Phillies Can’t Contain Morales And Royals

GAME RECAP: Royals Beat Phillies 6-2

Kendrys Morales continues to be the hottest hitter in baseball. The designated-hitter-turned-right-fielder put a second-inning pitch from Aaron Nola into the right-field seats to cap a five-run inning for the Royals in their 6-2 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. He added a second from the other side of the plate in the eighth for his third home run in the last two days and seventh in his past 13 games. Over that span, Morales is batting .565 (26-for-46) and has driven in 21 runs. The three runs that crossed the plate on Morales' second-inning blast were all the Royals needed behind 8 2/3 innings of two-run ball from Danny Duffy, but they had already plated two runs earlier in the second on RBI singles from Duffy and Whit Merrifield. "He's been great," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Morales. "It's worked out really, really good. We're in this little run of National League parks. The first couple of days it was kind of just being interested to see what would happen [with Morales in right]. And now it's just, 'Hey, it's worked out really well.' “To get that hot bat in the lineup is great. And he has done OK out there. He hasn't hurt us. He's carrying us right now." Duffy held the Phillies scoreless for seven innings after Peter Bourjos tripled and Maikel Franco singled him home in the first. A ninth-inning rally kept Duffy from his first career complete game and gave the Phillies their second run on a Cesar Hernandez RBI single. "Duffy's got good stuff," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Boy, he's a tough pitcher. I liked what I saw from him. … Three infield hits, not much to talk about. But Duffy's tough. I like him." "Obviously, it's cool to finish a game," Duffy said, "because those guys in the bullpen have picked me up so many times when I've been inefficient. So if I got the opportunity to, might as well try to save another day." After taking two in St. Louis to begin the road trip, this win gives the Royals as many over their last four games away from Kauffman Stadium as they had in their previous 14.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Nola left the game on a roll of 10 straight Royals retired. He sent down each Kansas City batter he faced after Morales' three-run jack. Of those 10, six went down by strikeout, including redemption for Nola, getting Morales swinging on a curve outside the zone. Although Nola allowed five runs in five innings, it stands as his best start since June 5. It was the first time he made it through five innings since that start. "I felt like my old self," Nola said. "I felt like that's what I'm used to doing. That's what I usually do: command my fastball and my breaking ball and my changeup. Those last three innings are definitely a help for me." Even in the five-run second, Nola said he felt better than he had in his past four outings. Besides that second inning, Mackanin thought Nola's start was "encouraging" -- a word he repeated a handful of times. At 95 pitches, Mackanin was likely to pull his 23-year-old starter after five, regardless. But letting him leave on the note he did should only help his confidence going forward. Mackanin will meet with his staff later Saturday night to decide whether to let Nola make one more start before the All-Star break. As the rotation currently lines up, that would come Thursday in Colorado. "I'd rather take the ball and keep going out there and make pitches," Nola said of his preference.
• The Phillies manufactured their first run on the backs of the two hitters they've relied on most recently. Bourjos tripled in the first inning and Franco drove him home on a dribbler that went off Duffy's glove. Bourjos led all NL hitters in the month of June with a .410 average. He added a third-inning infield single for his fifth multi-hit effort in his last eight games. Franco twice went the other way for singles Saturday after doing the same in Friday's game. Since the Phillies hit the road at the end of June, Franco has hit .341 (14-for-41) and walked more times (eight) than he's struck out (seven).
• The speedy Bourjos almost added a third hit to his night on a fifth-inning ground ball to Cheslor Cuthbert at third. After hustling down the line, Bourjos was initially ruled safe. But the Royals challenged and the call was overturned after a 45-second review to end the inning.
• Nola is the first Phillies starter to allow five or more runs in four consecutive starts since Tyler Cloyd had a five-start streak in 2013.

NEXT GAME:

Vince Velasquez (6-2, 3.38) will make his first home start since leaving his June 8 start against the Cubs after two pitches. In his return from the DL in Arizona, Velasquez threw five shutout innings and struck out seven.

