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.

Franco Goes Deep And Morton Goes Down

GAME RECAP: Phillies Blast Brewers 10-6

Maikel Franco hit his third home run in two games and finished with four RBIs as the Phillies outlasted the Brewers, 10-6, on a long Saturday night at Miller Park. The teams combined to throw 387 pitches in a game that surpassed the four-hour mark and was closer than the final score indicated. Franco's three-run homer in the fourth gave the Phillies a 6-4 lead that grew to 7-4 by the eighth, when the Brewers scored twice to make it a one-run game. But the Phillies added insurance during a three-run ninth, highlighted by Odubel Herrera's two-run shot off Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress, who hadn't allowed a run in his first seven appearances this season. Franco, who homered twice in Friday's series opener, went deep Saturday off Brewers starter Chase Anderson, who was hit hard for six earned runs on eight hits while throwing 99 pitches in four innings. Phillies reliever Brett Oberholtzer earned the win in relief after Phillies starter Charlie Morton exited with a hamstring injury. "We're not giving our team a chance to win," Anderson said. "We have to do better."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Franco followed Friday's two-homer effort with a three-run blast to left field in the fourth to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead. But Franco's best moment came in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan Braun hit a smash to Franco's left, and the third baseman caught the ball as he fell to the ground. Franco spun around and, while still sitting on the dirt, fired a strike to first baseman Ryan Howard for the out. Meanwhile, Herrera went 3-for-4 with one home run, two RBIs, two walks, four runs scored and two stolen bases. "It means a lot when those guys get going and they look like they're lighting up a little bit," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
• Morton threw 29 pitches in the first inning, then strained his left hamstring running to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the second. He had to be helped off the field. Morton had been on a roll, allowing just one earned run in 12 2/3 innings in his previous two starts. It is unclear if he will make his next start. "There are varying degrees of severity with any injury," Morton said. "So you really just don't know. It doesn't do anybody any good to speculate really. Something happened. It's not good."
• "He told me you throw better like that." -- Franco, on what Freddy Galvis said to him that made him laugh after he threw out Braun while sitting on his rump in the fifth.
• Through four innings, the Phillies were on pace to throw 231 pitches, and the Brewers 222. Baseball-Reference.com has only six nine-inning games in its database in which both teams topped 200 pitches, and no nine-inning games in which both teams topped 220. In the end, the Brewers finished with 200 total pitches, and the Phillies 187.
• Herrera went 3-for-4 with one home run, two RBIs, four runs scored and two walks. He is the first Phillies batter since at least 1900 with four runs, one home run and two stolen bases in a game.

NEXT GAME:

Herrera enters the 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday series finale against the Brewers at Miller Park having reached base in 15 consecutive games. He is three games shy of tying his career high, which he reached during his rookie season in 2015. Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff gets the start.

PHILS PHACTS:

Morton Goes Down, Morgan Called Up – The Phillies placed Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list Sunday because of a strained left hamstring. The Phillies recalled right-hander Luis Garcia from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Morton's spot on the 25-man roster. Garcia is expected to help the bullpen through this week's three-game series against the Nationals at Nationals Park, but Triple-A left-hander Adam Morgan is expected to take Morton's spot in the rotation Friday night against the Indians at Citizens Bank Park. Garcia allowed one hit in a scoreless inning of relief in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Brewers. "He was certainly going to miss at least the next start, if not the next two," general manager Matt Klentak said about Morton. Morgan is 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA in three starts with Lehigh Valley. He lost the Spring Training battle to be the team's No. 5 starter to Vince Velasquez. Top prospects like Mark Appel (3-0, 1.62 ERA in three starts) have pitched well, but the Phillies want to give their younger prospects more time to develop in the Minor Leagues. "The whole Triple-A staff has been doing a really nice job," Klentak said. "We're fortunate that we do have -- whether Charlie is out for a couple of starts or longer -- we do have options within the organization. We're comfortable with that." Morton, who was injured running to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt, will receive an MRI on his hamstring Monday. Morton, who has been on the disabled list in seven of the previous eight seasons, entered Saturday 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts, although he had allowed just one run in 12 2/3 innings in his last two outings. He allowed seven hits, six walks and struck out 13 batters in that two-start stretch against the Padres and Nationals. "Frustrated," Morton said about the injury.

