Phillies Stave Off Cubs For The Win

GAME RECAP: Phillies Control Cubs 3-2

The Phillies needed brilliant efforts from Jerad Eickhoff and Jeanmar Gomez to beat the Cubs on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Both delivered in a 3-2 victory over Chicago, preventing a season sweep, as the teams play the series and season finales Wednesday. Eickhoff allowed just two hits, one run, two walks and struck out eight over seven innings to give the Phillies just their fifth victory in their last 18 games. The Cubs threatened in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, but Gomez replaced Hector Neris and allowed only one run to score to work out of the jam as he picked up his Major League-leading 19th save. "Wow," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "That was just a little loss for the Cubs, but it was a huge morale booster for us." Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard homered in his first start since May 31 to help the Phillies' offense. "It's good," Howard said. "I wasn't thinking about the week or the past 10 days, I was just thinking about that moment. I got a good pitch to hit, he hung me a breaking ball and I was able to hit it out."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Eickhoff pitched a gem in a game the Phillies sorely needed. It was just the third time this season a starter had pitched seven or more innings and allowed one or fewer runs against the high-octane Cubs offense. Eickhoff, who has a 2.76 ERA (10 earned runs in 32 2/3 innings) in his last five starts, struck out six of seven batters at one point. "He just made pitches," Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward said. "All night I feel like we had good at-bats, got to 3-2 counts a lot. He was able to make some pitches and that was kinda it. We faced him recently. Hitters adjust, but he was able to make an adjustment tonight.
• Things looked bleak for the Phillies in the eighth when the Cubs loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to a Cesar Hernandez error and a couple hits allowed by Neris. But Gomez entered the game to pick up a six-out save and came up big. He allowed a sacrifice fly for the first out. Jason Heyward then hit a smash to Andres Blanco, who had just replaced Hernandez at second base. Blanco flipped the ball to Freddy Galvis, who threw to first to complete an incredible inning-ending and game-saving double play. "I said, this is the guy I want to face the top of that lineup right now," Galvis said about Gomez. "He trusts his stuff. His ball has a lot of movement right now. He controls the ball. That's why he is so good."
• "Nobody believes it. I was talking to Whitey [Blanco] and Jeanmar. This is going to sound weird, but he has no emotions. He's like really chill when he pitches." -- Galvis, on what has made Gomez so effective as the team's closer.
• Howard has been a hot topic of conversation lately as Mackanin benched him last week and a fan threw a beer bottle at him Saturday. But Howard, starting for the first time since May 31, hit a solo home run to right-center field in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. It was his 366th career homer, which ties him with Lance Berkman for 80th on the all-time list.
• Cubs reliever Clayton Richard caught Odubel Herrera between first and second on a pickoff move in the eighth inning. Herrera sped toward second after Richard tossed the ball to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo fired a throw to beat Herrera to second, but Herrera dodged Zobrist's tag. The Cubs challenged and it took 2 minutes, 45 seconds to uphold the call. Maddon is now 7-for-15 on challenges this season.

NEXT GAME:

Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez starts the series finale at 1:05 p.m. ET against the Cubs. Velasquez (5-2, 3.67 ERA) has not pitched more than five innings in each of his previous four starts, posting a 6.00 ERA.

PHILS PHACTS:

There’s A New Hoff In Town – If the Phillies had any chance to beat the Cubs this season, they needed one of their starting pitchers to pitch nearly perfectly. Jerad Eickhoff came close Tuesday night in a 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed two hits, one run, two walks and struck out eight in seven innings. It was just the third time this season a starter had allowed one or fewer runs in seven or more innings against the high-octane Cubs offense. "That's as good as he's been all year," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Eickhoff struck out seven batters through four innings. He struck out the side in the fourth, giving him six strikeouts in seven at-bats. It helped that he showed the Cubs a bit of a different look. Eickhoff threw a career-high 28 sliders. His previous high had been 25, which came in his previous start. He struck out three batters on the pitch Tuesday. He had struck out just five batters on sliders the entire season entering the night. Eickhoff's best pitch is his curveball. He entered the game with 40 strikeouts on that pitch. But the slider was working well Tuesday, so he kept with it. It has been a conscious effort on his part. It began a few starts ago following a conversation with Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure, and another talk with Phillies broadcaster Larry Andersen. Eickhoff threw his slider just 6.1 percent of the time in April and 14 percent of the time in May. That number is up to 26.6 percent through two June starts. "That was kind of the spark," Eickhoff said. "To key them off my fastball and curveball. It's a huge thing to think about, just a third pitch for the hitters."

