Well, You Can’t Win Them All…

GAME RECAP: Giants Outlast Phillies 3-2

Denard Span clapped his hands once in a brief display of celebration after slapping an eighth-inning single up the middle. As he would explain, he was pleased with being able to connect with a pitch despite being fooled. Two innings later, Span wasn't fooled at all, and what he proceeded to do merited an ovation. Span christened Thursday's 10th inning with a leadoff homer that lifted the Giants over the Phillies, 3-2. Having weathered a series of nagging injuries this season, Span went 7-for-15 with four runs scored in three games against the Phillies. He's also batting .347 (26-for-75) in his last 19 games. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I just want to try to build off of this," said Span, who broke a 2-2 tie against Phillies reliever Severino Gonzalez (0-2) with his fifth homer of the season. The outcome enabled the National League West-leading Giants to avoid being administered a three-game sweep by the Phillies, who mustered four hits off starter Matt Moore and five relievers. "I don't know, we just couldn't solve him for whatever reason," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Moore. "I thought we were going to after that first inning. … He kept pounding the strike zone. He pitched outside and inside. He kept mixing it up, threw some curveballs and changeups." Span also accounted for the Giants' first two runs by singling and scoring in the first inning and on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. The Phillies kept pace, as Aaron Altherr doubled home Cesar Hernandez in the first inning, before Freddy Galvis' bases-loaded fielder's-choice grounder delivered their second run in the sixth.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• It didn't take a crystal ball to see the foreshadowing of another short start from Velasquez after the 24-year-old righty needed 28 pitches to make it through the first inning. He joined Zach Eflin and Phil Klein in not making it past the fifth inning against the Giants. Although Velasquez pitched well, allowing only two runs on three hits and striking out six, the Phillies only had one fresh relief arm and could have used a day of rest with six more to play until an off-day. Velasquez hasn't pitched past the sixth inning in all but two starts this season. "It was tough. I had to push myself and at least get to five innings," Velasquez said. "So I've got to work on some things in the bullpen, utilizing my two-seam, locating my two-seam. My secondary pitches are just kind of brutal right now. So I've got to sharpen up a lot of stuff before my next start."
• Thanks to three straight starts of five innings or fewer, the Phillies bullpen has had plenty of chances to shine this series. After Luis Garcia allowed two runs in the sixth inning of Tuesday's game, no Phillies reliever allowed a run until Gonzalez gifted a fastball over the plate to Span that landed in the right-field seats to give the Giants a decisive lead. In Wednesday's 12-inning affair, Phillies relievers pitched seven innings of scoreless baseball in a streak of 14 innings without allowing a run. A depleted 'pen added four more scoreless innings Thursday before Gonzalez's fateful fastball.
• Mackanin announced after the game that the Phillies top pitching prospect Jake Thompson will make his Major League debut against the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park. Thompson is ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 70 prospect in baseball. In 21 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, the 22-year-old right-hander is 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA. The Phillies also optioned Elvis Araujo back to Triple-A, though not to create room for Thompson. A corresponding move will be announced before his start Saturday. Taking Araujo's place will be closer Jeanmar Gomez, returning from the paternity list.
• After Velasquez issued his second free pass of the day to Pagan in the third, the Giants left fielder tried to swipe second base as Hunter Pence struck out swinging. At first glance, the Giants had narrowly avoided a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play. But the Phillies challenged, the call was overturned and Pagan was ruled out at second to end the inning. The review took 1 minute, 14 seconds and was Mackanin's 18th successful challenge on 31 attempts. In the seventh inning, the Giants challenged a ruling which declared that Altherr was safe as he dove into first base on a pickoff attempt. A video review confirmed that the call on the field stands.
• Cesar Hernandez and Tommy Joseph were the Phillies' best hitters during the month of July. The two combined to hit .331 (54-for-163) during the month with six doubles, two triples and six home runs.
• Maikel Franco hasn't homered in the five games he's played in Petco Park, going just 1-for-20 (.050) with a double in San Diego in his career.
• Wil Myers, who has cooled off since his torrid June, has hit .364/.364/1.000 in 11 at-bats vs. Hellickson, including two home runs.

NEXT GAME:

Jeremy Hellickson makes his first start for the Phillies since Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, matching up with San Diego's Christian Friedrich on Friday. Hellickson's name was all over the trade market with many teams searching for starting pitchers, but Philadelphia ended up holding onto the 29-year-old righty, who has posted a 3.70 ERA in 131 1/3 innings this season. In his past seven starts, Hellickson has 2.27 ERA with 28 strikeouts and six walks. The Phillies are 6-1 in those games. Friedrich, meanwhile, is coming off of his best start in more than a month. He limited the Reds to just one run over six innings thanks to a lively fastball and good spin on his breaking ball. "I thought he was as good as he's been since he's been with us," Padres manager Andy Green said about his outing.

