Eickhoff’s Struggles Continue To Cost Phillies

GAME RECAP: Fish Fry Phils 5-3

Marcell Ozuna may have been knocked down in his collision with Giancarlo Stanton on Sunday, but the Marlins' center fielder definitely refuses to be taken out of the lineup. Ozuna and Justin Bour each homered on Monday, and Adam Conley allowed one run in six innings as Miami defeated the Phillies, 5-3, at Citizens Bank Park. Ozuna has hit safely in 16 games, matching a career high. Conley, who threw 94 pitches, struck out five, leading the Marlins to their third straight win. Miami is now four games over .500 (21-17) for the second time this year. They were 16-12 on May 6. "[Ozuna] gets us on the board early with the home run, and Justin gets us one," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "We get a sac fly. We kind of kept tacking runs on, but we had a chance to put a bunch up. Obviously, we had enough." Both teams had their chances, as the Marlins left 12 on base and were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The Phillies stranded 10 and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Phillies threatened to get back into it in the seventh inning, and pushed across an unearned run against reliever Kyle Barraclough. Odubel Herrera started the rally with a one-out single off the right shin of Barraclough, who went down but continued after tossing some warmup pitches. With the bases loaded, Carlos Ruiz's fielder's choice grounder to short made it 5-2.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Phillies outfielder Tyler Goeddel's second-inning single extended his hitting streak to four games. His fourth-inning liner drove in the Phillies' first run, and his sixth-inning double gave him the first three-hit game of his career. Goeddel finished the night 3-for-4, and over his last seven games -- of which he's recorded a hit in six of them -- the 23-year-old Rule 5 pick is 9-for-24. "The more playing time he gets, the better he looks," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Originally, he didn't really have hardly any good at-bats, but I decided to play him a bit more, because I knew he had to be a better hitter than he showed early."
• It only took Tommy Joseph until his second Major League plate appearance to reach base for the first time. But that was a walk -- followed by a run scored -- against the Reds in his Major League debut on Friday. It took a little longer for him to record his first MLB hit. On an 0-1 count in the sixth inning of Monday's game, Joseph ripped a slider right up the middle into center field. His walk, however, came to more fruition than his hit, as Joseph was doubled up on a Freddy Galvis grounder the next play.
• "[Franco] hit the ball a little too high. Obviously, he's dangerous. And you know Ryan [Howard] is on deck over there, and our guy is on his third day in a row. You know he's kind of out of gas. So you're kind of holding your breath in that inning, especially when the first couple of guys get on." -- Mattingly, on Franco's long sacrifice fly to the warning track with two on in the ninth and Miami closer A.J. Ramos being used the third straight day.

NEXT GAME:

Vince Velasquez (4-1, 2.70) makes his second start against the Marlins in his last three outings on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. He allowed four runs in six innings last time against Miami and followed it up with six shutout innings against the Braves, before he fell apart in the seventh, giving up four runs without recording an out.

PHILS PHACTS:

The First Of Many – When Tommy Joseph got to first base in the sixth inning of the Phillies' 5-3 loss to the Marlins on Monday night, he was greeted with a standing ovation from 28,348 faithful at Citizens Bank Park. It was seconds after he had ripped an 0-1 slider into center field for his first Major League hit. Phillies first-base coach Mickey Morandini assured the rookie first baseman that the applause were for him. "It was a moment I'll never forget," Joseph said. It was, however, short lived. The next batter, Freddy Galvis, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Joseph's hit was erased just like that. If there was an upside to quickly getting off the basepaths, it was that Joseph almost immediately was able to get his eyes on the first-hit ball. Postgame, he put it next to his keys. "So I don't forget it," he joked. Joseph struck out in his next at-bat, but it came against right-hander Kyle Barraclough, emphasis on the right-hander. The player whose roster spot Joseph claimed, Darin Ruf, almost certainly would have been pulled in lieu of Ryan Howardfor the more favorable lefty-righty matchup. Manager Pete Mackanin said postgame he didn't want to burn Howard that early in the game, but he also stressed Joseph isn't strictly a platoon player. "He's hit right-handers and left-handers in the Minor Leagues," Mackanin said. "So I didn't want to pre-judge what he was capable of doing. We've gotta find out about him." Through the first month-plus of the Triple-A season, Joseph was hitting .367 (11-for-30) vs. lefties and .338 (22-for-65) vs. righties, with three home runs against each.

