a solo shot.

·         O'Sullivan's win Sunday came on the anniversary of the loss that started his four-year losing streak. A member of the Kansas City Royals at the time, O'Sullivan was teammates with current Phillie Jeff Francoeur. O'Sullivan allowed six runs in five innings in that game. "It's something I wasn't even aware of and then I saw it and was like 'Man, I need to get a win,'" O'Sullivan said of his losing streak. "Today I was more focused on doing my job to keep our winning streak going than for personal gain.

·         Replay took a run off the board for the D-backs in the top of the third inning after what was initially ruled as an RBI infield single for Pollock by first-base umpire Sean Barber. The call was overturned by the review team in New York, preserving Philadelphia's early 1-0 lead after a 1-minute, 10-second review.

·         The Phillies announced after the game that starter Chad Billingsley is headed to the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. Right-hander Hector Neris was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Billingsley's roster spot.

·         The Phillies' biggest bats will be well-rested for the start of this series. Freddy Galvis, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley all were given days off by manager Ryne Sandberg on Sunday versus Arizona. Being that this series begins a 10-game road trip, the rest may be warranted.

·         The Rockies will be without Justin Morneau, who will still be on the seven-day concussion disabled list. However, all indications from manager Walt Weiss lead to the assumption that Troy Tulowitzki will be back in the lineup for the series against the Phillies after leaving Friday's game and missing Saturday's due to a leg injury. Hamels is probably the last pitcher Tulowitzki would want to return from injury to see, as the shortstop is just 1-for-13 all time when facing Hamels, though the one hit was an RBI triple.

NEXT GAME:

Jordan Lyles retired every batter he faced in his last start. The way his Monday opponent, Cole Hamels, has been pitching recently, Lyles is going to need to be pretty close to perfect again to keep his Rockies in the game. The Rockies and Phillies start a four-game series in Colorado Monday. Lyles exited early in his last start, facing only three batters before an Albert Pujols line drive struck him on the hand at the end of a 1-2-3 first inning against the Angels. Despite only having four days' rest between the injury and this game, Lyles -- who is 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA -- is expected to start. After a rough start to 2015 by the ace's usual standards, Hamels has looked more like himself in his last two starts. The lefty has allowed just three runs and nine hits in his last 14 innings of work, racking up 17 strikeouts and two wins over that span. These two outings have dropped his ERA more than half a point from 4.14 to 3.53.

PHILS PHACTS:

Talent On Display – Maikel Franco is going to need some new headgear. First off, he probably needs a new batting helmet. Twice in two days the rookie's helmet has flown off his head while rounding the bases. Saturday it was while he was charging toward home. Sunday it happened while he was barreling toward third base. More importantly though, he's going to need a new cap. His old one is all covered in shaving cream. The 22-year-old had a breakout day in his third game since his callup from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, helping lead the Phillies to a 6-0 win over the D-backs, the team's fifth straight win. After the game, Carlos Ruiz ambushed the youngster with a towel filled with shaving cream to the face, thus initiating the new guy into the locker room and signifying how well he had played. As if Franco hadn't done enough. "I see him settling in," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It's great to see him swing the bat and connect. Maybe getting the home run out of the way might go a long way with him, not thinking about hitting the home run but having quality at-bats. I think he showed today much better quality at-bats and good contact. It's good to see that from him." In the locker room before Franco's big game, relief pitcher Justin De Fratus seized Franco's attention. When he and the rookie locked eyes, De Fratus told his newest teammate that Sunday was going to be the day that Franco hit his first home run. Franco agreed. After the game, De Fratus gambled on his hot streak and made another prediction. "He's gonna hit 30 home runs and 120 RBI," De Fratus said. "I called the home run. He's going to take us to the playoffs." While Franco didn't go that far when talking about his contributions, he did say he was grateful to even have the opportunity to hit home runs and triples at a Major League level. And while his eighth-inning solo shot might have been the biggest blast on the scorecard, Franco didn't think it was his most impressive swing of the day. "The triple that I hit, I hit it better," Franco said. "But the last one that I hit, I think the ball was going my way. Because the first one I hit better and it didn't go. But it did go finally." Though Sunday's game saw Franco supply his first home run and triple, this hasn't been his first exposure to the Majors. Franco earned a callup last September but wasn't much of a factor. However, this time up Sandberg has seen something different from Franco, likely stemming from how well the third baseman was hitting in Triple-A. "I think he's more comfortable," Sandberg said. "He knows the players well and I think coming here as a player that's going well is a big thing for him. I think that's probably the biggest thing, giving him so much confidence with what he was doing at Lehigh Valley." As for the headgear situation, Franco said he might need to make a change. "Maybe I'll try a different helmet because every time when I run my helmet comes off," Franco said.

Long Awaited Win – Pitching wins still matter to some people. Exactly four years ago Sunday, Sean O'Sullivan, then a member of the Kansas City Royals, lost a decision against the Cleveland Indians. That began a streak of 18 consecutive starting appearances spanning four years that O'Sullivan didn't notch a single win. And he wasn't particularly hurt by no-decisions: His teams went 2-16 in those games. But all that changed Sunday, as O'Sullivan threw six shutout frames, striking out four and allowing just five hits while receiving enough run support -- four runs while in the game -- to cruise to his first victory as a Phillie and first in four years by a score of 6-0. In an era where some say that pitching wins are an overrated, almost useless stat, O'Sullivan still acknowledged that getting his first win since May 12, 2011, still motivated him. "It's something I wasn't even aware of and then I saw it and was like, 'Man, I need to get a win,'" O'Sullivan said. O'Sullivan continued to say that his personal achievement was secondary to the team's success, as his win secured the Phillies their fifth straight victory. However, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said that in the larger scheme of O'Sullivan's season, he believes that getting a win is a bigger deal than just one game. In Sandberg's mind, earning a tick mark in the first column of his win-loss record is going to lead to a more confident and positive-thinking O'Sullivan. "I think getting a win for a pitcher is very important," Sandberg said. "It builds confidence. It's something he can build on. I think there's something to that no question." The win wasn't without some difficulty for the right-hander. In the top of the sixth inning with runners on first and third base, O'Sullivan worked D-backs second baseman Aaron Hill into a full count. At that point, first baseman Darin Ruf gestured to attract O'Sullivan's attention. Catcher Cameron Rupp also thought he had O'Sullivan's full attention and returned the ball his direction. By the time Rupp could alert O'Sullivan the ball was coming his way, O'Sullivan turned around to a baseball in between his chin and collarbone. "I didn't see the ball for one second," O'Sullivan said. "It's like I got punched in the throat from around the corner. It was kind of shocking. Then I realized I can't breathe and there are runners on base. So I was like 'I have to go get this ball, and then hopefully someone will call timeout real quick.'" Sandberg came out of the dugout and convinced O'Sullivan, who admitted after the game it was still somewhat difficult to swallow, to throw a warmup pitch before attempting to finish off Hill. O'Sullivan relented, did so, and then needed just one last pitch to end the inning, forcing Hill to fly out to left field. Though the event wasn't a laughing matter at the time, Sandberg after the game acknowledged both the levity and the value of the situation. "It wasn't pretty when it happened, but there was a little bit of humor there afterwards," Sandberg said. "He was able to hang in there and make the one pitch to get out of there so that was good."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 16-23. 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 45-57-0 on this day.