PHILS PHACTS:

Looking For Depth – After using his bullpen for seven innings on Wednesday and four on Tuesday, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was counting on a little help in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Giants from Vince Velasquez -- the only starter of the past three games to open the season in the Phillies' rotation. But Velasquez lasted no longer than his two predecessors, Zach Eflin on Tuesday and Phil Klein on Wednesday, needing 93 pitches to make it through five innings. Velasquez's five were better than Eflin or Klein's, allowing only two runs compared to six and four, respectively. But another inefficient outing from Velasquez again put the weight on the shoulders of a beleaguered bullpen. "It was tough. I had to push myself and at least get to five innings," Velasquez said. "We used a lot of pitchers last night, and starting out with [28] pitches in the first inning doesn't help. So I just had to make my pitches and manage to get through five." Nearing the end of his start, Mackanin and head trainer Scott Sheridan paid Velasquez a visit on the mound to check a blister on his middle finger. Mackanin said if not for the blister, Velasquez would have possibly stayed in longer than five innings, likely to take the load off a depleted bullpen, as Velasquez was already at 93 pitches. Even the supposed fresh arms in the 'pen weren't so. The two relievers called up the last two days, Michael Mariot and Elvis Araujo, had each pitched for Triple-A Lehigh Valley the day prior to getting the call. Severino Gonzalez, the one reliever who had a day or more of rest, was the one to serve up Denard Span's go-ahead solo home run in the 10th. For Velasquez, it is becoming all too much of a trend to not make it deep in games. Only twice this season has he made it past the sixth inning -- his 16-strikeout shutout of the Padres in his second start with the Phillies and a seven-inning, one-run performance in his first start out of the All-Star break. Take out those, and also the start he left injured after a third of an inning, and Velasquez is averaging just over 5 1/3 innings per start this season. "He is a power pitcher, but the thing I like about him is he uses all of his pitches," Mackanin said. "He uses two-seamers, he'll throw his changeup, he'll mix in his breaking ball. And I think it is tough for him because he can blow people away with 95-plus. I think he has a tendency to try to pitch too much instead of trying to establish that fastball early." Velasquez next faces his hometown team, the Dodgers, in his hometown of Los Angeles. He has walked at least two in each of his last six starts, including three Thursday. "I'd like to minimize my walks," Velasquez said. "I know I am probably leading the team in walks right now, which is kind of bad, actually really bad. "So I've got to work on some things in the bullpen, utilizing my two-seam, locating my two-seam. My secondary pitches are just kind of brutal right now. So I've got to sharpen up a lot of stuff before my next start because the Dodgers are an ecstatic team. Those guys just rake." But at only 24 years old and in his first full season in a Major League rotation, Velasquez's inability to pitch deep into games is only disappointing, not concerning, to Mackanin. "He's pitching very well," Mackanin said. "But he's just not locating as well as he's going to in the future."

Debut Scheduled – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin put an end to the speculation. The organization's top pitching prospect, Jake Thompson, will make his Major League debut on Saturday in San Diego, the skipper announced after the Phillies' 3-2 loss to the Giants on Thursday. Starting Saturday, Thompson won't slot into Aaron Nola's temporarily vacated rotation spot. Mackanin said that the debut date is to give other starters extra rest but that pitching coach Bob McClure is who determines the rotation order. "I know he's got Major League stuff, and I'm anxious to see him perform. We'll find out Saturday," Mackanin said. "I don't know what to expect. Eflin had a shaky debut but we really like him, obviously. So we're anxious to see him." The Phillies also optioned Elvis Araujo back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following Thursday's game to accommodate Jeanmar Gomez's return from the paternity list. A corresponding move to make room on the 25-man roster for Thompson will be announced prior to his start on Saturday. The Phillies are only carrying four starters on the 25-man roster, so an extra bullpen arm will likely be sent down. In his last seven starts at Triple-A, Thompson has allowed more than one run in only one of them -- a five-run blip on an otherwise dominant statline. In 21 starts with Lehigh Valley this season, the 22-year-old right-hander is 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA. In addition to being ranked as the Phillies' top pitching prospect by MLBPipeline.com, Thompson is the club's No. 5 overall prospect and ranked as the No. 70 prospect in baseball.