Rupp Day To Day – For the first time this season, Cameron Rupp will sit two consecutive games. Rupp missed Sunday's game after injuring his left ankle in a collision at home plate in Saturday's 4-3 Phillies win. The plan was for the 27-year-old catcher to be re-evaluated before Monday's opener at home against the Marlins, but manager Pete Mackanin said Rupp is "day to day," but he doesn't expect him to be out for an extended period of time. "I'm definitely progressing," Rupp said, wearing compression tape on the injured ankle. "A little tender still, but the swelling's gone down." The Phils will move forward with Rupp and Carlos Ruiz as the only two catchers on the roster. In case of emergency, Mackanin said Andres Blanco would be the first man up, with Emmanuel Burriss also being an option behind the plate. Rupp had hits in five of his last six games before the collision at the plate. Overall, he's hitting .238, but he had the game-winning three-run double in the Phillies' win over the Braves last Thursday. Ruiz, in 24 fewer at-bats, is hitting .300 with three home runs -- two more than Rupp. Monday's game marks the first time Ruiz has started on consecutive days since Aug. 15-16, 2015. It also marks the first time this season he's caught any of the Phillies starters under the age of 25 other than Adam Morgan.

Can He Bounce Back? – After the Braves lit up Jerad Eickhoff for four runs in 4 1/3 innings last Wednesday, he headed into his next bullpen session with plenty to cover. Pitching coach Bob McClure made a tweak in Eickhoff's delivery during that session. The 26-year-old right-hander took the mound in Monday's 5-3 Phillies loss with added velocity on his fastball and a full repertoire of pitches. Although it came in a losing effort, Eickhoff bounced back with six innings of three-run ball, striking out four Marlins. "He looked much better," manager Pete Mackanin said. "I liked what I saw. The velocity was back. He threw some good sliders, used all his pitches. It was good to see." Eickhoff began his big league career by dazzling players and fans alike with his swooping curveball. In his first three starts of 2016, he posted a 1.89 ERA over 19 innings. But in his last three leading up to Monday's start, that number jumped to 6.75. It culminated in Atlanta last week, where Eickhoff relied on strictly his fastball and curveball. He didn't throw his changeup until the fifth inning and threw less than 10 pitches that weren't fastballs or curveballs all night. On the season, Eickhoff had only thrown sliders for seven percent of his pitches. In Monday's start, they accounted for 20.6 percent. He threw more sliders than curves. "Having that adjustment going from Atlanta, that slider is a big pitch for me," Eickhoff said. "If I can throw that in between my curveball and my fastball, that speed difference is going to be huge." Eickhoff only retired one of his four punchouts with the slider, but its effectiveness was apparent. The one batter he did ring up with it? Giancarlo Stanton. Not bad. For the other three, Eickhoff reverted back to the tried and true fastball-curve combo. But his heater had an added kick to it. Eickhoff was sitting in the low-to-mid 90s, topping out at 95. Christian Yelich whiffed on a 93-mph fastball to end the first. "There were a lot more pitches I executed," Eickhoff said. "I think it's a big step in the right direction."

