Phillies Come Back In 9th Against Diamondbacks

GAME RECAP: Phils Stun D-Backs 4-3

The Phillies came from behind to beat the D-backs, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Chase Field, striking for a pair of runs in the ninth inning to win consecutive games for the first time since May 17-18 and clinch their first series victory since then as well. "It's been May since we've done it, I think, and it was good to win, obviously," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "[Starter Jerad] Eickhoff just kept pitching himself in and out of trouble all day and he ended up with a pretty good outing." D-backs closer Brad Ziegler (2-3) blew just his second save opportunity of the year -- both coming in his last three appearances. Pinch-hitter Jimmy Paredes hit a leadoff double, then scored on a single by Andres Blanco. Veteran first baseman Ryan Howard drew a bases-loaded walk with one out for Philadelphia's go-ahead run against Ziegler, his old college teammate from Missouri State University. "I'm sure [Howard] would have preferred to hit a grand slam to win the game, but I'm sure he's happy with getting that run across with a walk," Mackanin said. "He battled." Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco went 2-for-5 with a homer and reliever Hector Neris (2-3) picked up the win. Jeanmar Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save. D-backs third baseman Jake Lamb went 2-for-3, reaching base three times. He gave Arizona a 3-2 lead in the seventh with his team-best 16th homer, after Yasmany Tomas had tied the game the previous inning with a solo blast of his own. Arizona starter Zack Greinke exited with left oblique tightness prior to the third inning. The D-backs' bullpen limited the Phillies to one run over the next six innings until Ziegler's mishaps in the ninth. The D-backs lost their fourth in a row. "It's definitely frustrating, we don't like to lose games at all, period," said Ziegler, whose team fell to 13-27 at home. "We get the idea that we should be better at home than we are and it's tough to explain. Tonight, guys put us in a good position to win, especially with Zack going down early."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff helped his own cause with a single to right field that scored Freddy Galvis in the top of the second inning to give his team a temporary 1-0 lead. The D-backs answered in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 1. The RBI was the third of the season for Eickhoff.
• Howard's seven-pitch walk with the bases loaded proved to be the difference in the game. The veteran fell behind 1-2 against Ziegler but didn't bite on the reliever's changeups and sinkers out of the zone. "He's been battling and taking better at-bats lately," Blanco said of Howard. "It was not a hit but it counts as a big at-bat."
• "It reminded me of the way we played for the first two months of the season. We stayed in the game and scratched and clawed to just eke out a win. That's the way we did it for two months." - said Mackanin.
• Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera is among NL leaders in games, four-hit games, singles, infield hits and outfield assists.
• Philadelphia's Peter Bourjos continues to be one of the hottest hitters in baseball, hitting .500 with three doubles, two two triples and six RBIs in his previous 15 games entering play Tuesday.
• Bradley is 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA through eight starts. He was 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in eight starts last season.

NEXT GAME:

D-backs' starter Archie Bradley will establish a career-high in starts when he takes the mound for the ninth time in the series finale against the Phillies on Wednesday at Chase Field. The Arizona right-hander has been on a roll lately, sporting a 0.82 ERA over his last two outings, including six scoreless innings against the Phillies on June 19. He struck out five in the 85-pitch outing. The Phillies will counter with Zach Eflin, who has a 1.54 ERA in two starts since allowing nine runs in 2 2/3 innings in his big league debut June 14. Eflin allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings against Bradley and the D-backs. He struck out three and walked one batter in the 5-1 loss.

PHILS PHACTS:

Potential On Display – There are games when Phillies' third baseman Maikel Franco shows off his potential. There are others when he shows his age. On Tuesday, the 23-year-old did both, picking up a pair of hits -- including a crucial home run -- and striking out twice in his team's 4-3 victory against the D-backs to clinch the series win. Franco, who is hitting .246 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs, finished 2-for-5. "I'm just trying to get better every day and help my team," Franco said in Spanish. "I'm working on controlling my excitement at home plate and I feel like I'm getting better in that area." It was quite a night for the young infielder. He flied out to center on the first pitch he saw from D-backs starter Zack Greinke in the first inning and later hit a double on the second pitch from reliever Randall Delgado in the third. He also hit a solo home run on the fifth pitch against Delgado in the fifth inning to put the Phillies ahead, 2-1. "He's got a lot of natural ability, obviously," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He's an aggressive hitter and I love aggressive hitters, but he's a little bit overly aggressive. I think he needs to be a smarter hitter. I'd rather take an aggressive hitter and throttle him back than a guy who is not aggressive and try to get him to be aggressive. That's a great situation to be in." Franco, who leads the team in home runs, RBIs and extra-base hits, struck out swinging on four pitches for the final out of the top of the seventh inning. He worked the count full before striking out with the bases loaded and the game tied at 3 on a ball way outside of the strike zone in the ninth. "He's got a chance to be a real good hitter and hit for power," Mackanin said. "He's got a lot to learn but it's only his first full year in the big leagues. He's going through a learning period." Franco, who made his big league debut in 2014, hit .280 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 2015. He posted a .497 slugging-percentage and an .840 OPS last season. "I feel like I had good game because we won," Franco said. "I helped my team win and winning is the most important thing." 