The New Dynamic Duo – Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera can make things fun again. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has been hoping his two best hitters would start hitting together, and both had huge games Saturday night in a 10-6 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park. Franco hit a three-run homer to left field in the fourth inning and threw out Ryan Braun from his rump in the fifth. Meanwhile, Herrera went 3-for-4 with one home run, two RBIs, four runs scored and two walks. He is the first Phillies batter since at least 1900 with four runs, one homer and two stolen bases in a game. "It means a lot when those guys get going and they look like they're lighting up a little bit," Mackanin said. It also means the Phillies scored 10 runs in a game for the first time since Sept. 27, 2015, when they put 12 up against the Nationals. The Phillies are 9-9, the latest they have been .500 in a season since they were 15-15 on May 15, 2014. Franco knocked a pair of homers in Friday's 5-2 victory to give him three in two games. He is batting .299 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and an .890 OPS, which ranks fourth among National League third basemen and 18th overall among NL players. Herrera is hitting .283 with two homers, eight RBIs and an .875 OPS, which is ninth among NL outfielders and 20th overall. Herrera leads the big leagues with 17 walks. "I feel great," Herrera said through the Phillies' interpreter. "I'm seeing a lot of pitches. That's what I want to do. The more pitches that I see, the more pitches my teammates see. It's a collective effort. I feel very comfortable right now." Franco turned heads with an incredible defensive play in the fifth, when Braun smashed a ground ball to his left. Franco fielded the ball and spun as he hit the dirt. Sitting on the ground with his legs stretched in front of him, the third baseman fired a rocket to Ryan Howard at first for the out. "That was the first time I did that play," Franco said. Everybody was impressed. Well, not everybody. "I didn't see it," Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis joked. Of course, Galvis did. In fact, he had Franco laughing hard immediately after the play. "He told me you throw better like that," Franco said. "That's what you look for when you go out there. Try to have fun and enjoy the game and win the game. The last two games, we've played good. That's what we're looking for every single day."

Road Work Ahead – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin stressed the importance of baserunning in Spring Training because he knew an extra base here and there could mean everything to a team expected to work for its runs. Perhaps they took a step forward in Saturday's 10-6 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park. Odubel Herrera stole a pair of bases and took a couple extra bases that led to two runs. The Phillies entered Saturday night's game against the Brewers at Miller Park having stolen just seven bases in 14 attempts. Their stolen base percentage (50 percent) tied four other teams for the lowest mark in the Majors. The Phillies have made six more outs on the bases, which includes failing to advance on a fly ball, failing to take an extra base on a hit, being doubled up on a line drive or failing to advance on a wild pitch or passed ball. The Phillies' combined 13 outs on the bases are behind only the Rangers (17), Pirates (17) and Rockies (14). "With the type of offense we have, I'm taking more chances than I normally would," Mackanin said. "We have to try to ignite the offense somehow and get things going." But it has not all been bad. The Phillies had been tied for seventh in the big leagues in extra bases taken percentage (45 percent), according to Baseball Reference. The statistic measures the percentage of times a runner advances more than one base on a single or more than two bases on a double, when possible. "A couple mistakes are outweighing some of the good we're doing," first-base coach Mickey Morandini said. "We've made a few mistakes, but I think we're coming out of the box good. I think we're hustling. We did have a couple of guys get to second base on dropped popups, which I liked. We're making plays close at first on some ground balls. We've gone first to third pretty good. Just a couple of those mistakes are outweighing some of the good we're doing." Morandini handles the team's baserunning. He is not happy with the team's basestealing. For example, Cesar Hernandez is just 1-for-5 in stolen base attempts. "There's no way Cesar should be 1-for-5 with his speed," Morandini said. Morandini and Mackanin believe the Phillies are running on the right pitchers. Specifically, they are running on pitchers with slower times to the plate. But they think their base stealers have been getting poor jumps. Hernandez got thrown out Friday because he started his move toward second base only when the ball nearly was out of the pitcher's hand. "That's just way too late," Morandini said. "It's a confidence thing. If you're going to be a base stealer, you've got to have the confidence to go and not care. You've got to have that attitude that he's not going to throw me out. Cesar, especially, he's sometimes afraid to make mistakes. We'll keep working on it. We'll get better at it."