Today In Phils History – 8 years and 1 day after being celebrated for his service during the Korean Conflict, Curt Simmons was released by the Phillies on this day in 1960. 3 years later, Don Nottebart no hit the Phillies (but they did avoid the shutout). In 1975, relief pitcher Gene Garber wins his third game in as many days to tie the major league record. 4 years later the Phillies and Cubs combined to hit 11 homreuns, collect 50 hits, and score 45 runs in a one run victory for the Phillies at Wrigley field. Mike Schmidt homered twice and starting pitcher Randy Lerch hit as many homers as batters he retired… one. In 1991, the two teams were at it again but this time they went 15 innings without scoring a single run. Dickie Thon hit the game winning single in the 16^th to score Dale Murphy.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 22-17 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 49-46-0 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!

Rebuild Begins With… A Veteran Signing?

PHILS PHACTS:

Adding Some Bullpen Competition – The Phillies added a veteran arm to their pitching mix on Thursday, when they agreed to terms with left-hander James Russell on a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. The 29-year-old registered a 0-2 record with a 5.29 ERA in 49 appearances for the Cubs last season. Russell, a veteran of six big league seasons, posted a 3.26 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 217 games with the Cubs and Braves over a three-year run between 2012-14. Russell was drafted and developed by the Cubs, traded to Atlanta in 2014, and re-signed with Chicago last April. A 14th-round selection in the 2007 Draft, Russell is the son of former All-Star Jeff Russell, and he's posted a 10-18 record with a 3.90 ERA in 387 career appearances. Russell has just four career saves, but he's finished 70 of the 387 games in which he's appeared in the Major Leagues.

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, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.

Bullpen Can’t Back Up Solid Return By Buchanan

GAME RECAP: Giants Fluster Phillies 8-5

Matt Duffy smacked a two-run triple as part of the Giants' five-run sixth inning Saturday night to help San Francisco come from behind to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-5, at AT&T Park. Ryan Vogelsong, who allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, served up home runs to Ryan Howard and Cody Asche in the top of the sixth. But the Giants answered right back in the bottom half with Angel Pagan's two-run double, Duffy's triple, and Buster Posey's RBI single. "These guys have been champions for a reason," Howard said of the Giants. "Champions don't quit. They get down early and these guys just continue to fight." David Buchanan, who made his first appearance in the Majors since April 30, fired five innings of one-run ball, only to watch his successors squander a three-run lead.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Howard stepped to the plate with no one on and two outs in the sixth and drove a 1-1 curveball to right-center field that barely cleared the "Levi's Landing" sign. Replay officials took a second look at the play and determined the ball hit the green roofing above the brick wall, confirming the call on the field of a home run. Howard's homer, his 15th of the season, gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.
• Two batters after Howard's blast, Phillies left fielder Cody Asche chased Vogelsong from the game with a two-run bomb that landed with a splash in McCovey Cove. The homer stretched the Phillies' lead to 4-1, which the Philadelphia bullpen could not hold. "You score five runs and get nine hits, you should win those games," interim Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You have to win those games."
• With Saturday's loss, the Phillies lost their 61st game of the season, the most losses the team has had before the All-Star break since 1997. Philadelphia is the first team to lose that many games before the break since the Houston Astros in 2011 (30-62).

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies send Chad Billingsley (1-2, 6.67) to the mound as they attempt to take the series finale Sunday at 4:05 ET. The right-hander is coming off a 7-2 win over the Dodgers, his former team, in which he threw six innings of two-run ball. Billingsley is 8-6 with a 3.16 ERA against the Giants in his career. Chris Heston (8-5, 3.51) has been a big surprise for the Giants rotation and he'll try to wrap up the first half of the season on a high note against the Phillies in Sunday's series finale at 1:05 p.m. PT. Heston, who has tossed three straight quality starts, has never faced the Phils.