Representing The Phillies – A pair of teammates at Double-A Reading will represent the Phillies at the 2016 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, July 10 at Petco Park in San Diego. Outfielder Dylan Cozens will suit up for the U.S. roster and right-handed pitcher Ricardo Pinto will do the same for the World team. Pinto and Cozens are the Phillies' Nos. 10 and 22 rated prospects by MLBPipeline.com. "A friend of mine, Pat Kelly, managed [Cozens] in Puerto Rico this past winter and he sent me a text and told me to pay attention to him," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He said, 'Pete, I don't know if you know this guy Cozens, but he's going to be a stud.' I kind of paid attention to the point where I knew he was in Minor League camp and I requested him when we needed an extra outfielder for a [Spring Training] game just to see him." Mackanin estimates 6-foot-6, 235-pound Cozens hit about 10 home runs during batting practice in Port Charlotte, Fla, that day. The outfielder's power has been on display all season. Cozens hit his 20th home run of the season Monday and has driven in 60 runs for the Fightin Phils. He's also struck out 99 times. "He's really a physical specimen and I know he's got a high ceiling," Mackanin said. Pinto pitched across two levels of Class A ball in 2015 and won the organization's Minor League pitcher of the year honors. He's 3-3 with a 4.32 ERA in 85 1/3 innings for Reading this season. He's struck out 59 and walked 24. Major League Baseball, in conjunction with MLB.com, Baseball America and the 30 Major League Clubs, selected the 25 players on each team. Each Major League organization is represented and players from all full-season Minor Leagues were eligible to be selected.

Flashes Of Brilliance – The Phillies have displayed flashes of dominance at times on the mound this season. They just haven't shown it enough times. On Monday, Phillies' pitchers combined to throw their Major League leading ninth shutout of the season in the 8-0 victory against the D-backs at Chase Field. They threw seven shutouts during the entire 2015 season. "For the first six or seven weeks of the season, after our 0-4 start, our pitching was just fantastic. Everybody did their job and made their pitches and for whatever reason, our pitching was really outstanding," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "When they are good, they are good. The whole name of the game is consistency. Over 162 games, the best teams end up on top because they have their ups and downs, but over the long haul, the better teams play better, hit better and pitch better." What's more, the nine shutouts are the club's most through their its 78 games since 2011 when the staff had nine shutouts in the first 67 games. That season, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt threw 21 shutouts and the Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games.

Today In Phils History – Fred Fitzsimmons had a lackluster managerial stint with the Phillies going 105-181-2 which is why he was replaced with pitcher/outfielder Ben Chapman on this day in 1945. 11 years later, on the same day that the Phillies signed minor league free agent Art Mahaffey, the Dodgers hit three straight homeruns in the bottom of the 9^th to walk off against the Phillies. 2 years later former Phillie, and St. Louis left fielder, Del Ennis recorded outfield assists on two consecutive plays throwing out 2 advancing baserunners at third base. 2 years later, in 1960, the Phillies tie an MLB record by striking out 24 times in a double header. The following season, Willie Mays hits a walk off homerun in the 10^th for his 3^rd homerun of the game (manager Gene Mauch included several pitchers in the lineup at other positions to hid the identity of Mays’ victim). 10 years later, Tom Seaver records 13 strikeouts while shutting out the Phillies with Willie Montanez being Seaver’s 1000^th career victim. In 1986, Juan Samuel hits his 1^st career grand slam in the top of the 9^th in an 8-7 win over the Cardinals. The following season, Steve Bedrosian (the eventual Cy Young winner for that season) recorded his 12^th consecutive save, surpassing Sparky Lyle’s MLB record. In 2003, Jose Mesa secured his 17^th save of the season and his 105^th for the Phillies setting a new franchise record. And, finally, happy birthday to Sherry Magee who was born on this day in 1904.   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 34-45 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-57-2 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.