Today In Phils History – Today is quite the day for offensive accomplishments from catcher Lave Cross hitting for the cycle during a 22-5 thrashing of Brooklyn in 1894 and Dick Bartell becoming the first player to hit four doubles in four consecutive at bats in 1933 to Chase Utley hitting a grand slam in his first Major League game in 2003 and Pat Burrell setting the April RBI record with 24 in 2008. Of course there is also the peak of the Ben Chapman controversy in 1947 as he missed the final game of the series against Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of the players on that team was Schoolboy Rowe who made his Phillies debut four years prior (along with Babe Dahlgren) in 1943.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 9-9 this season putting them on pace to meet 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 49-50-1 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!

Phillies Take The Day Off To Work

GAME RECAP: No Game Yesterday!

The Phillies actually seem like they are earning their days off so far this season.

PHILS PHACT:

• Left-hander James Russell cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He had an 18.69 ERA in seven appearances with the Phillies.

NEXT GAME:

Philadelphia gets its first day off since April 5, the day after Opening Day in Cincinnati, on Thursday before beginning a three-game weekend set in Milwaukee on Friday at 8:10 p.m. ET. Aaron Nola will pitch, looking to get back on track after allowing seven runs in five innings to the Nationals on Saturday.

PHILS PHACTS:

Working On A Few Things – Phillies outfielder Peter Bourjos had a big night Wednesday in a victory over the Mets, but he might be hard to find this weekend at Miller Park. Darin Ruf should be easier to spot. "This whole series, I might play Ruf, while Peter is kind of working on a different approach at the plate," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Bourjos, who had game-tying and game-winning hits Wednesday against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park, entered the series against the Brewers hitting .191 (9-for-47) with five doubles, three RBIs and a .506 OPS in 15 games. "We're trying to get him moving to the ball instead of rotating around the ball," Mackanin said. "So we're going to work on that for maybe two or three days, because Ruf can help us offensively. But I can't afford to wait for a lefty, because we haven't seen really many lefties. I'm kind of forcing the issue." Ruf entered the series hitting .111 (3-for-18) with one double, one RBI and a .317 OPS in 12 games.

Today In Phils History – First, let us start with the most important celebration of the day as we wish former Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini a happy 50^th birthday! The rest of the moments from this day in Phllies history all come down to the number 1… In 1905, a one on one between Giants' captain Dan McGann and Phillies catcher Fred Abbott leads to a riot at the Baker Bowl. Five years later, Earl Moore and Bert Humphries combine to 1-hit the Braves. Moore would repeat the feat by himself exactly 1 year later against the Giants. Slugger Gavvy Cravath hits his first home run of the 1914 season on this his way to a then record 19 homeruns all of which he hit at the Baker Bowl. In 1957, John Kennedy became the first African-American to play for the Phillies. Six year later, Art Mahaffey became the first Phillie to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And, finally, just three years ago Jonathan Pettibone made his major league debut becoming the first player born in the 1990s to play for the Phillies.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 7-9 this season putting them on pace to meet 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 46-40-1 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!

