Phillies Overcome Errors To Complete Sweep

GAME RECAP: Phillies Sweep Rockies 7-6

In a game that wasn't the prettiest contest, featuring fielding and mental errors for both sides, the Phillies prevailed, 7-6, to sweep the series from the Rockies -- their first sweep since taking three from the Braves in the first week of July. Cesar Hernandez missed an easy tag of Charlie Blackmon at second that led to a Rockies run in the third. Odubel Herrera dropped a routine popup on the first play of the game and later broke his bat in frustration over a called strike three. Severino Gonzalez balked runners into scoring position. But those were overshadowed by a rare multi-error game from the Rockies' Gold Glove third baseman, Nolan Arenado, Ryan Raburn struggling to field a ground ball then still trying to get the lead runner and a dubious throwing error-wild pitch combo from Tyler Chatwood, who surrendered six runs (four earned) over four-plus innings. Chatwood had allowed eight earned runs in his previous nine road starts, entering Sunday with a 1.30 ERA on the road but exiting with it up to 1.82. "I think because it was one of the hottest days we played on this year, I think that had a lot to do with it," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You've got to give credit to the guys that kept hustling throughout. I'm sure there's a lot of weight loss by both teams." Upper-back tightness, the repeat of an injury that landed him on the disabled list earlier this season, limited Chatwood to throwing to one side of the plate, inside to right-handed hitters, outside to lefties. Chatwood had allowed eight earned runs in nine previous starts on the road this season, entering with a 1.30 road ERA but exiting with it up to 1.82. "It spasmed in the first and it stayed tight," said Chatwood, who added that the pain has generally been manageable. "I tried to pitch through it. I know we were short in the bullpen. But obviously, that wasn't the smartest thing to do." The Rockies lost for the ninth time in 11 games, and sloppy play negated a two-homer day from Blackmon, who set a club record with five home runs in a three-game series. "Objectively, you're looking at the game saying, 'We didn't do this well.' … Then we battle back and at the end of the game you lose by a run," said Blackmon, who improved his career-high home run total to 20. "That really hurts, because looking back there are a lot of missed opportunities over the last three and a half hours that could've helped us win."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Typically relegated to pinch-hitting duties, Jimmy Paredes got the start in left field and made the most of it. By the fifth inning, he was a triple away from the cycle. He followed an RBI single in the second with a solo homer in the fourth, before doubling home Herrera in the fifth. It was Paredes' first three-hit game since June 26 of last year, with the Orioles, and only his third multi-hit game since joining the Phillies. "It's good," Paredes said. "You try to help your team to win and do the best you can. That's all. I was ready for my chances. They gave me my chance and I did the best I can." 
• Morgan's day was cut short by a Nick Hundley line drive that hit him on the left forearm. Hundley's liner left the bat at 86 mph and forced Morgan out after three innings. Gonzalez replaced Morgan and immediately balked the two inherited runners into scoring position, though only David Dahl scored, leaving Morgan with two runs allowed over three-plus innings. Morgan exited with what the Phillies called a left forearm contusion, and X-rays came back negative on his forearm.  Morgan was lucky it hit him where it did. "It kind of gets dangerous around the elbow area," he said "But it got me pretty much in the meat of the forearm." With the off-day Monday, Mackanin will "mull it over and see where he's at" before deciding if Morgan will make his next scheduled start. 
• It didn't take long for the first review on Sunday's sweltering series finale. Herrera dropped a popup, allowing Blackmon to reach first to lead off the game. With the next batter, DJ LeMahieu, at the plate, Blackmon broke for second. He appeared to have gotten in under Hernandez's tag and was ruled safe. But the Phillies challenged, and the call was overturned. Mackanin is 20-for-34 (59 percent) on challenges this season. Blackmon earned a measure of payback when he gave a foot and then took it away to slip into second with a third-inning double. It took a 2-minute, 9-second replay review to overturn the out call.
• Phillies infielder Cesar Hernandez enters Tuesday's series opener with a 21-game on-base streak. He's the third Phillies player this season to reach base in 20 more straight games.
• The series win over the Phillies was the Dodgers' fifth in their last six. Combined with the Giants' recent struggles, Los Angeles has rallied from 6 1/2 games back to within one of the division lead.
• The Dodgers took two of three from the Phillies when they met in Los Angeles last week, winning the first two before losing to Jeremy Hellickson in the series finale.