Closer But Still A Loss

GAME RECAP: Diamond Backs Shut Down Phillies 4-1 

Zack Greinke extended his winning streak to seven as he tossed eight outstanding innings to lead the D-backs past the Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Greinke (10-3) has won seven straight starts and on Saturday, after he allowed a first-inning homer to Odubel Herrera, he did not allow another hit until Andres Blanco led off the seventh with a single. Overall, the right-hander allowed three hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts. "I threw a lot of strikes, and there were a lot of balls put in play early," Greinke said. "There were a couple of longer at-bats that got the pitch count up a little bit. But mainly just attacking the zone and trying to get balls put in play weakly." The Phillies had a 1-0 lead until the fifth when Nick Ahmed tied things up with his fourth homer of the year. Later in the inning, Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run blast and Jake Lamb added a solo homer in the seventh to cap the scoring.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Eickhoff started the game strong. He struck out four batters in the first two innings and didn't allow a run until the fifth. The first time Peter O'Brien -- who hit two home runs in Friday's 10-2 game -- stepped to the plate, Eickhoff sent him a fastball up and in. He threw a couple more on the inside corner and continued to attack the inside portion of the plate for much of game. "That's what I've always done," Eickhoff said. "Going inside is important, and I feel like I do that. I was able to do that for the most part today." Even in the final two innings, Eickhoff and Phillies manager Pete Mackanin felt he was still attacking. Instead, Eickhoff blamed balls finding the holes, as he gave up two homers. Mackanin said he thought Eickhoff lost his command the final two innings, so he eventually turned to Andrew Bailey with the bases loaded and two outs. "He could've gotten out of it, but I chose not to leave him in there," Mackanin said. "Bailey did a nice job bailing him out, going right after the hitter. I hate bringing a guy in with the bases loaded, but I felt like I had to."
• The Phillies set a franchise record in Friday's game, allowing their 17th home run over four games. The pattern continued into Saturday. Although the Phils did not join the 1977 Yankees as the only team to allow at least five home runs in three consecutive games, they came only two shy, with Eickhoff surrendering two in the fifth (becoming the sixth Phillies player to allow multiple home runs in an inning since Tuesday). Mackanin sees a disheartening trend in that a number of the home runs have come on two-strike counts. Both Goldschmidt and Lamb's blasts came with two strikes, 0-2 and 1-2, respectively. "It boils down to being able to command your slider or your breaking ball or secondary pitch or fastball up and in," Mackanin said. "You have to command that pitch, and if you leave it out over the plate, you get burned."
• When Mackanin made out the lineup card Saturday, Maikel Franco was penciled in the lowest spot he'd hit this season, sixth. It also included, in an attempt to stimulate the offense, Cody Asche hitting leadoff for the first time in his pro career and Herrera out of the top spot for the first time since April 19. But Mackanin's message was to Franco. After Friday's game, he said he believes Franco is getting into his own head and that he was going to move him down significantly. Mackanin kept his word, but it didn't help his young third baseman. Franco came to the plate as the tying run with one out in the seventh. Blanco stood on third and Jimmy Paredes on second. Greinke fell behind 3-0 to Franco. Yet, the at-bat ended with Franco's helmet on the dirt of the batter's box after he struck out swinging on a 3-2 curve from Greinke. "We sure need his bat," Mackanin said. "We need him to be what he's capable of. For some reason, he just got out of sync. He's not giving us disciplined, professional at-bats right now. Partially I think that's because he's overanxious, and he feels he needs to do too much." Franco denied that he was pressing, but he admitted that he might be over-swinging at times. "It's totally frustrating for everybody," Franco said. "You wanna do something, you want to go out there with energy and everything like that. Nothing good is happening right now. It's frustrating for everybody."