Phillies Still Have Some Work To Do

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Red Sox Route Phillies 5-1

Home runs by Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts helped the Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at JetBlue Park. Knuckleballer Steven Wright, who is competing for a spot in the Red Sox's rotation, went 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. "He certainly helped his cause today with a solid outing," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "I thought he did a nice job with his fastball and his curveball in the early innings to get back into some counts. And then he got a better feel for his knuckleball as the game went along. But to get him up over a 100 pitches here today, today was a good step for Steven." Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff exited after five-plus frames, allowing five runs on 11 hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Eickhoff was making just his second start because of a fractured right thumb earlier in spring. "He's rusty," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He made a lot of real good pitches with his curveball, but he didn't locate his fastball real well. He's behind everybody, so I'm not concerned about it. He did OK." Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Bogaerts -- Boston's 1-2-3 batters -- combined for seven hits, three runs and two RBIs. The Phillies opened the scoring in the first inning when Odubel Herrera, who went 3-for-3, reached on a one-out single and scored on Maikel Franco's double off the replica Green Monster in left-center field. Franco, who leads all Major Leaguers with eight home runs this spring, just missed another. The umpires, who convened to discuss the drive, let the on-field call stand. Boston went ahead in the bottom of the frame when Betts and Pedroia led off with doubles. David Ortiz's RBI groundout scored Pedroia to make it 2-1. The Sox added two more in the fourth on Bradley's two-out home run, scoring Ryan Hanigan, who had reached on a single. It was Bradley's third dinger of the spring. Bogaerts led off the fifth with his second long ball of the spring.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Vince Velasquez has an important start on Monday afternoon against the Blue Jays at 1:07 p.m. ET in Dunedin, Fla. It can heard live exclusively on phillies.com. He is competing with left-hander Adam Morgan for the No. 5 spot in the Phillies' rotation, so Velasquez needs another strong showing to perhaps clinch it.

PHILS PHACTS:

Getting His Swing Back – If the Phillies stand pat, it looks like Odubel Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel will be in the starting lineup Opening Day on April 4 in Cincinnati against the Reds. Some combination of Cedric Hunter, David Lough and Emmanuel Burriss could round out the outfield. Herrera went 3-for-3 in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. He is 5-for-10 with one double since missing nine games because of a bruised left middle finger. "I feel fine," Herrera said through the Phillies' translator. "I don't think it's an issue anymore. The more I play, the better I feel." But what about the rest of the outfield? Bourjos hit .200 with a .623 OPS in 225 plate appearances in 2015. He is batting .311 with a .948 OPS in 45 at-bats this spring. Goeddel has never played higher than Double-A. He has posted a .250 average with a .674 OPS in 52 at-bats. The Phillies have said they are not aggressively pursuing outfield help, despite injuries to Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche, and production concerns surrounding the others. But that could be because they figured players would become available before the end of the month. That is exactly what is happening. Yankees outfielder Chris Denorfia opted out of his contract. Some in the organization like him. David Murphy could opt out of his contract with the Red Sox on Sunday. The Indians released Will Venable. Other teams will be making moves in the next week, so the Phillies should have more options to choose from. But at least Herrera is hitting the ball well. "He's a freak," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He's just a real different kind of hitter. He's got such great hand-eye coordination. It doesn't take him long to get on track."