NEXT GAME:

By now, the Phillies and Dodgers should be pretty familiar with each other. At least they're about to be, with a three-game series starting in Philadelphia on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. Only one series separates their three games in Los Angeles and the Dodgers' upcoming visit to Philadelphia. Vince Velasquez doesn't get a break from his hometown team. The Pomona, Calif., native pitched in front of more than 100 friends and family at Dodger Stadium in his start Tuesday. Velasquez didn't exactly put on a show, as he allowed nine runs -- a career-high -- and exited with just one out in the fifth. Tuesday's series opener is a rematch of Velasquez and Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda exactly one week later. In their last matchup, Maeda walked a batter for the first time in three starts. He walked two, giving him just three over his past six. Over that stretch, Maeda is averaging less than a walk per nine innings and has a 35:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The game will also be Chase Utley's first at Citizens Bank Park since the Phillies traded him last August. He recently admitted that his return "might be a bit emotional."

PHILS PHACTS:

Bats Backing Pitching – After Nick Hundley shot a line drive back at Adam Morgan that hit the Phillies starter's left forearm in the fourth inning of the Philadelphia's 7-6 win over the Rockies, manager Pete Mackanin took a look at his chart of starts from the past couple weeks. "We've been five innings, four innings, five innings, three innings with our starters," Mackanin said. "That really taxes the bullpen. … It's concerning. We don't want that to happen. Every team has injuries but we don't want that to happen now, especially starting pitching." Two pieces of good news: First, Morgan's forearm doesn't appear to be serious. He left the clubhouse with it wrapped but X-rays were negative and he only has a bruise. The second: Despite the poor showing by their starting pitchers, the Phillies are 8-4 in August. The dog days of summer are upon us and the temperature outside is rising. So is that of the Phillies' lineup. Only three teams in baseball are averaging more runs in August than the Phils. Through the first 12 games of the month, the Phillies are averaging more than six runs a game, including showings of seven, six and 10 in their first sweep of the Rockies since 2012. And they did so while also allowing 15 runs over the three games. It's the most runs allowed over any stretch of three wins for the Phillies all season. Colorado has scored the third-most runs in baseball this season. "It's great to sweep a team like the Rockies, with their offense," Mackanin said. "Everybody's contributing," he continued. "I feel like everybody's getting opportunities. It's good to see. When you win a game, the more players that are involved in that game, the happier I am. I think it unites the team." Although the seven runs Sunday were a team effort, as Mackanin said, Jimmy Paredes led the charge. By the fifth inning, Paredes was a triple away from the cycle. Making a cameo in the starting lineup, Paredes drove in three of the Phillies' run, including one on a solo shot that just cleared the left-center-field wall in the fourth. "You never know when they're going to give you a chance and when they're going to call you to play," Paredes said. "I was ready for my chances. They gave me my chance, and I did the best I can." The win was the Phillies' fourth straight -- their longest streak since the first week of July. They scored four runs in each of the four games, making for the longest such streak by the team since June 2013.

Morgan Recovering – With nobody out and a runner on first base in the fourth inning of the Phillies' 7-6 win over Colorado on Sunday, Nick Hundley lined a ball right back at Adam Morgan on the mound. Morgan attempted to shield himself with his glove, but the 86-mph line drive got him on his left forearm. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin, head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan and the Phillies' infield huddled on the mound around Morgan, who was crouched over in pain. A few hours later in the clubhouse, though, Morgan said he was feeling fine. And he was especially happy to hear X-rays came back negative on the left forearm contusion that forced him from the game. "It's not as bad as it sounds, I guess," Morgan said. "It's just a bruise. [Once] that bruise goes away, I'm good." Mackanin didn't commit to Morgan being able to make his next start. "We're going to take the day off tomorrow, mull it over and see where he's at," Mackanin said "We'll see." Morgan left the clubhouse with his left arm wrapped in a compression sleeve. He threw three-plus innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs and a walk without registering a strikeout. Although it got cut short, Morgan felt he saw the results of what he worked on his five starts back with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. "The two-seam, I've been working on and had a good feel for it," Morgan said. "I was just up today; the two-seam, and confidence in the slider and changeup. Really just a simple game plan: get ahead, strike one. It wasn't apparent today, but it'll get better." The southpaw was replaced by Severino Gonzalez. Morgan threw three-plus innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs and a walk without registering a strikeout. Morgan's exit could be yet another blow to an already depleted Phillies rotation. Morgan was already filling in for Zach Eflin, who is on the 15-day DL and could be done for the year with injuries to his knees and right foot. Jeremy Hellickson's start was pushed back to Saturday, as he deals with a sore back, and Charlie Morton hasn't pitched since April 23 and will miss the remainder of the season. Mackanin was more concerned with the present state of his bullpen, though, rather than the potential future issues on the starting staff. "I looked back at my chart, and we've been five innings, four innings, five innings, three innings with our starters," Mackanin said. "That really taxes the bullpen. Today was kind of hairy for us, because we didn't want to get in a situation late in the game where it was a tie game and I didn't have any pitchers left. So I had to go the extra mile with some of those guys. They did a real good job. ... We don't want that to happen. Every team has injuries, but we don't want that to happen now, especially starting pitching."