PHILS PHACTS:

Solid Return – Even on a night when Phillies starting pitcher David Buchanan threw well enough to win, his team came out on the losing end. Buchanan, who entered Saturday without a victory in five starts this season, allowed one run on eight hits in five innings of an 8-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants. For the first time this year, the Phillies right-hander gave up fewer than three earned runs and did not walk a batter. Buchanan had issued 5.47 walks per nine innings prior to Saturday's outing, so the command was a sign of improvement for the 26-year-old. "Didn't walk anybody, which was my biggest thing that was kind of hurting me earlier this year," Buchanan said. "Keeping the ball in the strike zone and executing my pitches, that was my goal." The Giants were able to get runners on base with Buchanan on the mound, but the second-year starter consistently worked out of jams to keep them off the board. Buchanan allowed a one-out single to Joe Panik in the first inning before Matt Duffy ripped a line drive off the pitcher's left arm. He stayed in the game, got Buster Posey to line out to right field and then struck out Hunter Pence with a nasty full-count breaking ball. In the second, the Giants managed to push a run across after Brandon Belt led off the inning with a double and Brandon Crawford tripled him home. But Buchanan bounced back, retiring the next three hitters to strand Crawford at third base. Buchanan allowed runners into scoring position in each of the next three frames as well, but did not allow a single one to cross home plate. "When guys start hitting the ball around, you might try to nibble and start leaving balls in the middle of the plate, start walking guys," Buchanan said. "I think that was the biggest thing mentally -- to pound the zone with confidence." After Ryan Howard and Cody Asche went deep in the top of the sixth inning, Buchanan exited the game with a 4-1 lead. Interim manager Pete Mackanin said he pulled his starter after just 72 pitches because the Giants had three lefties coming up in the sixth. "It was a perfect matchup for a left-hander," Mackanin said. "It didn't work as well we [hoped] it would work." But by the end of the inning, the Giants stormed back for five runs off the Phillies' bullpen, and Buchanan was slapped with a no-decision. "When a team goes ahead, you like to see them shut it down," Buchanan said. "You have to win those games."

But Will He Start When He Returns? – Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is making slight progress in his rehab process after being on the 15-day disabled list since June 23 with right-ankle inflammation. Utley said he has been doing some light running this weekend and the six-time All-Star took ground balls before Friday's game at AT&T Park. He said he's noticed some improvement in his ankle since he was placed on the DL. "The ankle is definitely in a better place than it was two weeks ago or three weeks ago," Utley said. The Phillies don't know when Utley will be able to return to the playing field, but he said he will stick to running and fielding grounders until after the break. Utley said he hopes to begin swinging again after the All-Star break. "Probably some point after the break," Utley said of when he'll pick up a bat. "There's no exact date on it, but it's a good sign that I'm able to run and take ground balls and I feel very comfortable doing it." When asked if he's still a few weeks away from being fully healthy, Utley said, "That's fair to say." Utley was hitting .179 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 65 games before the injury.

Revere Setting Example – The Philadelphia Phillies, who hold Major League Baseball's worst record, have not given their fans much to cheer about this season. The team is in the rebuilding stage, with its main focus on developing its younger crop of players. The Phillies have talented youth already on their roster in Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez and Odubel Herrera, among others. But those without experience learn from veterans, and players like outfielder Ben Revere, who is in his sixth MLB season, are tasked with showing the younger guys what it takes to consistently produce at the big league level. While Philadelphia's lineup struggles to score runs, Revere continues to find ways to get on base -- and then swipe the next one. His 21 stolen bases were fifth best in the Majors entering Saturday and he is the only player to steal 20 or more bases in each of the last five seasons. A career .292 hitter, Revere got off to a slow start to the 2015 season, batting .215 in the month of April. The Phillies' leadoff hitter credits the tough start to bad luck, and rightly so: Revere's .250 batting average on balls in play in April was 72 percentage points lower than his career average. "This is the first time I hit the ball as hard as I did in April," Revere said. "Balls [weren't] falling." The 5-foot-9, 170-pound center fielder has seen his batting average rise in every month since. Revere hit .286 in May, .346 in June and is batting .391 in seven games in July. Entering this month, he was one of 18 Major League players (with a minimum of 50 at-bats in each month) to raise his batting average in each month by at least 10 percentage points, according to Sports Features Group. "It's not how you start, it's how you finish," Revere said. Revere went 2-for-2 with a walk against 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner on Friday night and is now 7-for-14 off the left-hander in his career. "You want to face the best and compete against the best," Revere said. "Facing those guys, I really get excited." Revere said he's pleased with his success, but insists he's more concerned with helping his teammates get better. "As a leader, as a veteran, I try my best to help the team, try to spark the team as much as I can," Revere said. "We're going to help these guys become better professional baseball players."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 29-61. 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 36-52-0 on this day.