Tough Save – Freddy Galvis looked up at the scoreboard in the top of the eighth inning Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park to see exactly who Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez needed to beat with the bases loaded and no outs to pick up his 19th save of the season. He had to face the top of the Cubs' lineup with the Phillies holding a two-run lead. "I said, this is the guy I want to face the top of that lineup right now," Galvis said after a dramatic 3-2 victory. "He trusts his stuff. His ball has a lot of movement right now. He controls the ball. That's why he is so good." Gomez, who replaced Hector Neris, got Dexter Fowler to hit a sacrifice fly to left field for the first out. He then got Jason Heyward to hit a bullet to Phillies second baseman Andres Blanco, who replaced Cesar Hernandez in a double switch. Blanco slid to his right, backhanded the ball and flipped it to Galvis at second base. Galvis caught the relay, avoided the slide from Javier Baez and threw to first baseman Ryan Howard for the inning-ending and game-saving double play. "I don't give Gomez the only save," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I give Freddy and Blanco one, for turning that double play in the eighth inning. Wow. That was a special play." Blanco told Galvis afterward that he just wanted to knock down the ball. He did better than that and made a perfect flip. "I just tried to get away from the runner," Galvis said. "We were talking about the new rule at second base. If this happened last year, he might have killed me right there, you know?" Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth. The guy who entered the season as a middle reliever suddenly leads Major League Baseball in saves. "I didn't know what role I would have," Gomez said. "I just try to be ready." "Nobody believes it," Galvis said. "I was talking to Whitey [Blanco] and Jeanmar. This is going to sound weird, but he has no emotions. He's like really chill when he pitches. Whatever happens, happens. He's a Christian guy, so when he goes to the mound he says, 'I'm here, I'm going to throw the ball and that's it.' He has no emotions, so he's controlling himself in that moment. It's really good to have a closer without emotions like that. He can stay in the game, even if he gives up a homer or something like that. He stays in the game." And most of the time when he is pitching with a lead in the ninth, the Phillies win.

Defense Only Does So Much – The biggest reason the Phillies acquired Peter Bourjos in the offseason is they loved his defense. But his stellar defense and its benefits to a young pitching staff no longer outweigh his offensive struggles. "Unfortunately, yes," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We were just talking about that. He has got to make a drastic change to his approach offensively. Because he just has that tendency to pull off the ball too much." Bourjos, who started 43 of the team's first 51 games, has started just one of the last eight after starting on the bench Tuesday night because he is hitting .196 with a .511 OPS in 158 plate appearances. There are 215 hitters with 150 or more plate appearances this season. According to FanGraphs, Bourjos' offensive production is next-to-last in baseball, above only Erick Aybar. Bourjos' wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) is 34. Aybar's is 13. According to Baseball Savant, 42.5 percent of pitches thrown to Bourjos this season have been breaking balls, which ranks eighth in baseball among 238 hitters that have seen 500 or more pitches this season. "Well, you know, he's got to make an adjustment," Mackanin said about Bourjos seeing a steady diet of breaking balls. "I love his defense. He has to make adjustments mechanically like a lot of our guys." Of course, Bourjos made a fine defensive play in the ninth inning in Tuesday's 3-2victory over the Cubs. He cut off a ball in right-center field to prevent the tying run from scoring. "Not too many right fielders would have cut that ball off in right-center like Bourjos did," Mackanin said. "I give him a save, as well. Defense really saved us."