Today In Phils History – Don Demeter hit a pair of homeruns for the Phillies on this day in 1962 both coming off of Bob Miller which was actually 2 completely different Mets pitchers. 3 years later, Masanoni Murakami became the 1^st pitcher born in Japan to start a MLB game when he took the mound for the Giants against the Phillies (he debuted the previous season but had only pitched in relief). Mike Schmidt hit his franchise record 7^th grand slam on this day in 1983 against the Cubs. However, the most memorable moment on this day is the performance of Terry Mulholland on this day in 1990 when he completed a no hitter against the Giants (ironically, Charlie Hayes made a great play to end the game but cost Mulholland the perfect game earlier when he committed an error).

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 56-63 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 53-59-0 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.

Mets Mistakes Get Royal Treatment

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

There is something to be said about the persistent pressure that the Royals have exerted on the Mets this series. Once again, mistakes cost the NL champions the game in the late innings as hits continued to fall for the Royals and they did just enough to take a daunting 3-1 series lead over New York. We will have to see if the Dark Knight rises or if the Royals will prove to be the bane of his existence in game 5.

Royals Beat Mets 5-3

It just keeps happening. These Royals just hang around and hang around and wait for one key mistake. Then they pounce. For the seventh time this postseason, the Royals came from behind to win. Fueled again by a patient offensive approach and a devastating defensive mistake -- this one by Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy -- Kansas City grabbed a 5-3 win in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night at Citi Field. The Royals, up 3-1 in the Series, are one win away from their first World Series championship since 1985. Game 5 is set for Sunday. Murphy may be the most significant reason the Mets won the National League pennant, willing them to victory after victory in postseason play. But his eighth-inning fielding error on a routine grounder by Eric Hosmer allowed Ben Zobrist to scoot home with the tying run. Moments later, Mike Moustakas singled in the go-ahead run past the glove of a diving Murphy, and Salvador Perez knocked in another insurance run. Then Royals manager Ned Yost called for closer Wade Davis to come in and get six outs, which he did. Checkmate. Davis had the Royals' first two-inning save in postseason play since Dan Quisenberry in Game 4 of the 1980 World Series. "We feel like if we can keep the game close, we're going to find a way to win it," Yost said. "Our bullpen is so dynamic, they give us a chance to win those type of games. And it's a team that just looks for a little crack. If we find a little crack, they're going to make something happen." Teams holding a 3-1 lead in best-of-seven postseason series are 68-12 (.850) all-time, and 39-6 (.867) in World Series play. No team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series since the Royals in 1985. "When you win the first two games at home, going into it your goal coming in here is winning two games here," Yost said of having a chance to clinch on Sunday in New York, before the Series would go back to Kansas City. "But you know if you win one here, you've got two games at home, where we're really, really tough." Trailing, 3-2, entering the eighth inning, the Royals drew consecutive one-out walks against Tyler Clippard, prompting Mets manager Terry Collins to call on closer Jeurys Familia to try for a five-out save. The first man he faced, Hosmer, sent a bouncing ball to the right side, where it scooted under Murphy's glove and into right field. As the largest Mets crowd in Citi Field history (44,815) grew mostly silent, Zobrist raced home. "I tried to one-hand it," Murphy said. "It probably deserved to be two-handed. I just misplayed it. It went right under my glove. They made us pay for it. It put us in a really bad spot, and that's frustrating." The result was the second blown save of the Series for Familia, who also served up a game-tying homer to Alex Gordon in the ninth inning of Game 1. "They truly don't ever stop," Collins said of the Royals' offense. "They have a very good lineup from top to bottom. They can do a lot of things. They're athletic. So like I say, you've got to make pitches and you've got to get outs when you have the opportunity." Familia's misstep undid the early work of Mets rookies Michael Conforto and Steven Matz. The former became the third-youngest player to homer twice in a World Series game, while the latter delivered five-plus innings of two-run ball had New York poised to tie the Series. Right-hander Chris Young started for the Royals and gave up two runs through four innings, then Danny Duffy, Luke Hochevar and Ryan Madson (1-0) bridged the gap to Davis. "We can smell it now," Young said. "But we know we have work to do yet."