Offense Comes Alive To Secure 4th Win In A Row

GAME RECAP: Phils Beat D-Backs 7-5

Before Friday, the Phillies didn't have a three-game win streak in 2015. Now the streak is four. The Phillies, who improved their record to 15-23 with the win, defeated the D-backs 7-5 in an offensive affair Saturday that saw a combined 23 hits and 11 pitchers used. "Well, I like what I've seen," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said about the team playing better offensively, including tying a season-high seven runs Saturday. "It's coming from different guys. It's more consistent up and down the lineup. I don't know. Warmer weather, having some at-bats under the belt, whatever it might be. The timing seems to be good right now." Jerome Williams went five innings of two-run ball for the Phillies, giving up seven hits and striking out four in a winning effort. Archie Bradley took the loss for the D-backs in his return from the DL, only lasting two-plus innings and allowing four runs on five hits and three walks. "It kind of snowballed on me," Bradley said of the three-run Phillies third. "I couldn't get it back. Up here, you have to make adjustments quicker than that. It kind of unraveled and I couldn't get it back." Jonathan Papelbon closed the game out and is now nine-for-nine in save opportunities this season.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

·         Despite the wet environment, the Phillies bats awoke with 13 hits, six of which were for extra-bases. Jeff Francoeur started the offense off for the Phillies in the second inning with a home run over the left-field wall and doubles followed from Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, pinch-hitter Andres Blanco, Grady Sizemore, who finished with his first four-hit game since August 2008, and Chase Utley, who recorded his second two-hit game of the season.

·         Though he was forced to wait about an hour and a half between throwing the third and fourth innings, Williams came back out and threw two innings post rain delay. He swiftly sat down the first two hitters he saw in the fourth innings before two singles and an error by Utley charged Williams with an unearned run. "No hesitation at all," Williams said about coming back out. "My arm is durable enough to go out there and pitch, even with the delay. I just wanted to go back out there and help the guys out."

·         "He has a resilient arm. He didn't throw a lot of pitches. He was able to stay warm." -- Sandberg, on his decision to send Williams back out to pitch, despite a 1 hour, 17 minute rain delay.

·         A rain delay halted this game in the bottom of the third inning. The Phillies had scored two runs off of three hits and two walks and had the bases loaded with no outs before the delay, which began at 8:10 p.m. The delay lasted for one hour and 17 minutes before the game resumed at 9:27 p.m.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Sean O'Sullivan makes his fourth start for the Phillies, and second since returning from the 15-day disabled list because of tendinitis in his left knee. O'Sullivan is looking for his first big league win since May 12, 2011. He is 0-9 in 18 appearances since.

PHILS PHACTS:

Returning To Form – Sometimes a hitter just needs some opportunities. Over his last six games, Grady Sizemore is proving this to be true. The outfielder came into Saturday's game hitting just .238 on the season but was 5-for-15 in his previous five games. Already swinging a hot bat, Sizemore turned that 5-for-15 into a 9-for-20 streak Saturday with a 4-for-5 performance in the Phillies' 7-5 win, in which the lefty singled three times, doubled once and scored a run. Sizemore, who hasn't hit particularly well since his return to baseball in 2013, said that this steady stream of at-bats is what has triggered his offensive prowess. "It felt good to have some good swings and get the win," Sizemore said. "I felt like I didn't have a lot of at-bats or a lot of consistent at-bats, so I try to just do what you can to stay sharp and relax up there and keep grinding it out." Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg agreed, saying the progression from pinch-hitter to regular player really eased Sizemore into a comfort zone, leading to this recent hot streak. "Grady just seems to be clicking right now," Sandberg said. "He gave us some real good pinch-hits, he got some hits and I think that got him rolling. Now with some starts, he seems to be in a groove. He's just seeing the ball real good, squaring it up." Being that Sizemore is one of the many Phillies' outfielders in danger of losing his job when Cody Asche and Domonic Brown are recalled from Triple-A, one would naturally assume that Sizemore's jump in production is coming from the place of a guy wanting to keep his job. However, Sizemore said that as a Major League Baseball player, he needs no extra incentive to try his hardest. "You can't really worry about what you can't control," he said. "There's no need for motivation for any player. You want to go out there and get better every day. So you just focus on what you can control and go from there." That being said, Sizemore also acknowledged that the team has been struggling offensively this season and though the offense has looked good over the team's four-game winning streak, changes probably will be made to the outfield and to the lineup in coming weeks. But, as one of the veterans of the clubhouse, Sizemore said he knows how to look past both the struggles that have happened and the adversities that may be coming. "You look for the positive and you work off of that," Sizemore said. "We had some tough breaks and obviously we weren't playing very well, but you know it's going to turn around. You just keep doing what your routine is, whatever that works and you make adjustments every day and you work from there."

Moving Down To Move Up – It might be a coincidence, but Chase Utley must love the results. He is 3-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs in two games since Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg dropped him from third to sixth in the Phillies' lineup. Utley went 2-for-3 with one double and two RBIs in Saturday night's 7-5 victory over Arizona at Citizens Bank Park. "Nothing different," Sandberg said. "He's hitting balls away from the glove and defense. It's good to see." It was Utley's second multi-hit game of the season and his first since April 14, when he homered twice and had three hits against the Mets at Citi Field. Utley singled to center field in the third inning Saturday to score Grady Sizemore to hand the Phillies a 3-0 lead. He doubled to score Maikel Franco in the fifth to make it 5-3. Arizona right-hander Addison Reed intentionally walked him in the sixth to face the right-handed-hitting Jeff Francoeur. There has been plenty of discussion about Utley because his struggles have extended for nearly a year. He has hit .217 with 17 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .612 OPS in 587 plate appearances since May 29. Could Utley abruptly retire like Mike Schmidt in May 1989? Could the Phillies bench Utley to prevent him from reaching 500 plate appearances this season, which would automatically vest a $15 million club option for 2016? Utley left the clubhouse almost immediately Saturday night and was unavailable to comment. But Utley has run into some bad luck. His .118 batting average on balls in play entering the game was 178 points below the game's average and 182 points below his career average. "I thought he's looked really good," Sizemore said. "It's a small sample of what we've seen. 120 or 130 at-bats isn't a lot for anybody. So we can't get too carried away with what anybody's doing right now. A couple things fall here or there it's a different story." FiveThirtyEight.com this week compiled MLB.com's Statcast™ information on batted ball velocity. It wrote: "Utley's batted ball velocity is a little below average, not elite -- but below average would be an incredible improvement from Utley's (.455) OPS." In other words, Utley might not be the player he once was, but he is not a .138 hitter, either. "In Utley," FiveThirtyEight.com wrote, "we have a player whose Statcast™ data doesn't match the conventional narrative. If the commentators and traditional data sources are correct, Utley is headed toward a premature retirement. If Statcast™ is right, Utley has an about average bat, one that should recover. The Phillies just have to stick by him long enough to let him do it."

Welcome Back To Philly – The Phillies on Saturday acquired infielder Jayson Nix from the Orioles for cash considerations. Nix will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Nix appeared in 18 games last season for the Phillies. He has spent the 2015 season with Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .167 with a .388 OPS in 25 games.

THE BEGINNING

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 15-23. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are 49-46-0 on this day.