NEXT GAME:

Zach Eflin (0-1, 27.00) will make his first career start at Citizens Bank Park at 1:35 p.m. ET. In his Major League debut against the Blue Jays in Toronto, Eflin didn't make it out of the third, allowing nine runs on nine hits while serving up three home runs. The 22-year-old right-hander is ranked as the Phillies' No. 13 prospect by MLBPipeline.com

PHILS PHACTS:

Eickhoff Improving – Jerad Eickhoff got ahead no balls, two strikes on Peter O'Brien with no outs in the second. Then he sent a message. On the third pitch, Eickhoff fired a 91-mph fastball up and in. O'Brien dipped and dove out of the way, but Eickhoff made it clear: He was going to own the inside part of the plate in the Phillies' 4-1 loss to the D-backs on Saturday. "That's what I've always done," Eickhoff said. "Going inside is important, and I feel like I do that. I was able to do that for the most part today." Manager Pete Mackanin had been disappointed with the lack of aggressiveness his pitchers have shown, speculating that it contributed to the 20 home runs the staff has allowed over the last five games. Adam Morgan agreed after not making it out of the fifth inning in his start on Friday. Eickhoff was not deterred from the inner third, though. He continued to attack O'Brien inside, setting him up for a sweeping slider over the plate that the D-backs' rookie whiffed at. Eickhoff struck out O'Brien twice more before leaving the game after 5 2/3, having allowed three runs on nine hits. Through four innings, the 25-year-old right-hander had yet to surrender a run and had recorded five of his six strikeouts. He was pitching with moxie and challenging D-backs hitters, who had mustered no more than singles off him. The fifth inning wasn't the same story. Nick Ahmed kicked off the scoring with a home run to left-center. Jean Segura followed with a single, and Paul Goldschmidt brought him home with Arizona's second blast of the inning. It was the sixth time in five games a Phillies pitcher allowed multiple home runs in an inning. But neither Mackanin nor Eickhoff felt the starter backed off. "I went after them like I had the whole game," Eickhoff said. "Balls just found the holes, and that's kind of what I'm looking at it as." Where Mackanin felt Eickhoff faltered was with his command in the sixth inning, which he did not make it out of. After loading the bases, Mackanin pulled Eickhoff with two outs, calling on Andrew Bailey to erase the threat. "He could've gotten out of it, but I chose not to leave him in there," Mackanin said. "Bailey did a nice job bailing him out, going right after the hitter. I hate bringing a guy in with the bases loaded, but I felt like I had to." Eickhoff has been the lone bright spot on a starting staff that had an 8.45 ERA over their last eight games before Saturday. That number included Eickhoff's six shutout innings in Toronto. Over his last four starts, Eickhoff has gone 25 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (2.13 ERA). In comparison, twice in the last week, other Phillies starters allowed at least that many runs in a single start. On Saturday, Eickhoff offered an example of what it will take to turn it around.

Pitch, Hit, & Run At CBP – Of more than 600,000 Scotts Pitch, Hit & Run participants nationwide, 23 descended on Citizens Bank Park on Saturday morning to determine the Phillies' team champions and compete for a possible trip to San Diego for the MLB All-Star Game. The 23 competitors consisted of three baseball and softball participants each in the 7/8, 9/10, 11/12 and 13/14 age divisions. Those lucky enough to play on the same field as the Phillies got there by beating our hundreds of others at eight Delaware Valley sectional competitions. To move on to Petco Park for National Finals -- which will take place prior to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 11 -- a player must finish in the top three in the age group nationwide. The winner of the baseball 13-14 division, Karim Mullen Jr., has high hopes of making it to San Diego, but just playing at Citizens Bank Park was exciting enough for him. "It's very cool," Mullen said. "I've never experienced something like this before." Softball isn't even Amelia Atkins' favorite sport. It takes second place to horseback riding for the Chester Springs, Pa., native. But that didn't stop her from showing off her skills and winning the 7-8 softball division. Atkins, like every one of the eight first-place finishers, said Ryan Howard is her favorite player. The slugger's recent struggles haven't overshadowed his community involvement and role on the Phillies' division-winning ballclubs. Mullen wears No. 6 because of Howard. "I play first base, he plays first base," Mullen said. "He hits home runs, I hit home runs." Scott's Pitch, Hit & Run is part of Major League Baseball's Play Ball initiative, a partnership program with USA Baseball that encourages widespread participation in all forms of baseball activities among all age groups, especially youth. This marks the 20th year of the Pitch, Hit & Run competition. List of the winners, by age group: Baseball 7-8: Tyler Reinhart (Lebanon, Pa.); Softball 7-8: Amelia Atkins (Chester Springs, Pa.); Baseball 9-10: Bronson Kilmer (South Gibson, Pa.); Softball 9-10: Meghan Fisher (Dauphin, Pa.); Baseball 11-12: Callan Fang (Yardley, Pa.); Softball 11-12: Abby Tobelman (Gap, Pa.); Baseball 13-14: Karim Mullen Jr. (Philadelphia); Softball 13-14: Zoey Gross (Mays Landing, N.J.).