Today In Phils History – In 1921, the Phillies lost (to the Pirates) the 1^st MLB game ever covered by a play by play announcer as Harold Arlin called the game for KDKA out of Pittsburgh. 6 years later, Cy Williams hit for the cycle in 4 at bats against Pittsburgh. In 1975, the Phillies started a game against the Cubs with the 1^st 8 batters hitting safely against Bill Bonham and finished the inning with 10 runs on 10 hits including 2 homeruns (the won the game 13-5). That same day the Phillies acquired John Vukovich from the Reds. 4 years later, during a loss to the Pirates (John Milner hit a grand slam off Tug McGraw in the 9^th), Pete Rose collected his 2,427^th single breaking Honus Wagner’s NL record. In 1987, during a blowout loss to the Mets, OF Glenn Wilson durned in the best pitching performance of the night for the Phillies when he completed the 9^th inning without surrendering a hit or walk while striking out a batter. In 2000, the Phillies bid farewell to Mickey Morandini as they traded him to Toronto. 5 years later, Bob Boone was inducted in the Phillies Wall of Fame. Finally, 2 years ago, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins started in their 887^th career game together setting a new MLB record for games started by a 1B/2B/SS combo (the Dodgers’ Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and Bill Russell previously held the record). In the same game, Antonio Bastardo struck out 6 in 2 innings of work (7 batters faced) for the 2^nd time that season.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 50-60 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 51-48-0 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.

Howard And Rupp And Franco… Oh My!

GAME RECAP: Phillies Outlast Giants 5-4

The Giants' midsummer nightmare continued Wednesday night as Maikel Franco's bases-loaded fielder's choice off Jake Peavy snapped a 12th-inning deadlock and gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 victory. The National League West-leading Giants fell to 4-13 since the All-Star break, the worst record in the Majors during that span. "It's hard to believe," Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto said of the team's skid. "We're a good team. All we can do is keep grinding and putting our best stuff out there every time." Cueto appeared to be in control as he blanked the Phillies on three hits through six innings. He ultimately finished with 10 strikeouts and just one walk. Though Cueto began to falter in the seventh inning, when he surrendered back-to-back homers to Ryan Howard and Cameron Rupp, he seemed more unhappy about Franco's two-out, two-run single that forged a 4-4 tie in the eighth. "Both [Madison] Bumgarner and Cueto are two of the best pitchers in the league, so you have to go out there and not think too much," said Franco, who has five hits in the first two games of the series. "We've had good success with those guys and I feel pretty good about it." The Giants jumped ahead, 4-0, as Posey accounted for every San Francisco run. He smacked a two-run single in the first inning before doubling home a run and scoring in the third.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• The Phillies recalled right-hander Phil Klein from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday because they placed right-hander Aaron Nola on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. Klein allowed eight hits, four runs and one walk and struck out three in five innings, but he kept the Phillies close enough for a comeback. The Phillies optioned Klein back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the game. "Got the first guy on a lot of the innings," Klein said. "It's hard to work out of those a lot of the time. Just tried my best to at least get through five and keep 'em in the game the best I could." 
• It took awhile, but Franco's game-winning drive up the middle in the 12th was the first walk-off of his career. Franco is 5-for-10 with one home run and seven RBIs in the first two games of this three-game series against the Giants. "I got my RBI, we win the ballgame, that's what this game is all about," Franco said.
• "I definitely have to buy Maikel some dinner or something." -- Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr, who cost Franco a hit in the 12th when he didn't touch second base. The walk-off was originally ruled a fielder's choice, then changed to a hit, before it was ultimately determined to be a fielder's choice.
• The Giants questioned a fourth-inning umpiring decision in which Angel Pagan was called out at first base. Had Pagan been ruled safe, the Giants would have had another run. But a replay review determined the call on the field stands and Pagan was retired for the inning's final out.
• San Francisco received a break -- and an out -- on a crew chief review of Altherr's infield single in the eighth inning. Upon further examination, Altherr was declared out, and the call on the field was overturned.
• The Phillies challenged Hunter Pence's slide into second base in the 11th inning, which broke up a potential double play. After a short review, the call on the field was confirmed. Pence's slide was legal.
• Another crew chief review in the 11th inning overturned a ruling that held thatFreddy Galvis was safe at first base. The out on Galvis resulted in an inning-ending double play for the Giants.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Velasquez pitches in the 1:05 p.m. ET series finale Wednesday against the Giants. The Phillies and Rangers discussed a potential trade for Velasquez before Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, but the deal never got close.