Who’s On First? – Ruben Amaro Jr. tried to steer the conversation on Sunday from his Phillies past to his Red Sox present. Amaro is the Red Sox's first-base coach. His nearly seven seasons as Phillies general manager ended in September. "I'm proud of the things we did there," Amaro said Sunday morning at JetBlue Park, where the Phillies played the Red Sox in a Grapefruit League game. "The Phillies are the Phillies, and they have their own organization. I was fortunate to be a part of it. I'm on a new chapter now, and I'm loving what I'm doing. And I've kind of moved on. I mean, listen, I'm going to watch and see how those guys progress, obviously, but for me it's about moving my own baseball life forward." But one wonders how Phillies history might have changed with a hit here or a pitch there. The Phillies had the best record in the Majors in 2011. They won a franchise record 102 games with one of the best rotations in baseball history. But Chris Carpenter outdueled Roy Halladay in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, 1-0, ending the Phillies' season of high expectations with massive disappointment. If Cliff Lee held a four-run lead in Game 2, if Raul Ibanez or Chase Utley squared up a couple of warning-track fly outs a little more in Game 5, maybe the Phillies win the series and maybe they win the World Series. And maybe Amaro remains GM. "In '08, we ended up being the best team in baseball because we won the World Series, but I don't know if we were the best team in baseball," Amaro said. "When you get to the playoffs, it's about whether you can execute at that moment, whether you can make the pitch, whether you can get the big base hit. We did it in '08. We didn't do it in '09, '10 or '11. I'm every bit as proud of those teams. They were good friggin' teams. They were good teams." Everybody knows what happened next. The Phillies started their fall to the bottom of the NL standings the following season, and they finished with the worst record in baseball in 2015. The Phillies fired Amaro in September, replacing him with Matt Klentak in October. "It was clear that changes were going to be made," Amaro said. "That didn't stop me from trying to do my job. We continued do things the way we operate, and hopefully the Phillies will benefit from that." The Phillies' farm system jumped from one of the worst to one of the best in little over a year, specifically from the moment former Phillies president Pat Gillick gave Amaro permission to begin the rebuilding process following the 2014 season. Big reasons for the drastic improvement are the trades Amaro made before he lost his job. The biggest is the one that sent Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to Texas in July for Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher. Thompson, Williams and Alfaro are three of the top 100 prospects, according to MLBPipeline. Eickhoff, who started Sunday's game in Fort Myers, will open this season in the Phillies' rotation. The Phillies have been praised for that trade, although it remains to be seen how many of those players fulfill their potential. But it is a little ironic that the same guy that got criticized for being allergic to analytics might have made the trade that helps the Phillies return to the postseason in a couple of years. "We did that because we had good scouts," Amaro said. "Mike Ondo is a very, very good pro scouting director. We had people who know baseball and know players. I think we did that [trade] because of that." Members of the new Phillies' regime have said the analytics system was way more advanced than they had anticipated, based on nothing more than the world's outside perception of it. If that is true, then why did the Phillies try to seem so unanalytical at times? "We didn't think it was all that important for us to have to advertise what we were doing," Amaro said. "Why do we have to advertise what we do? Am I doing it to save my job or what? We were a little behind I think with some of the analytics. The reality of it is we won without the analytics. We had the best team in baseball without the analytics … a full analytics core. Could we have been better? Maybe. There's always ways to improve, but that's probably why I'm in a uniform now." Amaro said he is enjoying his new job. He lost 15-20 pounds since the fall, looking fitter than he has in years. His former employees noticed. "Damn, what happened, man?" Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa said, lifting up Amaro's blue batting practice pullover to reveal Amaro's thinner frame. "You look good." "I'm trying to be like you," Amaro said. Amaro chatted with a few of his former players on Sunday prior to Boston's 5-1 win. He is following Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez and others. He certainly will follow the progress of the prospects he acquired. "Like I said, I'm proud of the things we did there," Amaro said. "We had a lot of great years, a lot of fun, fun years. Obviously when there's change made there's a reason there's change. That's not stuff I can control. I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, and we'll see what happens after I get this opportunity and see how it goes."

Today In Phils History - I can't believe that it has already been 5 years since the famous Sports Illustrated cover featuring Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Joe Blanton hit the shelves. In the same vein, it doesn't seem possible that it has already been 16 years since Mickey Morandini returned for his second stint with the team. However, it is easy to believe that it has been 100 years since the Phillies completed a 7 game exhibition sweep of the Cubs.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have an impressive record this spring… 14-9-3 (15-9-3 if you include the exhibition game against the University of Tampa). With the Phillies having finished the 2015 season with a spectacularly awful record of 63-99 it will be interesting to see what kind of team new President Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak put on the field. At the same time I am definitely looking forward to the games against Boston with former GM Ruben Amaro on the field. Given the departures, lingering contracts, a history of injuries, bipolar performances, and unproven talent, it should, at the very least, be an interesting season for the Phillies. Who knows, maybe they can avoid 100 losses... hopefully by more than one game!