PHILS PHACTS:

Positive Signs – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin spoke candidly Saturday afternoon about the possibilities for Aaron Nola if he struggled for a fifth consecutive start that night against the Royals at Citizens Bank Park. Options included skipping his next start, having him rejoin the Phillies' rotation following the All-Star break, or optioning him to the Minor Leagues, where he could fix his mechanics and regain his confidence in a more relaxed environment. The Phillies seemed to be setting up those possibilities, mentioning Nola could be battling a "dead arm." Nola allowed five runs in five innings in a 6-2 loss to the Royals, making him 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA in his last five starts. But Nola also retired the final 10 batters he faced, striking out six of them. "I felt like my old self right there," Nola said. "Very encouraging," Mackanin said. But Mackanin remained noncommittal when asked if Nola will make his next scheduled start Thursday in Colorado. "We'll see," he said. "We're going to talk about it." Nola obviously wants to pitch at Coors Field. "I'd rather take the ball," he said. "I'd rather keep going out there. … Overall I feel good, my body is healthy." But a skipped start could have its benefits. The Phillies gave Cole Hamels an extra two days of rest in July 2013, when he was 2-11 with a 4.58 ERA. They said they hoped the extra time could clear Hamels' mind. Hamels disagreed with the assessment that he needed a break, but he went 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA in his final 16 starts. Nola allowed five runs in a second inning that included a little bit of bad luck. The Royals had runners on first and second with no outs when Jarrod Dyson hit a ground ball to Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez. It looked like a double-play opportunity, but Hernandez could not get the ball out of his glove quickly enough, instead getting only a forceout at second base. Royals pitcher Danny Duffy then popped a bunt over Nola's head for the first hit of his career, which allowed Cheslor Cuthbert to score. Alex Gordon flied out to left field for the second out -- it would have been the third if Hernandez had flipped the ball to Freddy Galvis earlier or if Duffy's bunt hadn't landed in no man's land -- then Whit Merrifield singled and Kendrys Morales followed with a homer to right to make it 5-1. Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure visited Nola on the mound after the homer. Nola did not allow a baserunner the rest of the way, which included his first 1-2-3 inning since May 31. But the line remains the same: five innings, six hits, five runs, five earned runs, one walk, seven strikeouts, one home run. He became the first Phillies starter to allow five or more runs in four consecutive starts since Tyler Cloyd had a five-start streak in 2013. "I don't think I have dead arm," Nola said. "Maybe the ball wasn't coming out as good [in June], but I was healthy through this month. I've been healthy all year, and my arm's been feeling pretty good. I think there were just some command issues and trying to overthrow. I feel like today I challenged the hitters and kind of went right after them." Mackanin said the Phillies should have an answer about Nola as early as Sunday. He said he and management will make the decision. "I'm going to see what they have to say, but I'm planning to make my next start," Nola said. "I feel good right now."

Today In Phils History – In 1935, Phillies centerfielder Ethan Allen turned a dropped fly ball into a crucial double play that preserved the win against the Giants. Pirates 2B Johnny O’Brien was called on to pitch against the Phillies in 1956 and subsequently held them scoreless over 2 2/3 innings allowing him to collect the win. In 1965, 1B Frank Thomas swung his bat at OF Dick Allen during the pre-game workout and, despite hitting a pinch homer to tie the game in the 8^th against the Reds, was released following the game. Mike Schmidt almost had two inside the park homeruns in the same game in 1977 but was thrown out at the plate in his first attempt to circle the bases against the Pirates. In 1983, Willie Hernandez struck out the final 6 Mets batters tying the NL record for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever. The following season, a Veterans Stadium record crowd of 63,816 was on hand to watch the Phillies fall to the Reds 6-5. In 1996, Mets rookie OF Alex Ochoa went 5-for-5 and hit for the cycle in a 10-6 win over the Phillies. 5 years later, Chipper Jones reached base in all 5 of this plate appearances against the Phillies collecting 2 home runs, a double, single, and a walk in a 14-7 Braves victory.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 36-46 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-52-0 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.

