Nola Shutout + Howard Power = Phillies Win

GAME RECAP: Phillies Fluster Cardinals 1-0

Aaron Nola extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 and Ryan Howard backed him with his sixth home run to boost the Phillies to a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. One night after the Cardinals blasted five home runs, Nola held the club to two hits over seven innings. In doing so, he lowered his season WHIP to 0.80, the third-lowest mark among National League starters. "He can paint the fastball on both sides of the plate, keep hitters guessing one side or the other," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You can't sit on one side of the plate because he's so good at locating both sides of the plate and he's got a real good breaking ball that he threw extremely well today." Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was nearly as good, but paid for a sixth-inning mistake to Howard. The St. Louis native clobbered Wacha's cutter to collect his sixth home run of the season and 12th home run in 36 career games at Busch Stadium. Wacha held the Phillies hitless after the homer en route to finishing a season-high eight innings. "[He] just put a good swing on it," Wacha said of the cutter he threw to Howard. "He doesn't miss those. I have to locate those better. I know if I execute that pitch and get to where I want, it might be a groundout or a take. But I just didn't execute it."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Howard continued to burn his hometown team with a 411-foot home run over the right field bullpen in the sixth. It was Howard's 22nd career home run against the Cardinals. Howard's average of a home run every 10.9 at-bats is the highest home run rate for any batter in Major League history against the Cardinals with a minimum of 150 at-bats. "I was just looking for something up in the zone," Howard said. "He (Wacha) does a great job keeping the ball down, putting it where he wants to put it. He just kind of left that one middle and tried to take advantage of it."
• The right-hander continued his string of dominant performances. Nola struck out seven, four of which were looking, over seven innings of two-hit ball. In his past three outings, Nola has given up one run and struck out 21 over 21 innings. He currently has a 20-inning shutout streak. "Kind of mixing my pitches in well," Nola said. "Try to mix my change-up in more. I didn't do it too too much tonight, but when I did, I felt like I used it efficiently. Just trying to command the ball down in the zone and try to command it in and out and up."
• Having watched Peter Bourjos patrol the outfield for them the past two seasons, the Cardinals were not all that surprised to see the Phillies right fielder make a terrific catch along the right-field line to potentially save a run. Yadier Molina was off from first when Randal Grichuk made contact and likely would have tested Bourjos' arm if the ball had gotten past him and kicked off the wall. "Shocking," Grichuk said of the catch. "He tracks down balls that you don't think are going to be caught. Off the bat, I thought it was going to be able to sneak in there, but he made a great play."
• "Yadi's a lot faster than people think man. He's a very smart smart baseball player, period. I think he scores if Pete doesn't catch that ball." -- Howard on whether Bourjos' sliding catch in the fourth prevented Molina from scoring from first base.
• Hector Neris struck out all three Cardinals he faced in a perfect eighth inning and Jeanmar Gomez struck out another while picking up his ninth save of the season. The Phillies, who entered the game third in the majors in strikeouts, now have 98 through the team's first 27 games. "Neris has an invisible pitch that nobody can see and Gomez, what can you say?" Mackanin said. "Gomez has been impeccable so far."
• Molina was awarded an infield single after a fourth-inning replay review overturned an initial out call. Molina was awarded the two-out hit after a one-minute, 14-second review showed he beat out a throw from third baseman Maikel Franco.

NEXT GAME:

Lefty Adam Morgan (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will make his second start of the season in the third of a four-game series against the Cardinals on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. EST. Morgan made his major league debut against the Cardinals last season, allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-2 victory on June 21.

PHILS PHACTS:

Nola Continues Dominance – Phillies starter Aaron Nola continued his dominance Tuesday night. The right-hander bested Cardinals starter Michael Wacha in an old fashioned pitchers' duel in the Phillies 1-0 victory at Busch Stadium. Nola pitched seven shutout innings, gave up two hits and struck out seven, four of which were looking. The Cardinals couldn't get a runner past first after Nola pitched around a Matt Carpenter leadoff double in the first. "He can paint the fastball on both sides of the plate, keep hitters guessing one side or the other," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You can't sit on one side of the plate because he's so good at locating both sides of the plate and he's got a real good breaking ball that he threw extremely well today." Nola threw 76 of his 111 pitches for strikes. In his past three outings, Nola (2-2) has given up one run and struck out 21 over 21 innings. He currently has a 20-inning scoreless streak. "Try to mix my changeup in more," Nola said. "I didn't do it too too much tonight, but when I did, I felt like I used it efficiently. Just trying to command the ball down in the zone and try to command it in and out and up." The 22-year-old overshadowed eight strong innings from Wacha (2-2), whose only mistake was a home run off the bat of Ryan Howard. "He has good run on his fastball and then the curveball comes out of the same slot, the same kind of funky delivery," Wacha said of Nola. "It's a good one. He gets a lot of movement on the fastball and then throws the slider, curveball and gets it down in the zone. Credit to that guy, he was on his game tonight." Peter Bourjos aided Nola's cause with a sliding catch to rob Randal Grichuk of a sure RBI double in the fourth. Grichuk's drive was tailing away from Bourjos. Had the ball gotten down, it would have gone into the right field corner and would have scored Yadier Molina, who reached on a two-out infield single after a successful review by Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "He's helped us win four of five games with his defense and speed," Mackanin said of Bourjos. "That's the thing we talked about over the winter about getting better coverage in the outfield. He's really added to our outfield coverage." Nola thanked Bourjos afterward. "Pete covered a lot of ground on that," Nola said. "That's what Pete does. He's fast. He's quick. He's a great player." Hector Neris struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth and Jeanmar Gomez picked up his ninth save. The Phillies have now won seven of their last eight. The win broke a four-game losing streak against the Cardinals. "The key to a good team is bouncing back," Mackanin said. "We bounced back from an 0-4 start and it was important for us as a team to bounce back from getting beat pretty bad last night."