Can’t Blame The Coaches – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has talked plenty lately about his hitters' approach at the plate. He sees Maikel Franco and Peter Bourjos pulling off the ball. He sees Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis chasing too many pitches outside the strike zone. He sees Cesar Hernandez mishandling offspeed pitches. Their struggles, among others, are why the Phillies rank 29th in baseball, averaging 3.24 runs per game. But Mackanin made it clear Tuesday he thinks Phillies hitting coach Steve Henderson is delivering the proper message to his hitters. "I listen to him, and I go in the cage and I watch what they're doing, and they are doing exactly what they need to be doing," Mackanin said. "And in the cage, they do it. The hard part is taking it into a game. You can only teach so much. "I've said this many times, but I can't teach you how to ride a bike. You got to get on it and feel it. Ice skate, I can't teach you how to ice skate. I can tell you how to tie your skates and push off, but you've got to figure it out." Coaches can be easy scapegoats, regardless of a team's expectations or talent level. Mackanin knows a coach can only do so much. "If you're a hitting coach and you're teaching a guy to do something, and he does it in the cage over and over again and then in the game he doesn't bring it, all you can do is show him the video," Mackanin said. "'Look it, you're not doing it. Let's do it.' And then they take it out into batting practice and do it and then in a game; it's uncomfortable. "It's like teaching a guy a [split-finger fastball]. On the side he says 'OK, that feels good.' Is he going to throw it in the game? Is he going to push it? Is he going to let it go? It's hard to do, but if you want to improve you've got to do it. If you don't do it, you're not going to improve."

Today In Phils History – It is all about the 2’s today. It starts in 1914 when Fred Luderus hit two home runs with the first being the result of the ball getting lodged in a hole in the brick wall for an inside-the-park home run. In 1968, outfielder Howie Bedell hit a sacrifice fly to collect his only RBI of the season which also ended Don Drysdale's record scoreless innings streak at 58 2/3 innings. While not known as a power hitter by any stretch of the imagination, Steve Jeltz hit 2 homeruns, 1 from each side of the plate, to lead the Phillies back from a 10 run deficit in 1989 against the Pirates. 7 years later, in the 1^st Phillies game shown on the Fox Network, Jim Eisenreich hit 2 homers in the loss to Houston. And, finally, the Phillies got 2 for 1 in 2005, when they traded Placido Polanco to Detroit for Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Martinez.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 29-30 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 48-57-0 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!