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

World Series

Kansas City leads Series 3-1

Kansas City at New York

Game 5: Sunday, November 1, at 8:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

Phillies didn’t have any tricks or treats to report from yesterday!

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.

This Is The Ugliest Phillies Game Of The Year So Far…

GAME RECAP: Marlins Fluster Phillies 6-1

The Marlins needed a victory in the worst way Wednesday night, so if the Phillies wanted to help them with a handful of errors in the field, they would not complain. Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria scored the go-ahead run on a balk in the seventh inning in a 6-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park. Errors by Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and center fielder Odubel Herrera in the eighth inning led to four insurance runs. "We haven't gotten the breaks," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "We needed a ball to drop or something to go our way, and tonight we got some breaks and took advantage of them." Miami ended a five-game losing streak and has a chance to win the series with a victory in Thursday's finale. Despite the skid, the Marlins could win two of the three series on this 10-game trip. The Phillies could not carry the momentum from Tuesday's seven-run effort into the next night. They scored their only run when Cody Asche homered off Jarred Cosart in the second.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• With a single into left-center in the first inning on Wednesday night, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley ended an 0-for-21 drought at the plate. Utley entered the night hitting .109 with two home runs and a team-high nine RBIs.
• Home runs had hurt Phillies ace Cole Hamels in his first three starts, but his own error allowed a run to score in the second inning to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. The unearned run would be the only run Hamels would allow in six innings.
• Luis Garcia has been one of the Phillies' few bright spots this season, pitching himself into a seventh-inning role. The righty reliever had not allowed a run in seven appearances before he balked home the go-ahead run in the seventh to make it 2-1.

NEXT GAME:

The Marlins and Phillies will complete a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday with a pair of pitchers who opened the season in the bullpen. Miami will go with right-hander David Phelps, while Philadelphia will counter with a spot start for right-hander Dustin McGowan. This will be the first encounter between Phelps and the Phillies. Phelps spent the last three seasons in the Bronx, where he compiled a 15-14 record and a 4.28 ERA with the Yankees. In his first and only start this year, Phelps got a no-decision after he allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings in a 4-1 loss at the Mets. Right-hander Dustin McGowan makes a spot start for the Phillies because righty Sean O'Sullivan landed on the disabled list Wednesday with tendinitis in his left knee. McGowan hopes to go three to four innings in the series finale against the Marlins. McGowan, who signed with the Phillies during the opening week of the season, had eight starts last season with Toronto, but he has been a reliever since last May. Just how deep McGowan can go will bear watching, but he indicated he expects it will likely be just three or four innings.

PHILS PHACTS:

At Least He Didn’t Give Up A Homer – Cole Hamels aims for perfection, but he is seeing that the Phillies are far from perfect this season. Hamels allowed one unearned run on five hits and three walks while striking out five in six innings in a 6-1 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night. Hamels allowed his only run in the second inning. The Marlins had runners at the corners with two outs when Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart hit a ground ball past a diving Ryan Howard at first base. Chase Utley moved to his left, fielded the ball and threw to first. Hamels got to the bag in time, but the ball popped out of his glove as Marcell Ozuna scored to make it 1-0. "That was all on me," Hamels said. "Chase gave me a great throw and I wasn't able to catch it." Of course, it appeared Hamels struck out Cosart on a 1-2 pitch, but home-plate umpire Toby Basner thought otherwise. Hamels chose not to complain about the strike zone, although pitching coach Bob McClure expressed his displeasure to Basner during a meeting on the mound after the Cosart at-bat. Hamels entered the night 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA, having allowed seven home runs and nine walks in 18 innings. A notoriously slow starter in April, Hamels at least kept the ball in the park Wednesday. "There's still a lot of work to do," Hamels said. "You strive for perfection and you never really seem to reach it. That's kind of the case."

Utley Snaps Hitless Streak – Maybe Chase Utley can start fresh Thursday. The Phillies' second baseman singled to right-center field in the first inning Wednesday night in a 6-1 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. It snapped a hitless streak of 21 at-bats, which was the second-longest hitless streak of his career. "It always feels good to hit where they aren't playing," Utley said. "We'll continue to try to make some improvements and move on." Utley had a career-high hitless streak of 24 at-bats in June 2008. He also had a 0-for-18 slump in July-August 2014, which means two of his three longest hitless streaks have come since last year's All-Star Game. But the first-inning single Wednesday did not open the offensive flood gates. Utley grounded out in the fourth, struck out swinging with a runner on third to end the sixth and grounded out to the pitcher in the ninth to end the game. Utley also dropped a throw from Cody Asche at second base with two outs in the top of the eighth. It allowed the Marlins to load the bases and eventually score four insurance runs. "He made a good throw," Utley said. "I missed it. Bottom line, that play needs to be made." Utley entered the night hitting .109, which was the second-lowest batting average out of 193 qualified hitters in baseball. He had not gotten a hit since he homered in the eighth inning April 14 against the Mets at Citi Field. Bad luck had something to do with it. He entered the night last in baseball with a .079 batting average on balls in play. The average player had a .289 BABIP. Still, the Phillies need much more from their No. 3 hitter. Asked if the hitless streak had been on his mind, Utley said, "It's not the first time I've haven't had some hits. So I don't know."