PHILS PHACTS:

Celebrating Too Early – Maikel Franco hit a baseball into right-center field in the 12th inning to beat the Giants on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. He touched first base and sprinted straight into the outfield to avoid a crush of teammates and celebrate the 5-4 victory. "I get excited," Franco said following the walk-off win. He had reason to be excited. The Phillies have won the first two games of a three-game series against the Giants, scoring eight runs in five innings against Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday and four runs in 7 2/3 innings against Johnny Cueto on Wednesday. In four starts against the Phillies this season, Cueto and Bumgarner have a 6.12 ERA. They have a 2.10 ERA against everybody else. "Next time we're going to have to put a limit on how far [Franco] can run," said Tommy Joseph, who scored the winning run from third base. "That was absurd." Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr got caught up in the moment, too. He was on first base when Franco hit the first pitch from Jake Peavy into the outfield. He knew Joseph had scored the game-winning run so he stopped running and never touched second. He joined the celebration with his teammates instead. But he soon noticed Giants right fielder Hunter Pence retrieve the baseball in the outfield and hurriedly throw to second where Giants catcher Buster Posey stepped on the bag. Second-base umpire Dale Scott signaled an out. "I was like, what's going on here?" Altherr said. "Then when I saw him throw to second I was like, 'Oh, crap.'" The official scorer initially ruled Franco's hit a fielder's choice because Altherr stopped running, taking away Franco's first official walk-off hit. "I definitely have to buy Maikel some dinner or something," Altherr said. Franco said he couldn't have cared less. "Not at all," he said with a big smile. "Not at all. It's more important that we won the ballgame. I got my RBI, we won the ballgame, that's what this game is all about." Franco was later awarded the walk-off hit, albeit briefly. The official scorer reversed his initial stance upon discovering Rule 5.08 (b), which states that the game is finished once the winning run scores and the batter reaches first base safely. In short, it didn't matter that Altherr never touched second. But on Thursday, the ruling changed for a third time. MLB officially ruled the play a fielder's choice, again taking away the hit. Franco will have to wait for his first career walk-off hit after all. The rally started when Joseph got hit by a pitch to start the inning. Phillies reliever Luis Garcia then dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt in the front of the mound. Garcia joined the team this week after the Phillies designated Andrew Bailey for assignment Tuesday. Garcia had not held a bat since Spring Training. "I start Monday," Garcia said about giving the Phillies' pitchers bunting lessons. Cesar Hernandez walked to put runners on first and second with one out when Altherr reached on an error by third baseman Eduardo Nunez to load the bases. Franco ended the game on the next pitch.

Just Filling In – It may feel as though Phil Klein spent less time on the Phillies roster than he did on the mound in Wednesday's 5-4 walk-off win over the Giants. It took the slow-paced Klein more than an hour and a half of game time to finish an unremarkable five innings on 90 pitches, eight of which the Giants connected with for hits. Of course, the game progressed for another seven innings for a season-long 12-inning, four-hour affair. Klein also walked one and allowed four to come around to score. "He did OK," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He showed some good breaking stuff. He didn't have great command, but he held them down and battled his way through it." The Phillies optioned Klein back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following his start, almost certainly clearing way for the organization's top pitching prospect, Jake Thompson, to make his Major League debut in Los Angeles. Mackanin was noncommital, but he didn't shy away from hinting that Thompson's time was sooner rather than later. "I think that might be a good solid guess," Mackanin said before the game. "That's probably a probability." Klein received the call to start after Tuesday's IronPigs game. Mackanin didn't say to Klein if it would be strictly a spot start, but he didn't indicate it would be anything more pregame. He referenced Wei-Yin Chen's eight-inning shutout of the Phillies last season, after which he was optioned. "They just said, 'Hey, here's the ball, here's the mound. Go for it,'" Klein said. Klein was making his third career big league start. His second stint in a Major League rotation eerily mirrors his first. The Rangers, from whom the Phillies claimed Klein off waivers in June, called upon Klein to fill in for the injured Ross Detwiler in May of last year. After a promising starting debut, holding the Red Sox to one run in 5 1/3 innings, Klein imploded in his second start. The Indians scored seven runs (six earned) in two innings off him, and Klein was promptly removed from the rotation. Although Klein's third career start Wednesday was neither as good as his first nor as bad as his second, it's unlikely he'll get a fourth -- barring an unforeseen injury. After his ugly outing against Cleveland, the Rangers replaced him with a promising pitching prospect. Chi Chi Gonzalez not only took Klein's spot starts, he stole Detwiler's rotation spot, not allowing a run for his first 14 2/3 innings. Klein made three more bullpen appearances for the Rangers in 2015. Thompson has given up more than one run just once in his last seven starts at Triple-A.