Today In Phils History – Double trouble seems to be a trend on this day in Phillies history beginning in 1927 when Jack Scott started both games on the mound of a double header against Cincinnati going the distance in both the earlier win and latter loss. 2 years later, the Phillies and Giants completed a double header in 7 hours and 42 minutes (the longest double header of the decade) with the Phillies dropping both games. The only faceoff between Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and Tom Seaver happened on this day in 1970 with Seaver dominating the Phillies while Bunning lasting only 2 batters. The following year, Larry Bowa recorded 2 stolen bases on a single play as he reached third on the double steal and advanced home when Oscar Gamble got caught in a rundown (Gamble also reached second safely thanks to Bowa’s aggressiveness). Some of the other notable occurrences include Willie Jones inside the park grand slam in 1951 and Randy Wolf surrendering a homerun in what would be the last in a team record 12 straight starts in which they allowed a homerun.   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 30-39 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 47-55-0 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!

Would We Have The Same Matchup Had One Move Not Happened?

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

There have been a couple interesting article posted on MLB.com lately about the top 5 moves that lead the Royals and Mets, respectively, to the World Series. Below are those lists:

Mets:

1. The R.A. Dickey trade – After Dickey won the 2012 NL Cy Young Award, the Mets, knowing that they had pitching depth in their organization, smartly decided to trade the ace at his peak value rather than sign him to an extension. They found a buyer in the Blue Jays, and in return, they extracted two potential premium players from them. At 23 years old, Noah Syndergaard has been as impressive as any rookie starting pitcher, leading all first-year starters with 166 strikeouts while posting a 3.24 ERA. Meanwhile, catcher Travis d'Arnaud is finally healthy after dealing with a variety of ailments, and put up a .268/.355/.487 line over 268 plate appearances. That slugging percentage would have led all catchers had he qualified. Both guys are key pieces for the Mets this season and years to come.
2. Re-signing David Wright – When Wright was a year away from free agency following the 2012 season, he and the organization both had to take a leap of faith. The front office had to decide on whether it should invest $138 million over eight years to arguably the best position player in franchise history. Conversely, Wright had to decide if this was the organization that was going to take the steps necessary to win. Wright believed in the plan, and the front office showed incredible discipline and decision-making in the Draft and internationally over the past several seasons (15 players on the roster are homegrown, the most of any playoff club). Wright isn't the player he once was, but he still posted an .814 OPS this year, is a consummate leader, and was integral in convincing the likes of Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer to buy in and sign with the club.
3. Signing Curtis Granderson – In a move to infuse more offense, the Mets signed Granderson to a four-year deal during the 2013 Winter Meetings. They hoped he would be a middle-of-the-order bat and run producer. But after a slow 2014 season, manager Terry Collins and new hitting coach Kevin Long felt his best place in the lineup this year was batting leadoff. After making a couple of mechanical adjustments under Long's observation, Granderson became one of the best leadoff men in the NL, leading the Mets with a .364 OBP. Granderson's productivity has gone under the radar in the postseason due to Daniel Murphy's torrid October, but he has set the table for the Mets, posting a .385 OBP while driving in seven runs and even stealing four bases in five attempts.
4. Trading Ike Davis – This was less about trading Davis and more about the fact that it opened up the door for Lucas Duda to take over as the everyday first baseman. It seems like an obvious move now, but when the 2014 season began it was unclear who the Mets would choose as their long-term answer at first. Davis, the Mets' first-round pick in the 2008 Draft, hit 32 homers in 2012, and was considered a better defender. The organization tried to keep both, playing Duda in the outfield (he played 100 games in 2012 and another 58 in '13), but as Davis' struggles continued beyond '13, the Mets decided it was time to cut ties with him and make Duda the full-time first baseman. He responded by hitting 30 home runs in '14 and another 27 this past year, with an impressive .838 OPS while playing solid defense.
5. Acquiring Yoenis Cespedes – OK, so there was one move from 2015 that had to be on this list. No player moved at the non-waiver Trade Deadline made a bigger impact for a team this year than Cespedes. His numbers as a Met are gaudy: In only 230 at bats, he hit 17 home runs, had 44 RBIs, a .942 OPS and a 157 OPS+, while playing mostly center field for the Mets (starting 39 of his 53 games in CF), a position that evaluators were convinced he was not comfortable playing anymore. Over the course of the summer, the Mets acquired two other veteran bats in Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe, promoted rookie Michael Conforto from Double-A to the Majors, and welcomed Wright's return from a long disabled list stint, and all of those moves helped create a deeper and more dynamic lineup. But the Cespedes acquisition almost single-handedly allowed the Mets' offense to come alive, as it averaged more than five runs per game in the final two months of the regular season.