For The Phillies, No News Is Good News…

PHILS PHACTS:

No news coming out of the Phillies front office… I guess the holiday started early this year.

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.

Morandini Returns To The Majors!

PHILS PHACTS:

Welcome Back Mickey! – Mickey Morandini has joined the Phillies to be their first-base coach. Morandini played for the Phillies from 1990-97 and 2000 and served on their Minor League player development staff the past five seasons. He managed Class A Williamsport in 2011 and Class A Lakewood in 2012-13 before coaching for Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Double-A Reading the past two seasons. Morandini will also be the team's baserunning instructor. Morandini's hire means Phillies manager Pete Mackanin's coaching staff is complete. The group includes bench coach Larry Bowa, hitting coach Steve Henderson, pitching coach Bob McClure, third-base coach Juan Samuel, bullpen coach Rick Kranitz and catching coach John McLaren. Assistant coach Jorge Velandia will return to his role as special assistant to player personnel. He joined the coaching staff in June following Ryne Sandberg's departure and Mackanin's promotion.

Rebuild Summary – A little less than a month ago, the Phillies finished their worst season since 1972, but in a way, they hope history repeats itself. The '72 Phillies hit rock bottom, but the organization had a talented farm system and talented young players already in the big leagues when it happened. They eventually formed a core that made the postseason six times from 1976-83, including winning the 1980 World Series championship. The Phillies hope they hit the floor in 2015, but they expect improvement in '16, with the idea they can compete for the postseason as early as '17. But first things first. Phillies president Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak have plenty of work to do. Here is a look at what the team might look like when Spring Training opens in February: Arbitration eligible: infielders Andres Blanco and Freddy Galvis; and right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. Free agents: right-handers Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams; left-hander Cliff Lee (club option); and outfielder Jeff Francoeur. Rotation: The Phillies need some serious rotation help. Free agents Billingsley, Harang and Williams are not expected to return, and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez might not pitch again for Philadelphia, considering his checkered health history. It means the Phillies will need to find at least a couple veteran starters to fill out the rotation. Do not expect the Phillies to commit to big-money contracts. It is too early for that. Instead, expect them to pursue starters like J.A. Happ or Doug Fister, potential placeholders until the team knows it truly has a core to reach the postseason. Of course, the Phillies will fill the rotation with internal pieces, too. Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff are heavy favorites to win jobs. Adam Morgan has a line on one. Matt Harrison, Alec Asher, David Buchanan and others will have the opportunity to win jobs. Bullpen: The bullpen struggled at times this season, with the exception of Jonathan Papelbon (traded in July) and Ken Giles. Gomez, Luis Garcia, Elvis Araujo and Dalier Hinojosa put together solid performances. Justin De Fratus struggled, which is why the Phillies outrighted him last month. It seems likely Philadelphia will sign at least one veteran reliever to stabilize the bullpen. But once again, do not expect them to pursue the highest-priced free agents on the market. Catcher: It would not be a surprise to see both Carlos Ruiz and Cameron Rupp back. If so, Rupp is the likely candidate to start Opening Day as Ruiz endured the worst season of his career. Ruiz turns 37 in January, but he has value as a backup. (Not to mention he will be paid $8.5 million.) Chooch can work with the team's young pitchers as well as mentor catching prospects Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp in Spring Training. Don't rule out the possibility that Knapp, who the Phillies named their Minor League Player of the Year, sees time with the Phillies at some point. Teams rarely use only two catchers over the course of a season, and if Knapp is playing well, he could get a shot. Alfaro is promising, but he missed much of the season with an ankle injury. He needs more seasoning in the Minors. First base: Will Ryan Howard return? He will make $35 million next season, which includes a $10 million buyout on a 2017 club option. Howard performed well against right-handed pitchers this year, but he struggled terribly against lefties. He is a platoon player at this point of his career. But if Howard and Darin Ruf return, they could form a pretty respectable duo as Ruf hit left-handers very well. Second base: Cesar Hernandez is expected to open next season at second base. The Phillies saw enough potential offensively to give him a longer look. But Hernandez is going to have to perform because there are prospects coming through the system that could force the club to make some position changes. Shortstop: Galvis will open the season as the team's shortstop, but top prospect J.P. Crawford is breathing down his neck. Crawford finished the season in Double-A Reading, but he is expected to open next season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If Crawford continues to progress, it will be difficult to keep him in the Minors. And if Crawford is promoted at some point next season, he will be promoted to play shortstop and play every day. If that happens, Galvis could move to second base if Hernandez is not performing. Or he could fall into a super utility role. Third base: Maikel Franco has this job locked up, assuming he is healthy. He showed he can be a productive bat in the middle of the lineup, which the Phillies desperately need. Of all the positions on the roster, this is the easiest one to predict. Outfield: Odubel Herrera is expected to be the Opening Day center fielder. He earned it. But who plays the corners? Domonic Brown is gone. Aaron Altherr has earned a longer look. Cody Asche will get another look, although he really must pick up his production. The Phillies see Asche as somebody who could hit 15-20 home runs with 75-90 RBIs. He fell woefully short in RBIs this year. The Phillies could re-sign Francoeur, which makes sense. (If Francoeur is not re-signed, they are likely to pursue another veteran outfielder.) Philadelphia needs a vocal veteran to show the team's young players how to act during a long season and how to react to adversity. Top outfield prospect Nick Williams finished his season in Double-A. Like Crawford, he is expected to open the season in Triple-A. He could join the team at some point.