Let The Call Ups Begin – Aaron Nola's season might be finished. The Phillies announced Wednesday that Nola has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. Nola received a MRI exam in the morning, but Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said the injury is not serious. "I was kind of relieved," Nola said. "After hearing that, I do not need anything big time done to it or anything like that. I can just go forward, let it heal and do the rehab I need to do." The Phillies recalled Triple-A right-hander Phil Klein to pitch in Nola's place Wednesday night against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park, but Triple-A right-hander Jake Thompson is a very smart bet to join the rotation and make his Major League debut next week. Thompson is the organization's top pitching prospect and the No. 71 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. Nola's injury at least offers a potential explanation for his recent struggles. He posted a 2.65 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP and 5.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 starts through June 5. He ranked 18th, eighth and fourth among 90 pitchers with 60 or more innings pitched in those categories in that stretch, respectively. He seemed like a legitimate candidate to make the National League All-Star team. But Nola has a 9.82 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and 2.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio in eight starts since. "[Pitching coach Bob] McClure's been saying that for a while, he said there's something there," Mackanin said. "You don't know if it's mechanical or what, but with the fact that he wasn't complaining about his arm, never even brought it up, never even asked for treatment, you've got to figure nothing is wrong with his arm." Nola said throughout his struggles he felt healthy. He said he first felt soreness in his elbow Thursday in his start against the Braves at Turner Field. The soreness remained through a bullpen session Sunday in Atlanta. He told the team about his elbow concerns on the bus on the way to the airport Sunday. "I hope this isn't the end," Nola said about his season. "I'm going to try everything I can to be back by the end of the year." But the Phillies will have to gauge the risk and reward of Nola pitching again this season. Generally, the rule of thumb for injured pitchers is they need the same amount of time to recover from the time they missed. So if Nola rests three weeks, he will need three weeks to get ready to pitch again. If that is the case, he would not be ready to pitch again until mid-September. "He might be shut down for the season," Mackanin said. "That will be determined after these next two weeks." Mackanin said he does not believe the Phillies did not trade right-hander Jeremy Hellickson before Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline because of concerns about Nola's elbow. "I don't think they put a stop on anything," Mackanin said about the Phillies' front office. "That's the thing, if they had a real good deal for Hellickson, I'm sure they would have made it. We didn't want to lose him. But if you have the deal you can't say no to, then they would've done it. We've got pitchers we would've used." Thompson will be used next week. He certainly has earned a promotion. He is 8-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 11 starts since early June. "That's probably a probability," Mackanin said about Thompson's chances of making his big league debut next week. "Can I say that? A good, solid guess."

A Necessary Absence – The Phillies are without their closer for Wednesday's game against the Giants, but manager Pete Mackanin doesn't believe Jeanmar Gomez will miss any more than a day on the paternity list. Gomez's wife, Luisa, was set to have labor induced at 6:30 p.m. ET, about half an hour prior to Wednesday's first pitch. "I think he's naming it Pete," Mackanin joked. To take Gomez's place in the bullpen, Michael Mariot was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Should a save situation arise, Hector Neris would fill in for the ninth inning. Neris has been the Phillies' eighth-inning option and the choice to fill in when Gomez hasn't been available. Neris has pitched the ninth four times this season, recording one save and posting a 2.25 ERA. Players can take up to three days on the paternity list, but Gomez indicated to Mackanin that he would only take one, to see the birth of his first child -- a boy, Mackanin said. Gomez is expected back in the bullpen for Thursday's series finale against the Giants before the Phillies hit the road again to Los Angeles and San Diego. Mackanin reaffirmed his commitment to the 28-year-old Gomez in the closer's role in the final two months of the season, despite Gomez set to hit free agency at the end of next season. While the organization sees Edubray Ramos as a potential high-leverage reliever, they aren't ready to throw him into the fire yet, even if just to get a look at how he handles the ninth.

Today In Phils History – On this day in 1930 the Phillies had 2 players batting over .400 for the season following Lefty O’Doul’s performance at the plate (he joined Chuck Klein) which as the 1^st time since 1918 that a team had 2 players batting over .400 for the season (they both finished the season hitting in the .380’s). On the day that Dallas Green was born in 1934, Reggie Grabowski set a NL record by allowing 11 hits in an inning (the 9^th) which allowed the Giants to set a MLB record by scoring 11 runs in the 9^th inning (Mel Ott scored 6 runs in the game). 40 years later, Willie Montanez extended his hitting streak to 24 games in the 1^st game of a double header against the Cardinals only to see it come to an end during the nightcap. With a hit off of Steve Carlton at the Vet in 1982, Joel Youngblood of the Expos became the 1^st player to record a hit for 2 different teams in 2 different cities on the same day (he got a hit earlier in the day with the Mets before he was traded. In 1996, Senator Jim Bunning was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. 10 years later, Chase Utley’s hitting streak came to an end at 35 games (the 11^th longest in MLB history).  