Rotation Shuffle – The timing could not be worse for Phillies right-hander Sean O'Sullivan. The Phillies placed him on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with tendinitis in his left knee. The team recalled right-hander Hector Neris from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace O'Sullivan on the roster, and announced right-hander Dustin McGowan will start in O'Sullivan's place Thursday afternoon against the Marlins. O'Sullivan's time as the Phillies' No. 5 starter could be finished for the foreseeable future. "I told them I wanted to pitch, just because I don't want that opportunity to slip away," O'Sullivan said. "But at the same time, if I do go out there and try to gut through it ... if I have to alter my mechanics, I think I can be effective, but at what cost?" O'Sullivan had been the team's No. 5 starter, filling in temporarily until Chad Billingsley is ready to join the rotation early next month. Billingsley will make his third of five rehab starts Saturday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It is not impossible to think Billingsley's timetable could be pushed up with O'Sullivan injured, but that remains to be seen. McGowan is not believed to be a full-time replacement until Billingsley is ready. He has started in the past, but he has said he no longer can start on a long-term basis because of shoulder surgeries in 2008 and '10 and another shoulder injury in 2013. McGowan said he hopes to give the Phillies three to four innings Thursday. "I obviously can't go five or six," he said. "As long as I am feeling good and strong, I'll take the ball as long as I need to." Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said the team had no conversations about calling up one of the team's top pitching prospects -- like Double-A right-hander Aaron Nola -- to replace O'Sullivan in the rotation. "There wasn't any young pitcher that was an option," Sandberg said, "at this time."

Fielding Issues – Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg has preached the importance of fundamental baseball since Spring Training in February. But not much of anything has gone as planned, including Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Three Phillies errors and one balk led to every Miami run, leaving Philadelphia needing to win Thursday's series finale to take the three-game set. The Phillies have 15 errors this season, which is only one behind the Nationals, who lead Major League Baseball. "We didn't do too much right tonight," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. Cole Hamels dropped a throw from Utley at first base in the second inning to allow the Marlins to take a 1-0 lead. Phillies right-hander Luis Garcia then balked home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. It was the first run Garcia had allowed in eight relief appearances this season. "It's OK," Garcia said. "Tomorrow is another day." Utley dropped a throw from Cody Asche in the eighth, which loaded the bases with two outs. "He made a good throw. I missed it," Utley said. "Bottom line, that play needs to be made." Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon then ripped a fly ball to center field. Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera was playing shallow, but he broke back on the ball. Herrera got twisted around and made a last-second attempt to dive to catch the ball. The ball hit his glove, but he could not hold onto it as three runs scored. "I got a good jump on it," Herrera said through translator Andres Blanco. "The wind was blowing in a different direction, and as soon as I noticed that the ball kept moving to my left side, I passed the ball a little bit. I tried to catch it at the end. That's why I tried to jump at the end. "It's something that just happened. I'm going to work on it."

Phranchise Phan Phavorites – Nobody should be surprised Mike Schmidt is first among Phillies players nominated in Major League Baseball's "Franchise Four" campaign. The campaign has fans vote for the four most impactful players in Phillies history. Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn and Chase Utley round out the top four in the first voting update. The other nominees are Jimmy Rollins, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning and Chuck Klein. Perhaps surprisingly, Rollins is not in the top four. He is first in Phillies history in hits (2,306) and doubles (479); second in games (2,090), extra-base hits (806) and stolen bases (453); third in runs (1,325) and triples (111); sixth in RBIs (887) and ninth in home runs (216). He also won the 2007 National League MVP and four NL Gold Glove Awards, while helping the Phillies win the 2008 World Series, 2009 NL pennant and five NL East titles from 2007-11. More than 11.8 million votes have been cast in the Franchise Four voting, and you can cast your ballot here. Voting ends on May 8, and winners from all 30 clubs will be announced at the 2015 All-Star Game, which will take place on July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

THE BEGINNING

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the NL east at 5-10. 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 46-45-1 on this day.