Frenchy’s Bat Proves To Be Enough This Time

GAME RECAP: Phillies Shrink Giants 6-4

For the second day in a row, Jeff Francoeur came up with the big hit for the Phillies. This time, however, it led to a 6-4 victory over the Giants at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday. One day after hitting his second-career grand slam, Francoeur roped a two-run double off Giants relief pitcher Javier Lopez just over the glove of a jumping third baseman Matt Duffy in the seventh inning. The extra-base knock plated Freddy Galvis from third base and Ben Revere from first to give the Phillies a two-run lead. The home team didn't look back after seizing that lead. "Frenchy came up big with the pinch-hit," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He's been a guy in that it seems has a lot of impact in helping us win games, whether it's a defense or swinging the bat." Both of the runs on Francoeur's double were credited to Ryan Vogelsong, who was removed from the game before pinch-hitter Francoeur's at-bat. Vogelsong threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out five. Vogelsong lamented issuing a two-out walk to Ben Revere with Freddy Galvis on third base that prolonged the seventh for Francoeur. "It was more a mental mistake, really," Vogelsong said. "I was just trying to be too fine. The go-ahead run's on third base and it might have cost me some of my aggressiveness." On the day a T-shirt bearing his likeness was handed out at the stadium, reliever Ken Giles earned the win for the Phillies. Giles struck out three batters and allowed just one baserunner in 1 2/3 shutout innings. "That was big also because he was fairly rested for us today so he was up for that task today," Sandberg said. "All in all it worked out pretty well with the innings we did have available."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Just one day after their bullpen had to pick up 6 1/3 innings of work, the Phillies didn't have as many options as one would like entering Sunday. However, the 'pen, which has struggled of late, pitched three quality innings in relief of starter Sean O'Sullivan, allowing just one run to score over that span. Inherited runners have been a weakness of the bullpen all year, having allowed 47.3 percent of inherited baserunners to score. Sunday, however, both of the runners inherited by the bullpen were stranded and in all the bullpen stranded five.
• With one out and men on first and second in the top of the seventh inning, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg double-switched Elvis Araujo and left fielder Cody Asche out in favor of Giles and Darin Ruf. Giles dispatched the two batters he faced with a little help from Ruf, who wasn't afforded much time to acclimate to the outfield. Brandon Belt laced a fly ball toward the left-field fence and Ruf made the running catch to prevent the runs from scoring and end the inning, crashing his shoulder into the wall in the process. "I was watching where Cody was playing him pretty much most of the game and over the last couple of days," Ruf said. "I got a good jump on it. Luckily I was able to run it down."
• The Giants requested a review in the third inning after Pagan was called out trying to advance from second to third base on Buster Posey's grounder to shortstop. Pagan, who slid headfirst, contended that he touched the base with his right hand before third baseman Maikel Franco could apply his tag. The call was overturned, rendering Pagan safe.
• "Who wouldn't [be]? I gave us a chance to win a ballgame." -- Giles, on the excitement he showed coming off the field after striking out the side in the eighth inning.
• Maikel Franco came through with game-tying home runs late in both of the Phillies' wins over the Reds. Franco hit a two-run homer in the eighth on Tuesday and a three-run home run in the ninth the following night.
• Hamels will look to continue a career-long streak of six consecutive starts of seven or more innings pitched with two or fewer earned runs allowed. During the stretch, Hamels is 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA.
• Leake's performance against the Phillies on Wednesday broke up a three-game stretch of poor starts during which he had gone 0-3 with 20 earned runs and 27 hits allowed in 14 innings.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies and Reds will square off for a second straight week when the two National League foes open a three-game series at Great American Ball Park on Monday. The Phillies took the three-game series in Philadelphia, knocking off the Reds with a pair of walk-off wins in the first two games. In both games, the Reds' starting pitcher was in line for a victory before the bullpen blew the lead. The Reds took the final game of the series to prevent a sweep. Mike Leake was one of the starting pitchers who watched his win go by the wayside in Philly. Leake carried a no-hitter for 6 2/3 innings on Wednesday and finished the game with only three hits and two earned runs in eight innings pitched. Leake is 2-4 with a 4.40 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 11 starts this season. Cole Hamels will be on the mound for the Phillies in the series opener. Hamels was also impressive on Wednesday, giving up two earned runs on six hits and three walks in seven innings. Hamels is 5-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 12 starts this season.

PHILS PHACTS:

Giles Lives Up To Promotion – Athletes are used to seeing their names on a fan's back. They aren't so accustomed, however, to seeing their face on a fan's front. But when Ken Giles looked out into the stands from the mound Sunday, he saw his silhouette staring back at him off the chest of nearly every child at Citizen's Bank Park. Fully rested, the right-handed reliever made the best of Ken Giles T-shirt Day, earning his second victory of 2015 in his longest outing of the year in the Phillies' 6-4 win over the Giants. Giles threw 1 2/3 innings of shutout, hitless relief, striking out three, allowing one baserunner on a walk and stranding the two runners he inherited. Sunday was only the seventh time Giles had pitched since May 20 and with that rest he recorded five outs for the first time since Aug. 15, 2014 when he went two innings, also against the Giants. Manager Ryne Sandberg said that with the 6 1/3 innings the bullpen had to throw Saturday, Giles was the player who had to step up and was proud that he did. Though Giles is accustomed to topping out at one inning, he said he is comfortable throwing deeper if he needs to. "For me it's not that much of a difference," he said. "I've just got to keep my mindset that I'm going back out and then make sure I keep focused, keep my gears going and make sure I don't think about anything else." That focus came into play at a critical time. Giles entered the game with two men on base and one out in the seventh inning of a tie game. Buster Posey and Brandon Belt, two men with 57 combined RBIs, were the next two batters due up. But Giles disposed of the pair, forcing Posey to pop out to second base and Belt to fly out to the warning track in left-center field. Giles said that though he is used to pitching in the eighth inning, the pressure situation in the seventh didn't feel foreign to him. "It's the same situations as in the eighth inning: You've got to hold that lead," he said. "I'm still trying to hold that lead or give us a chance to win." Getting the win wasn't the only thing Giles was trying to do, however. Giles' fastball, which in 2014 averaged about 98 mph, has dipped in velocity this year to about 96 mph. However, on his final pitch of the afternoon, Giles rung up Andrew Susac with a 97-mph fastball. Despite this seemingly positive indicator, Giles said he still doesn't feel as if his fastball is where he wants it to be. "I'm still working on things and I'm still off," he said. "I've still got [things] to work with, mostly mechanical work. It's just one of those things. But slowly, but surely I'll figure it out." As for the giveaway T-shirt, Giles said he thinks that's a work in progress too. "It needs improving," he said. "But overall it was great."