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 50-59 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 50-61-0 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 Display Power In Opener Against Giants

GAME RECAP: Phillies Stun Giants 13-8

The San Francisco Giants realize that, despite the disparity in their records, the Philadelphia Phillies can give anybody a rough night. Tuesday, the Giants learned just how challenging the Phillies are as they squandered a huge early lead before rising again to score five eighth-inning runs, break a tie and proceed to a 13-8 triumph. The Giants won two of three games vs. the Phillies from June 24-26, but each game was a one-run decision. This time, the Giants erased Philadelphia's 6-0 lead to take an 8-7 advantage into the bottom of the sixth. Yet the Phillies weren't intimidated as they drove Giants ace Madison Bumgarner from the game before pulling away. Philadelphia's Aaron Altherr matched a career high with five RBIs, including a two-run homer in the first inning and a run-scoring single in the second inning. He then bounced a two-run single up the middle off Sergio Romo to begin the Phillies' eighth-inning outburst, which continued with Cameron Rupp's three-run homer. "It should give us confidence," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We beat Bumgarner over there in San Francisco. Anytime you beat a classy pitcher like that, a top-notch guy, it's got to give you confidence." Led by Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt, who combined for five of San Francisco's 10 hits and six of its eight RBIs, the Giants roared back. But the Phillies began their rally in the eighth off newcomer Will Smith, who was removed after yielding Odubel Herrera's one-out infield single and Cesar Hernandez's double. Smith, acquired from the Brewers before Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, spent most of Tuesday traveling from Milwaukee. "Nobody flies cross-country before their first outing," Smith said. "But that's not an excuse by any means. I told them I was good to go and I didn't lie to them. I felt ready. It just didn't go my way tonight."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Hernandez, Altherr, Maikel Franco and Rupp picked up a combined 12 hits and 12 RBIs in the victory. In addition to the homers by Altherr and Rupp, Franco hit a three-run homer in the second. "Altherr just looks good at the plate right now, and Franco, it's great to see him bust out," Mackanin said. "Good to see everybody kind of getting it together." 
• The Phillies spotted Zach Eflin a 6-0 lead after the second inning, but he allowed a run in the fourth and five runs in the fifth to tie the game. Eflin had been pitching pretty well recently until his last two starts, allowing 13 runs in 10 innings against the Marlins and Giants. "I was just off with my command," Eflin said. "I thought I made some really good pitches in certain situations, but at the end of the day I just really have to bear down on that, I really have to."
• "I was looking for a cutter away. I wouldn't say I was trying to hit a home run, but I had seen a lot of video and it's something you just prepare for. You know he likes his cutter so I was looking for it. I just put a good swing on it." -- Altherr, who hit a 0-1 cutter from Bumgarner for his two-run homer in the first.
• The Phillies' 13 runs are the most they have scored in a game since scoring 14 against the Mets on Sept. 1, 2015.
• The Phillies have dropped 10 of their past 16 games, but took Tuesday's series opener. They had scored only 45 runs over their previous 15, an average of three per game, before breaking out against Madison Bumgarner and the Giants for 13.
• Arguably Cueto's worst start of the season came in his only other time facing the Phillies. He allowed six runs on eight hits over six innings in the same game Nola struggled in, an 8-7 Giants win.
• The Giants made a bevy of roster moves prior to Tuesday's series opener. Trade Deadline acquisitions Will Smith and Matt Moore were added to the active roster, Matt Reynolds and Albert Suarez were optioned to Triple-A, Ehire Adrianza finished his rehab assignment and was added to the active roster and Mac Williamson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain.

NEXT GAME:

For a start, it appeared as though the Phillies had fixed Aaron Nola. Making his first start in more than two weeks on July 18, Nola shut out the Marlins for six innings, surrendering only two hits and a walk. But in two starts since, Nola had reverted back to the pitcher the Phillies skipped in the rotation heading into the All-Star break. He allowed six runs over four innings to the Pirates, then followed that with a better-looking line -- five innings, three runs -- in Atlanta but also allowed eight hits and gave up plenty of hard contact. Wednesday, Nola was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. He'll be replaced on the hill by Phil Klein, who will make his Phillies debut after being claimed off waivers from Texas on June 19. Facing Johnny Cueto (13-3, 2.63 ERA) and the Giants, Klein, 27, will make his 37th career big league appearance and third start after having gone 2-3 with a 4.80 ERA with the Rangers the past three seasons. Cueto will be looking to make it beyond the fifth for just the second time in four starts. Over his past three, one six-inning performance (one unearned run allowed) was sandwiched between two five-inning starts of four and three runs allowed. The game is available out of market on MLB.TV, currently $17.99 for the rest of the season for a limited time only.