Phillies Falter In Late Innings To Seal Sweep

GAME RECAP: Brewers Edge Phillies 8-7

The Brewers had already waited since last August to celebrate a sweep. A pair of extra innings on Thursday night were worth the effort. Adam Lind's 11th-inning single sent the Brewers to an 8-7 win over the Phillies and sealed Milwaukee's four-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park in a series that featured the NL's bottom two teams, and in the Phillies, the league's worst pitching team. The Brewers scored 28 runs in Philadelphia and have averaged 6.6 runs per game during a five-game winning streak, part of a larger stretch of eight wins in 10 games. "It's been a fun last week, scoring a bunch of runs," Lind said. The Phillies scored three runs in the seventh inning against Brewers relievers Jonathan Broxton and Will Smith to forge a 7-7 tie that lasted until the 11th, when Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy sparked the winning rally with a double. It led to the first Brewers sweep of an opponent since last Aug. 15-17 at Dodger Stadium, when Milwaukee pushed three games ahead of the rest of the NL Central before a slide that continued into 2015.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• The Phillies entered the bottom of the seventh trailing by three runs, but on the back of three hits and a walk, the inning ended with the score all knotted up. The biggest hit of the inning came off the bat of Freddy Galvis, who slumped all of June, going 17-for-85. Galvis singled Domonic Brown home, tying the game and notching his third single of the night. Thursday was only Galvis' second three-hit game since May 15 after he did so seven times in the month prior. "The last few nights a lot of good hitting," interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "Threes were wild tonight. Asche, Freddy, Cesar and Herrera. They swung the bats well. Guys fought. It was a fun game until the end. To come back like that, it was nice to see."
• With the Phillies' fleet-footed Odubel Herrera standing on first base with no outs in the top of the eighth inning, red-hot second baseman Cesar Hernandez walked up to the plate. He opted for the sacrifice bunt to try to move Herrera over to second, putting the winning run in scoring position. The bunt failed however, as Hernandez struck out on a foul-tipped third strike. A flyout and a strikeout later, Herrera still stood on first. "He's got to get a bunt down," Mackanin said. "We're trying to win the game. That's another decision. I want the guy in scoring position. The guy's a table-setter. He doesn't hit for power. He's got to get the bunt down."
• Over the Phillies' seven-game home stand, Hernandez batted 14-for-30 and scored seven runs. Of Hernandez's 14 hits, 12 were singles and only two drove in runs. He also stole six bases over that span.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies head to Atlanta for the start of a three-game series that begins a 10-game road trip leading into the All-Star break. Adam Morgan will start Friday for the Phillies, making his first career start road start and first in-division start. The game is scheduled to start at 7:35 p.m. ET.

PHILS PHACTS:

Carrying The Load – The Phillies bullpen carried the team in Thursday night's 8-7 11-inning loss to the Brewers, putting the Phillies in position to steal one win out of this four-game series. But being in position to win and winning are not one in the same. After starting pitcher Chad Billingsley allowed seven runs, six earned, in five innings, the Phillies bullpen tossed five shutout innings of relief. The trio of Justin De Fratus, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon allowed four hits and walked one while striking out five and only allowed one runner to advance further than first base. By continuing this shutout trend into the 10th, Papelbon recorded six outs in a game for the first time since July 21, 2012. Eventually the bullpen surrendered the winning run when an 11th-inning double by Jonathan Lucroy followed two batters later by an Adam Lind RBI single stuck relief pitcher Luis Garcia and the Phillies with the loss. But despite this, Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said he was pleased by his bullpen's performance. "Bullpen was fantastic," Mackanin said. "De Fratus looked real good. Papelbon obviously looked real good. It was disappointing to lose, but there were a lot of positives to come out of that." The positives of which Mackanin spoke were limited not only to the bullpen, but also to the offensive output. The Phillies' offense scored seven runs on 16 hits, coming just two hits shy of a season high. Four different Phillies -- Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez, Cody Asche and Freddy Galvis -- finished the night with three hits apiece and that quartet combined to drive in five of the seven runs. But, as has been the problem many times for the Phillies this year, one phase was lacking. As strong as the bullpen was and as well as the team hit, the starting pitching wasn't there. As a result of this lack of cohesion through 81 games, the season's halfway point, the Phillies have won 33.3 percent of their games (27-54), their worst start since 1997. To Galvis, the fix is simple. This team needs to get on the same page. "We have to put everything together," the shortstop said. "Sometimes it's the hitting, sometimes it's the pitching. But to be a winning team I think we have to put everything together."