Underdogs Overcome – Sunday belonged to the underdog. It wasn't just that the team that came into the day 15 games below .500 defeated the defending World Series Champions. It was the fact that the underdogs among the underdogs were the people who came through. In the Phillies' 6-4 victory over the Giants, the winning pitcher came out of the bullpen, the go-ahead runs were driven in by a pinch-hitter and a game-saving catch was made by a player who had just been double-switched in. To the man who made the aforementioned catch, infielder/outfielder Darin Ruf, this is exactly the kind of day the Phillies try to have. "It's great on days like this where it comes together and it can be a whole-team win," Ruf said. "Everybody contributes from top to bottom whether you're a regular or a bench guy. It's nice when a lot of guys can contribute to a win." Ruf's catch came with two outs and two men on base late in the seventh inning of a tie game. Giants first baseman Brandon Belt ripped a ball to the warning track in left-center field. Ruf, who had just entered the game one at-bat earlier alongside Ken Giles in a double switch for left fielder Cody Asche and pitcher Elvis Araujo, didn't have much time to warm up before the play. Regardless of this, Ruf caught the ball, ending the inning and hurling his left shoulder into the outfield wall in the process. "I've played outfield before so it was just good positioning," Ruf said. "I was watching where Cody was playing him pretty much most of the game and over the last couple of days. I got a good jump on it. Luckily I was able to run it down." That catch saved the Phillies at least one run from scoring and preserved the tie for another bench player to break open. With the left-handed hitting Odubel Herrera due up with me on first and third and two outs, Giants manager Bruce Bochy subbed out starter Ryan Vogelsong for lefty specialist Javier Lopez. As a counter move, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg opted for Jeff Francoeur as his pinch-hitter. Francoeur, who hit a grand slam as a starter Saturday, made the most of his at-bat, lining a double over third baseman Matt Duffy's outstretched glove to plate the go-ahead run and an insurance run. Having recorded six of his 20 RBIs over the last two days, Francoeur said he has a renewed sense of confidence despite his middling .258 batting average and .427 slugging percentage. However, with the grand slam off left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner and the double off Lopez, he does feel revitalized in what he came to Philadelphia to do. "When I came here the one thing I wanted to do was to make sure I hit lefties," Francoeur said. "My No. 1 priority is to take care of those guys and the last two days I've been able to do that."

Heading Back Down – The Phillies optioned right-handed pitcher Severino Gonzalez to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after Sunday's game. Gonzalez is 2-2 with an ERA of 8.69 in five MLB starts in 2015. During his start Saturday, Gonzalez threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, a walk and two hit batsmen. His strikeout rate had been steadily increasing over his last two starts with 13 of his 18 strikeouts coming over that span. But his inability to pitch deep into games continued to haunt him. In five starts, Gonzalez never threw more than five innings and threw less than that three times. A corresponding roster move will be made in the days to come. The Phillies head to Cincinnati on Monday for the start of an eight-game road trip. Gonzalez will likely head to Durham, NC, to meet up with the IronPigs for the start of their seven-game road trip.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the NL east at 22-36. 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 48-57-0 on this day.