Welcome Home Howard – Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard definitely feels at home in St. Louis. Howard, who grew up in suburban St. Louis, has made a career of beating his hometown team. He added to the list on Tuesday. Howard drove the first pitch he saw from Michael Wacha in the sixth inning 411-feet over the right field bullpen in the Phillies' 1-0 win over the Cardinals. "I was just looking for something up in the zone," Howard said. "He [Wacha] does a great job keeping the ball down, putting it where he wants to put it. He just kind of left that one middle and tried to take advantage of it." It was career home run No. 22 for Howard against the Cardinals. Howard's average of a home run every 10.9 at-bats is the highest home run rate for any Major League player with a minimum of 150 at-bats ever against St. Louis. "It's always good to be able to come home and play," Howard said. "This is home. This is where it all began for me. I think it's just something different when you get to play against the team you grew up watching." Howard is a career .336 (81-for-241) batter against the Cardinals with 66 RBIs. Most of the damage has come at Busch Stadium, where Howard is hitting .331 (44-for-133) with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 36 games. "For some reason certain guys hit well in certain ballparks," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "And you can count on Howie to hit the ball well here." It was the second time the Phillies have won 1-0 this season on a Howard home run. His homer against the Mets on April 9 was also the only run in that game. 

Locating Results – Location, not high velocity, is everything to the Phillies' bullpen. Without any traditional flamethrowers who can routinely throw in the high 90's, Phillies' relievers are showing that the strikeouts don't have to pile up while topping the radar gun. Entering Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, Phillies relievers had 94 strikeouts, third most in the big leagues behind Boston (96) and Minnesota (95). "It's nice to have a big arm, but those guys still have to throw quality strikes," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "If you throw 97, it's great if you throw it here or here or elevate it, but if it's thigh-high two or three in row, Major Leaguers can hit it." Reliever Andrew Bailey gives a lot of credit to pitching coach Bob McClure and bullpen coach Rick Kranitz for developing detailed scouting reports. "We don't throw over 100 miles per hour and none of us really throw over 95," Bailey said. "For us, it's knowing the scouting reports, knowing how to make balls appear in the zone and finishing out of the zone to get swings-and-misses. Obviously, location's very important no matter what velocity you throw at." Roster decisions on the make-up of a fluid bullpen situation out of Spring Training hinged on command. "[Luis] Garcia didn't make team out of Spring Training and he's got a big arm, because of the command of his pitches," Mackanin said. "And Bailey didn't make the team either because he didn't show command. That's more important, command, control and movement. [Jeanmar] Gomez has been successful as a closer to this point because he's making quality pitches consistently." Strong leadership by catchers Cameron Rupp and Carlos Ruiz have been instrumental, too. "Cameron Rupp and Chooch have a great idea of what they're doing every single inning, every single batter," Bailey said. "They know how to use each pitcher's repertoire to have success."

New Swing, Better Results – A new swing has helped Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp build off of a strong finish to the 2015 season. Rupp slugged eight home runs in his final 38 games last season after having just one long ball in his first 65 games in the big leagues. Still, the 27-year-old saw room for improvement and worked on a change in his swing path in the offseason. "I did alter it, working more down towards the ball," Rupp said. "I do believe that it has helped with some of the success we've had this year early on." Rupp had a seven-game hitting streak snapped against Cleveland on Saturday. He has hit safely in 11 of his 14 games and five of his last six hits have been doubles. Rupp is hitting .263, which is 30 points above his career average, with one home run and four RBIs this season. "I think he's got a better chance to hit," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "How far that's going to go we'll find out. But he looks better than last year." Mackanin gives Rupp credit for sticking with the new approach. "Their flaws are always pointed out on a daily basis and at some point they've got to carry it over to the game," Mackanin said. "They can do it in batting practice, but it's difficult to carry it into the game." Mackanin compared it to taking golf lessons. Hitters in both sports can be taught the proper techniques in practice, but as soon as a few bad swings or shots take place, the natural inclination is to revert back to what feels comfortable. Rupp is determined to not look back. "A lot of balls I've had for hits this year I don't think would have translated into hits last year," Rupp said. "Maybe a couple of routine fly balls on the doubles I hit, even the home run I hit wasn't handled very well last year. So I think it has kind of given me more success this year and early on it shows."