Young Hitters Lift Offense – The Phillies lost unceremoniously. In an 8-7 defeat to the Brewers that lasted 11 innings, the Phillies sent six batters to the plate in extra innings. The results? Flyout. Strikeout. Popout. Groundout. Groundout. Groundout. But to characterize the entire loss based on the lack of extra-inning offensive output is a fallacy. The Phillies notched 16 hits on Thursday night and clawed back from a three-run deficit in the seventh inning to even force extras. Odubel Herrera, Cody Asche, Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez, four young players often mentioned in the discussions of the future of the franchise, contributed 12 of those 16 hits, each contributing three. Asche put the team on the board early with a two-run home run, his fourth of the year, and Galvis supplied the game-tying hit when his third single came in the seventh. However, in the eighth and ninth innings things didn't run as smoothly. The Phillies stranded three men, all of whom could've served as the go-ahead run. Herrera began the eighth inning with a leadoff single, continuing the hit parade from the seventh. He wasn't able to advance beyond first though, as two of the next three batters struck out and one flied out to left field. The first strikeout came courtesy of Hernandez, who fouled off a third strike when trying to bunt. The decision to bunt was questionable being that Hernandez had 14 hits over the seven-game home stand and has more hits than any other National League player dating back to June 21, but Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin defended the decision, saying the outcome hinged upon execution. "He's got to get a bunt down," Mackanin said. "We're trying to win the game. I want the guy in scoring position. The guy's a table setter. He doesn't hit for power. He's got to get the bunt down. And that's why I did it." The ninth inning ended similarly. Asche reached with a single and Galvis worked a walk, but Cameron Rupp and Jeff Francoeur both hit the ball straight to second baseman Scooter Gennett to end the inning. Despite this, the Phillies youth shined Thursday night, especially Galvis and Hernandez. The middle infielders combined for those six hits as well as turned three double plays and would've executed a fourth had it not been for Carlos Gomez's speed. Hernandez, who has only been a true everyday player since June 24 when Chase Utley went on the DL, and Galvis showed off their chemistry on those double plays. To Galvis, playing with Hernandez as his turn man as opposed to Utley isn't much of a transition. "I think it's the same," Galvis said. "I've been playing with Cesar back too. I feel good about playing with Cesar and Chase. I think it's the same. I think that Chase, he's got more experience. Cesar is learning but he's doing really good."

Great Rotation (on the DL) – The Phillies moved pitcher Aaron Harang to the disabled list on Thursday afternoon with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The move, which came as a counter move to Chad Billingsley being activated from the disabled list to start Thursday, came a day after Harang became the first Phillie to lose eight consecutive starts since 1972. Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said the injury has been hampering Harang in his last three starts, but the right-hander opted to play through it, thinking it was just an everyday ache. "I think it's been iffy all along and it has been bothering him," Mackanin said. "But he's a veteran and he knows that you are going to have aches, pains and things. You're not going to feel 100 percent all the time. So he's a gamer. He doesn't want to say he couldn't do it." Harang's left foot is his plant foot, meaning every time he lands after making a move to the plate, his entire body weight shifts onto his left foot. Plantar fasciitis is effectively a strain of the ligaments that support the arches of a foot, so landing on those ligaments around 100 times a game not counting warm up pitches made it increasingly difficult for an injury of a nagging nature such as this to heal. Mackanin said he believes this contributed to Harang's decreased pitch accuracy, but once all is resolved fans will once again "see who he was, like he was early in the season." With Billingsley coming off the DL, being able to send Harang down saved Mackanin and the Phillies from having to send a pitcher down to Triple-A or designating one for assignment. The move does throw a wrench into the flow of the Phillies' rotation however. As it is announced, Adam Morgan will take the hill Friday, followed by Kevin Correia on Saturday and Cole Hamels on Sunday. Sean O'Sullivan will take over Harang's spot in the rotation on Monday.

Deal Done – The Phillies are finalizing a signing bonus with teenage outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz of the Dominican Republic for an estimated $4.5 million, according to industry sources. The belief among scouts is that the raw power that Ortiz -- ranked No. 6 on MLB.com's Top 30 International Prospects list -- shows as a 16-year-old is rarely seen on the international market, and the rest of his game is not far behind. The Phillies are also coming to terms with teenage catcher Rafael Marchan of Venezuela for a sum near $200,000, according to industry sources. The club did not confirm the agreements. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team is allotted a $700,000 base and a bonus pool with four slot values based on the team's record in 2014 for the international signing period, which started on Thursday. Philadelphia's overall pool total for this year's signing period is $3,041,700. Teams that exceed the pools by 0-5 percent have to pay a 100 percent tax. Teams that exceed the pools by 5-10 percent are not allowed to sign a player for more than $500,000 during the next signing period, and they have to pay a 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Teams that exceed the pools by 10-15 percent are not allowed to sign a player for more than $300,000 during the next signing period, and they have to pay a 100 percent tax on the pool overage. In the most severe penalty, teams that exceed the pool by 15 percent or more are not allowed to sign a player for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods, and they must pay a 100 percent tax on the pool overage. Some scouts have expressed concerns about Ortiz's overall athleticism and wonder if his large frame will eventually force him to switch positions from the outfield (he currently plays left field) to first base. Others believe he has the tools to stay in the outfield and will only get better defensively and as an overall hitter once he signs and is placed into a team's academy. One thing is certain: Ortiz has the most raw power in the entire class and has shown an ability to hit in games.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 27-54. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance so far this season, this could end up being the worst team in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 49-52-0 on this day.