Royals:

1. The Zack Greinke trade – In December 2009, one year after he won the American League Cy Young Award, Greinke was traded along with Yuniesky Betancourt to the Brewers for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. Kansas City was coming off a 67-win season and desperately needed an influx of young talent. What's amazing is that this trade almost didn't happen. The Royals made a lot of progress on a trade with the Nationals, but Greinke made it clear he would not waive his no-trade clause to go there. At the time of the trade, it was unclear who the best piece was coming back to Kansas City, but general manager Dayton Moore took a chance on athletes, and in doing so he acquired Cain, the 2014 AL Championship Series MVP, Escobar, the 2015 ALCS MVP, as well as Odorizzi, who was used in the trade with the Rays that brought back Wade Davis and James Shields. That one trade laid the foundation for this great Royals team.
2. Hiring Dayton Moore – That Greinke trade wouldn't have happened without Moore at the helm. He was hired in 2006 to bring some of the scouting and player development acumen he picked up while working in the Braves' front office. With a philosophy built around relationships, loyalty and a team approach, Moore built one of the deepest farm systems in history, and then parlayed that into the juggernaut you see now. This is a team that can beat you with pitching depth, defense, speed, contact hitting and even power. It does not have a glaring weakness, and Moore is the man responsible for putting this group together.
3. Drafting Alex Gordon – If you're going to pick in the top five of the Draft, you have to make it count, and the Royals had an impressive run of top-three picks that began with Gordon, the No. 2 overall pick in 2005. In the subsequent three years, they drafted Luke Hochevar No. 1 overall in 2006, Mike Moustakas No. 2 overall in 2007 and Eric Hosmer No. 3 in 2008. And one common thread among all of these guys is that none of them was an instant sensation. Kansas City had the patience to stick with these guys as they struggled in the Minor Leagues and early on in the Majors. Gordon had to switch from third base to left field, Hochevar moved from the rotation to the bullpen, Moustakas struggled to hit lefties and Hosmer dealt with vision issues in the low Minors. Many in the game doubted that these guys would pan out, but the only people who didn't waver were the folks who were developing them and the front office who drafted them. Their patience has been rewarded.
4. The Salvador Perez extension – In today's game, every organization needs a productive Latin American program, one that consistently adds impactful talent to the organization. No player represents the Royals' Latin American program better than Perez, who they signed out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old for $65,000 in 2006. After a solid debut in 2011, hitting .331 in 39 games, Kansas City gave Perez a five-year, $7 million extension with three club options that might be the best bargain in baseball. Other products of that Latin American pipeline are Yordano Ventura and Kelvin Herrera, both signed out of the Dominican Republic. Like Perez, Ventura was signed for a bargain bonus ($28,000), and he also received a club-friendly contract after his rookie campaign. He signed a five-year, $23 million deal before last season that includes club options for 2020-21.
5. Hiring Ned Yost – Yost was hired in 2010 to replace Trey Hillman, and he spent the next four years slowly nurturing a young core of players. His patience, belief and humility eventually showed itself in 2014, and again this season. With Yost and Moore paired together, the Royals have an outstanding combination that has been able to adapt consistently to the ever-changing challenges of the game. As you can see, Kansas City is a complete organization where each area of the baseball-operations department impacts its current roster. It is an organization that is blessed with continuity, and it is led by humble quality people who truly understand what an organization should represent.

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

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

World Series

New York at Kansas City

Game 1: Tuesday, October 27, at 8:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

Plenty of rumors floating around but no news yet!

THE BEGINNING:

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

NL Teams Battle Tying Both Series

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

The NL double header proved to be quite the intense day of division play with both series knotting up at a game apiece. While youth prevailed for the Cubs in St. Louis thanks to a monster shot by Jorge Soler, the veterans made headlines for the Dodgers in Los Angeles with former Phillie Chase Utley displaying his hardnosed style of play to back Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke. It will be interesting to see what happens in the follow up to these games on Monday.