Today In Phils History – An interesting game to start the history of the day is in 1919 when future Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft is carried off the field during the first legal Sunday home game for the Giants… the Phillies later traded him to the Giants. A decade later, the Phillies set a modern record for most runs allowed in a shutout when the Cubs crushed them, 16-0. In 1964, Jack Baldschum and Bob Gibson had it out when Baldschum hit Gibson with a pitch and Gibson return the favor by throwing his bat at Baldschum. Denny Doyle concluded the longest home game in Phillies history when he tripled and scored the winning run on a sac fly in the 20^th inning in 1973. Two years later, the Phillies traded for Garry Maddox who would prove to be a big piece of the championship team 5 years later. 15 years ago today, Barry Bonds hit his only homerun at the Vet, going deep off of Bruce Chen, during his record 73 homerun season. And, finally, happy 40^th birthday Jason Michaels!

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 16-11 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 43-51-0 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!

Phillies Finally Reel One In

GAME RECAP: Phils Catch Fish 6-2

Ryan Howard snapped an 0-for-11 slump with his first triple of the season, and it set in motion the Phillies' 6-2 comeback victory over the Marlins on Sunday at Marlins Park. Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak, and Miami capped its homestand at 7-2. Miami right-hander Jarred Cosart hadn't allowed a run in 16 innings, spread over three starts. But in the fifth inning, the Phillies tied it at 1 on Ben Revere's RBI single. In the sixth inning, the Phillies claimed the lead for good. After Darin Ruf was hit by a pitch, Howard's triple tied it. Grady Sizemore's RBI single gave the Phillies the lead for good. "We had some timely hitting with some men on base, had some opportunities, and came through with some guys swinging the bat," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was a good combination." The Marlins, winners of four straight series, rested regulars Dee Gordon and Martin Prado. Ichiro Suzuki scored on Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly in the first inning, but Phillies right-hander Severino Gonzalez gave up just two runs in five innings with five strikeouts. The Phillies added a pair of runs in the seventh inning, with one unearned. Howard drove in his second run of the game with a single off Bryan Morris. Miami had a string of 11 straight games of allowing three or fewer runs snapped. "We just couldn't hold it," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "We've done a pretty good job holding our leads. Our pitchers have done a great job over these last 10 games. When we have leads, they're shutting them down. We weren't able to do that today. That's going to happen."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Revere's two-out RBI single in the fifth not only tied the ballgame at 1 but also snapped a stretch of 18 consecutive scoreless innings for the Phillies' offense. Revere, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday, produced his first RBI in five games.
• After the Phillies took a 3-2 lead on Howard's RBI triple in the sixth inning, righty Justin De Fratus came on in relief of Gonzalez. Given the task of facing Miami's 3-4-5 batters, including Stanton, De Fratus struck out the side swinging on 10 pitches (nine strikes). "I thought De Fratus in the sixth inning was big," Sandberg said. "We had just taken the lead and it was a shutdown inning with the heart of the order. Three strikeouts. That was probably the key."
• Odubel Herrera robbed Adeiny Hechavarria of an extra-base hit in the eighth inning with a sprinting, over-the-shoulder catch. Herrera, who has started 22 games in center field, entered the game in the seventh inning as a defensive substitution.
• Howard's go-ahead RBI triple off Cosart in the sixth inning marked his first triple since April 20, 2014, against then-Rockies right-hander Juan Nicasio at Coors Field. "I tried to go up there for that third [at-bat] and just see the ball and get a little bit better flow and rhythm, and I was able to do that on the first couple of pitches," Howard said. "That third [at-bat], I found something. That fastball… there it was."
• The Phillies have lost seven straight road series (5-18 overall road record since Sept. 15, 2014). Philadelphia is 2-12-1 over its last 15 road series, one of which came last September in Atlanta.
• Carlos Ruiz is 4-for-7 (.571) with two doubles, three RBI and a walk off Wood.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies close out a 10-game road trip, while the Braves finish off a 10-game homestand beginning on Monday night at Turner Field. The pitching matchup offers a rematch of Philadelphia's 1-0 victory on April 24 at Citizens Bank Park. Aaron Harang received the no-decision against his former team, the Braves, despite tossing eight scoreless, two-hit frames. His string of four consecutive quality starts to open the season was snapped in his last outing in St. Louis, when he surrendered five runs on nine hits over six innings. Southpaw Alex Wood pitched 5 2/3 shutout frames against the Phillies, striking out one batter and walking two. He took his first loss of the season in his last outing against the Nationals, allowing five runs on six hits in five innings. Wood did, however, strike out a season-high eight batters.