PHILS PHACTS:

Fan Ejected – Home-plate umpire Bob Davidson had heard enough of a boisterous fan sitting 14 rows behind the Giants' dugout. He had been screaming sexually suggestive comments at Davidson through most of the sixth inning -- his words could be heard from the pressbox -- when Davidson stopped the game, approached the fan and asked him to be removed. Phillies security came by a short time later, escorting the fan from his seat. The Phillies said the fan left on his own accord. "You could have your wife, girlfriend, kids -- they buy tickets," Davidson said. "They don't have to come here and listen to that. That's exactly what he said to throw him out. There was kids there and young girls there." Fans applauded Davidson for his efforts. "People cheered me, which is unusual in this town for me," he said.

Impressive Return – Aaron Altherr has 54 more games to make his case. His first five games will be a tough act to follow. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs in Tuesday night's 13-8 victory over the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. He hit a two-run home run to right field in the first inning against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. He singled and scored in the second inning and singled to center to score two runs in the eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie. "Definitely a great feeling, especially against a pitcher like Bumgarner," Altherr said. Altherr is hitting .333 (6-for-18) with two homers and eight RBIs in five games since returning from the 60-day disabled list because of a torn tendon in his left wrist. He had been a projected everyday outfielder before the injury, but he is expected to play regularly through the remainder of the season as the Phillies evaluate their outfield options for 2017. "Altherr is making a good impression again," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I love the way he plays defense. He just glides around out there. He's swinging the bat very well right now. That last at-bat he was just trying to make contact, he hit the ball up the middle and got us two big runs." Altherr showed that a little studying can pay off, too. Bumgarner threw him a first-pitch fastball in the first inning before coming back with an 0-1 cutter away. "I was looking for a cutter away," Altherr said. "I wouldn't say I was trying to hit a home run, but I had seen a lot of video and it's something you just prepare for. You know he likes his cutter so I was looking for it. I just put a good swing on it." Altherr stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and one out in the eighth. Giants right-hander Sergio Romo got Altherr into a 1-2 count when he threw him a sinker. He laced the ball up the middle for a hit to score both runners, giving the Phillies a 10-8 lead. "With two strikes you've got to find a way somehow to put the bat on the ball," Altherr said. "Thankfully, I was able to do that."

Impressive Company – He is only 23 years old, but Maikel Franco ascended into the ranks of Scott Rolen and Mike Schmidt, fittingly, in a 13-8 slugfest of a win over the Giants on Tuesday. In 133 years of Phillies baseball, 28 times has their third baseman hit at least 20 home runs in a season. Schmidt did it 13 times. Rolen five times. And Franco once. Rolen and Dick Allen are the only two to do it as young as Franco. Allen left the yard 20 or more times as a 22- and 23-year-old, then twice more. Rolen's five came consecutively, from his age 22 to 26 seasons. His power peaked in Philadelphia at the same age Franco is now: 23, when Rolen hit 31 jacks. Franco is on pace for 30 this season. "I feel pretty good about that," Franco said. "I get excited. I understand the situation, but I'm just coming in every day and doing everything I can do." The milestone night couldn't have come in a better fashion. Not only did Franco put his 20th ball over the wall, he reached base five times in a 4-for-4, four-RBI performance. It was the first time Franco had ever reached base five times in a game. With Franco hitting third, Aaron Altherr second and Cesar Hernandez leading off, the trio combined to go 11-for-14 and drove in nine of the Phillies' 13 runs. "Especially at the top of the lineup, it's huge, being the tablesetters to get on base and drive runs in," said Altherr, who went 3-for-5 with five RBIs himself. "Being a young team, we feed off all the energy we can get," Altherr continued. "We're just going to keep getting better and better as we play with each other more." Altherr said he could definitely envision a top third of the order like Tuesday night's -- a top of the order that can grow together. Altherr is 25, Hernandez is 26. And don't forget about Odubel Herrera, who has helped set the table all season and is 24 years old. Pinch-hitting, he dove into first to beat out a single in the eighth. But Franco has always been the centerpiece of the rebuild. His top-prospect status brought a glimmer of hope to a dim season when he was called up last year. In his first full Major League season, despite some ups and downs, he is by and large living up to the hype. "Franco, it's great to see him bust out after I think he was 0-for-20 in his last 20 at-bats to get four hits, hit the home run," manager Pete Mackanin said. "It's good to see everyone kind of get it together." The latest slump Franco had been mired in -- it was 0-for-17, not 0-for-20, but also 8-for-his-last-52 -- coincided with yet another downturn for the Phillies offense. It was averaging just three runs a game over its past 15 before Tuesday's 13-run outburst. For Franco, he said he didn't change anything. Some nights the ball just looks like a beach ball. On Tuesday, it just happened to be Madison Bumgarner's -- he of the second-leading ERA in baseball, behind only Clayton Kershaw -- whose pitches were enlarged to practically the entire Phillies order.