Cubs Pluck Cardinals 6-3

A few tweaks in the lineup, two badly timed St. Louis errors, some well-executed bunts and a monster home run by Jorge Soler in Game 2 on Saturday at Busch Stadium helped propel the Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Cardinals and even the National League Division Series at 1-1. In the Wild Card era, when the Division Series is tied at 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has won 25 of 32 series. In the current 2-2-1 Division Series format, the road team that splits the first two games away from home has won the series 17 of 29 times.

Dodgers Chase Mets 5-2

The Dodgers tied their best-of-five National League Division Series against the Mets Saturday night with a 5-2 comeback win after a four-run rally in the seventh inning, keyed by a hard slide from Chase Utley that sent Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada to the hospital with a fractured right fibula. Adrian Gonzalez's two-run double on an 0-2 pitch with two outs highlighted the comeback and came two batters after Howie Kendrick's fielder's-choice grounder that resulted in the tying run scoring on an overturned call after Utley's slide upended Tejada.

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

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

American League Division Series

Kansas City and Houston tied 1-1

Game 3: Sunday, October 11, at 4:00 PM

Texas leads series 2-0

Game 3: Sunday, October 11, at 8:00 PM

National League Division Series

Chicago and St. Louis tied 1-1

Game 3: Monday, October 12, at 6:00 PM

New York and Los Angeles tied 1-1

Game 3: Monday, October 12, at 8:30 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

Intensity Shining Through – Moments after Collins turned to Colon with one out and runners on the corners. Kendrick grounded a potential double-play ball back up the middle, where Mets second baseman Murphy fielded it and flipped to Tejada. But as Tejada attempted to corral the toss and pivot, Utley half-slid, half-tumbled into him, injuring Tejada while breaking up the double play. The tying run scored, though that was hardly the end of it. As Tejada was being carted off the field, umpires reviewed the play and awarded Utley second base. A replay review showed that Tejada did not make contact with the second base bag as he attempted to turn the double play.The Dodgers parlayed that call into a four-run inning, taking a 5-2 lead.

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 season, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 1-2-0 on this day.

Brown Can’t Salvage Win For Phillies

GAME RECAP: Dodgers Beat Phillies 10-8

Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke had allowed five runs in the first inning all season before surrendering five to the Phillies in the first frame on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. He got the win anyway, aided by an impressive effort by the Dodgers' offense in a 10-8 victory. Greinke settled on the mound over his final five innings and helped his cause at the plate, going 3-for-3. He singled and scored a run in the second inning and slammed a solo home run against Phillies right-hander David Buchanan in the third. "Little different-style game than you would think with Zack pitching today," said manager Don Mattingly. "But our guys kept on going. After the first inning, Zack was pretty good. Showed what Zack's all about. He's not going to give in, say it's a bad day. He's going to keep pitching." Despite four RBIs from Domonic Brown, it was the first series the Phillies have lost since the All-Star break. "I don't know about you, but it's fun for me to watch these guys hit," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said about the Phillies, who scored 17 runs in the series. "They're playing as a team and they're putting hits together. It's nice to see. It's encouraging for us down the road."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Everybody has been waiting for Brown to show signs of life at the plate since he made the 2013 National League All-Star team. He showed some pop Thursday. Brown hit a three-run home run against Greinke in the first inning and singled to drive in a run in the third. He is hitting .367 (18-for-49) with one double, one triple, three home runs and 14 RBIs in his past 14 games. "I don't know," said Brown, when asked if he feels this could be his last chance with Philadelphia. "I'm just playing, really. I haven't had time to sit down and think about it. I'm here every day making sure I'm ready to play. That's really it. No added pressure. It's baseball. If it doesn't work out here, I'll bust my butt so it will work out somewhere else."
• Buchanan (2-6, 7.23 ERA) allowed three runs in the first, but he stepped onto the mound with a two-run lead in the second. He could not hold it. Buchanan allowed three runs in the second and one run in the third to hand the Dodgers a 7-5 lead. He allowed 10 hits and seven runs in four innings. It was the second time in nine starts this season Buchanan allowed seven runs, and his fourth start allowing five-plus runs. "Scoring that many runs off Greinke and not giving us a chance to win hurts," Buchanan said. "It's unfortunate, especially after what they did to pick me up in the first inning."
• "Their top five in the order are up there with best top five we have to face, and you probably don't hear people say that. It's a tough top three." -- Greinke, on the Phillies' lineup.
• Maikel Franco has posted an .842 OPS through his first 307 plate appearances this season. The last rookie third baseman to post an .842 OPS or higher with a minimum of 400 plate appearances was Evan Longoria (.874 OPS) in 2008. The last Phillies rookie third baseman to do it was Scott Rolen (.846) in 1997.
• Chase Utley was with the Phillies on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, but he wasn't activated off the 15-day disabled list. However, the second baseman, who has received trade interest from a few teams, could be activated before the team's trip to San Diego.