PHILS PHACTS:

Rookie Rebound – Severino Gonzalez finally got to showcase his ability to locate and execute secondary pitches, five days after a disastrous Major League debut in St. Louis. Gonzalez, who was the youngest Phillies pitcher to start a big league game in a decade, picked up his first victory in Philadelphia's 6-2 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old righty went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Of his 78 pitches, 53 went for strikes. He helped snap the Phillies' five-game skid. On Tuesday in St. Louis, Gonzalez earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first Phillies starter since 1996 to last fewer than three innings in his debut when he surrendered seven runs on 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings. The Phillies dropped the game 11-5 to the Cardinals. "I wanted to attack the strike zone and be aggressive, and my fastball worked this time," Gonzalez said through a translator. "I also wanted to help the club win. My mind was really set on attacking the strike zone." Miami scored a run off him in the first without the benefit of a hit. Gonzalez walked Ichiro Suzuki, the leadoff batter, who then stole back-to-back bases and scored on Giancarlo Stanton's one-out sacrifice fly to right. Gonzalez proceeded to retire the next six batters before Ichiro got the Marlins' first hit with two outs in the third. He worked around a pair of one-out singles in the fourth by striking out Michael Morse and inducing a lineout to third by Reid Brignac. "I came back with a very good changeup," Gonzalez said. "It was a pitch that worked for me today, and I kind of got him off balance a little bit on that [Brignac] liner to third base." Though he gave up another run in the fifth on Jhonatan Solano's RBI double, Gonzalez limited the damage by stranding him at second. Jarred Cosart struck out on a bunt attempt, Ichiro grounded out and Adeiny Hechavarria lined out to right. When the Phillies took the lead on Ryan Howard's RBI triple in the sixth, it put Gonzalez in line for the win. Manager Ryne Sandberg thought Gonzalez's ability to mix his changeup and curveball helped his fastball, something the rookie worked on in a bullpen session following his debut. While the Cardinals jumped on him early in the count, the Marlins took a more conservative approach. Sandberg also saw fewer nerves. "He has a good mound presence about him and a look of confidence," Sandberg said. "He doesn't get flustered too much out there. He was able to make adjustments. He's young. There's still things to be worked on. We had to talk to him between innings about the baserunners and getting him on board with holding baserunners. Some grooming there, but the attitude and the conviction and all that and the look about him is very good." As for whether Gonzalez would make another start, Sandberg said the organization would weigh its options. Later Sunday, the Phillies optioned Gonzalez to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, which helps create room for the return of several starters from injuries. Chad Billingsley will make his Phillies debut on Tuesday in his return to a big league mound for the first time since 2013 after a pair of elbow surgeries. Sean O'Sullivan (left knee tendinitis), the fifth starter in the rotation to open the season, will start a rehab game on Thursday in Lakewood. "I was very positive after what happened last time, concentrating, and it paid off for me," said Gonzalez, whose ERA lowered from 23.63 to 10.57. "I'm very proud of my start today."

Herrera Shows Off Defense – Odubel Herrera flashed the leather with an impressive running catch to rob Adeiny Hechavarria of extra bases during the eighth inning of the Phillies' 6-2 victoryover the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. Herrera, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in center field for Andres Blanco in the seventh, tracked down the liner to straightaway center. In a three-run ballgame, manager Ryne Sandberg switched around his defense to preserve the lead by shifting Ben Revere to left and moving Darin Ruf to first for Ryan Howard. The 23-year-old Herrera had appeared in Philadelphia's previous 25 games, starting 22 of them in center. He remains a work in progress at a position he didn't pick up in the Minor Leagues until last season. Primarily a second baseman, Herrera saw action in two games in center with Class A Myrtle Beach and 41 for La Guaira of the Venezuelan Winter League in 2014. Through parts of 26 games, Herrera has committed two errors on 54 putouts. "He's progressed really well," Sandberg said. "He went in there for defense. He's taking to it very good. Very athletic, he has very good routes, his instincts are very good. That's a tough one -- ball straight over your head with that kind of distance. But he's been very good. A lot of fun to watch, a lot of energy."

THE BEGINNING

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the NL east at 9-17. 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 43-51-0 on this day.