Happy To Stay – Jeremy Hellickson heard he could be traded for weeks, but Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline passed without a peep from the Phillies. Hellickson is expected to remain with the Phillies through the remainder of the season. There is a small possibility he is traded before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline, but that will be difficult. First, there is almost no chance he clears waivers. He is owed about $2.3 million the remainder of the season, which is a bargain for a contender. Second, if he is claimed, the Phillies can trade him only to the first team on the priority list that claimed him. If they can't complete a deal with that team, they must revoke his waivers and he is no longer tradeable. "I'm happy to be here, but a little surprised," Hellickson said before Tuesday's series opener against the Giants at AT&T Park. "I'm definitely happy it's over. I don't want to say it's tough, but it's not really something you want to go through." The Phillies took a risk not trading Hellickson, who is a free agent after the season. But now that he is here, they are expected to make him a qualifying offer following the season, which essentially is a one-year contract worth about $16.5 million. The Phillies are betting he will reject the offer and sign a multiyear contract elsewhere. If he does, the Phillies will receive a compensatory pick in the 2017 Draft. But those plans could be scuttled if Hellickson is injured in the final two months or struggles and he surprisingly accepts it. And while a Draft pick between the first and second rounds certainly is valuable, it is far more of a gamble than acquiring a prospect or two before the Trade Deadline. Hellickson, who texted a bit with his agent, Scott Boras, early Monday, said he has not given the qualifying offer much thought. "I tried to just enjoy my off-day yesterday and not really think about too much," he said.

Auditions Coming Soon – The Phillies have two more months of baseball before they split for the winter. Will they get a look at Triple-A Lehigh Valley right-hander Jake Thompson before then? How about outfielder Nick Williams and shortstop J.P. Crawford? They are three of the top prospects in Major League Baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. "I think there's a decent chance that we will see another promotion of a first-time big leaguer before the season is out," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. "Whether that is in August or September -- there's not a huge separator for me in what month that is. I suspect we will have another somewhat notable promotion before the season is up." If just one of those top prospects is promoted, Thompson seems to be the best bet. He has pitched brilliantly. He is 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 21 starts. He is 8-0 with a 1.21 ERA in his last 11 starts. The Phillies are monitoring the innings of Vince Velasquez, and Aaron Nola has struggled since June, so if the Phils decide to cut back their workload, Thompson could slide in. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin and Klentak also said Tuesday they are open to the possibility of a six-man rotation at some point. Williams and Crawford could be on different schedules than Thompson. Williams is hitting .286 with 27 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 56 RBIs and a .784 OPS in 412 plate appearances. He could stand to cut down his strikeouts and walk more. Crawford is hitting .260 with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, 24 RBIs and a .683 OPS in 282 plate appearances. He has hit .307 with a .793 OPS in his last 42 games, but he remains one of the youngest players in the International League. If the Phillies do not promote Crawford, 21, before the end of the season, it would allow them to protect one more player in December's Rule 5 Draft, which could be valuable to a team with one of the better farm systems in baseball. Crawford does not need to be protected. "We will promote young players to the big leagues when those young players are ready to be promoted to the big leagues," Klentak said. "And if we need to create room for them, we will do so. I have also been on record that we don't want players to come up to the big leagues only having to be sent back. So with our inactivity at the Trade Deadline, I don't know if that by itself sets back the timeline for any potential promotion. I really don't." Klentak believes the fact Lehigh Valley is in a playoff race is beneficial to the Phillies' top prospects. "I don't care what level it is -- that's an important developmental step," he said. "Right now we're happy with where those guys are, we're happy with the way that they're playing and we'll see them here soon enough. I'm sure of that."

Today In Phils History – By playing in his 479^th straight game in 1919, Fred Luderus sets the new MLB record and eventually stretched it to 533 games. Tony Taylor stole home against the Giants on this day in 1960 which would be the 1^st of 6 such swipes that season. However, 4 years later, it was Johnny Callison who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 1976, the Phillies and Cubs split a double header at Wrigley Field in an astounding 3 hours and 51 minutes with Jim Kaat taking the loss in game 1 and Steve Carlton recording the win in game 2. Chuck Klein was finally industed into the MLB Hall of Fame on this day in 1980 with his grandnephew representing the great slugger. 10 years later, on the same day that the Phillies acquired Dale Murphy from the Braves (giving up Jeff Parrett) Sil Campusano broke up Doug Drabek’s no hitter with 1 out in the bottom of the 9^th but Pittsburgh still goes on to complete the 11-0 shutout. It is that time of year and on this day the Phillies lost Rico Brogna (2000) and Joe Blanton (2012).

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 49-59 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 38-64-0 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.