NEXT GAME:

The Padres and Phillies begin a three-game series on Friday as the two teams face off at Petco Park at 7:10 p.m. PT for the first meeting between the two teams in 2015. James Shields will take the mound for the Padres, and Aaron Nola will get the start for the Phillies. Shields (8-4, 3.74 ERA) took a no-decision in his last start, allowing five hits and two runs and striking out four through six innings. Since coming back from the All-Star break, Shields is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts. Nola has three big league starts under his belt. The 22-year-old won against the Braves on Aug. 1 after allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts in five innings.

PHILS PHACTS:

Utley Returns To Action – Chase Utley is back. The Phillies announced Thursday afternoon that Utley will be activated from the 15-day disabled list before Friday night's game against the Padres at Petco Park. He had been sidelined since June 23 with a sprained right ankle. Following Thursday's 10-8 loss to the Dodgers, the Phillies optioned outfielder Jordan Danks to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Utley on the 25-man roster. The Phillies also optioned right-hander Dalier Hinojosa. They will select left-hander Adam Loewen's contract Friday to take his place. "I'm going to do as much as I can to try to get [Utley] in there four days a week," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. Cesar Hernandez has hit .323 (53-for-164) with nine doubles, two triples, 15 RBIs and a .783 OPS in 40 games since June 17, but he could see some time at third base or shortstop while Utley plays. Mackanin also said Freddy Galvis could play a game or two at center field to accommodate Hernandez at shortstop. Mackanin has his reasons for that. First, Utley is Utley. He is the greatest second baseman in Phillies history, and the manager respects that. Second, there are a few contenders that are interested in Utley for the final few weeks of the season, including the Angels and Cubs. The Phillies need to play Utley if they hope to trade him before the Aug. 31 waiver Trade Deadline. "It isn't easy," Mackanin said. "But I've already had a meeting with Cesar, Freddy and [Maikel] Franco. And even with Whitey [Andres Blanco]. They're all aware of the situation and the need to get Chase at-bats."

Brown Bouncing Back? – Is Domonic Brown getting it again? He hit a three-run home run against Dodgers ace Zack Greinke in the first inning and singled to drive in a run in the third on Thursday afternoon in a 10-8 loss at Citizens Bank Park. Two big hits against arguably the best pitcher in baseball continued a torrid two weeks for the Phillies outfielder, who needs to play well the final few weeks of the season to remain part of the club's future. "Just playing and getting more comfortable," Brown said. "That's it." Brown is batting .367 (18-for-49) with one double, one triple, three home runs and 14 RBIs in his past 14 games. "Yeah, he's been swinging the bat better," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "It looks like he's playing with more confidence. It's nice to see. As I've said before, we want him to hit and hit for power. He's starting to do that a little bit. If we can get him back to the year he made the All-Star team, that's what we're trying to do. But it is encouraging." Brown's homer came on a 1-1 fastball from Greinke. He singled down the left-field line to score Maikel Franco in the third to cut the Dodgers' lead to 7-6. He lined out sharply down the first-base line in the ninth inning to end the game. Greinke was impressed with what he saw from Brown and the top of the Phillies' lineup. "Their top five in the order are up there with best top five we have to face, and you probably don't hear people say that," Greinke said. Brown's reemergence is welcomed. He was one of the hottest hitters on the planet before the 2013 All-Star break, but from July 19, 2013, through July 19, 2015, he hit .236 with 31 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 87 RBIs and a .633 OPS in 770 plate appearances over 217 games. Brown's OPS ranked 273rd out of 299 qualified hitters in that span and 113th out of 124 outfielders. He continued to play nearly every day because the Phillies were trying to learn about him. Could he recapture his potential that made him the No. 1 prospect in baseball a few years ago? Or is it time to cut their losses and look elsewhere for a corner outfielder? He is making things interesting at the moment. "I don't know," said Brown, when asked if he believes this could be his last chance with Philadelphia. "I'm just playing, really. I haven't had time to sit down and think about it. I'm here every day making sure I'm ready to play. That's really it. No added pressure. "It's baseball. If it doesn't work out here, I'll bust my butt so it will work out somewhere else."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 42-67. 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 52-51-0 on this day.