AFL Recap – It would be difficult to overstate how important statistical analysis has become in how decisions in baseball are now made. Every so often, however, something happens that seemingly defies what the numbers say. After going 1-for-3 in a Class A Advanced Florida State League game on June 24, Phillies catching prospect Andrew Knapp was hitting .262/.356/.369. On the surface, those rather pedestrian numbers do not scream promotion. Yet Knapp did get bumped up to Double-A. What happened next, it's unlikely anyone expected. Knapp simply went off in Reading, kicking things off with a 17-game hitting streak and never really looking back. The 2013 second-round pick hit .360/.419/.631 in 55 games, earning Phillies Minor League Player of the Year honors before heading to the Glendale Desert Dogs and the Arizona Fall League. "Honestly, I think I just got a little bit more selective," Knapp said. "Earlier in my career, I'd be swinging at a 1-1 changeup that probably wasn't a good pitch to swing at. Then once I got moved up to Double-A, I started laying off those pitches and started flipping some counts to 2-1 or 3-1 and started getting some fastballs. I think that was the biggest adjustment I made." It's something Knapp was working on in Clearwater, even if it didn't translate to better numbers until after he moved up. Knapp feels that, along with the work he put in on the defensive side of the game, is what made the organization comfortable with the promotion. "The last month there in Clearwater, I started making those adjustments," Knapp said. "I think part of it, too, was the advancement behind the plate, being able to handle the game, handle the pitching staff more. I think that's what they saw. Sometimes a change of scenery is all you need to get a little boost and a little confidence. I think that helped, too." His time in the AFL will undoubtedly aid in his development as well. While Knapp is continuing to pretty much do what he did in Double-A with the bat, he knows there is work to be done behind the plate if he wants to be an everyday catcher at the big league level. "I think defensively is one of those things I want to tighten up," Knapp said. "Tighten up the receiving, tighten up the throwing. We worked a lot behind the plate this year off the field, working on the mind game a little bit. Trying to manage a pitching staff and work from behind the plate. That's what I'm focusing on." Knapp has some defensive skills, namely arm strength that allowed him to throw out 36 percent of would-be basestealers in 2015. While the AFL is known more as a hitters' league, Knapp sees plenty of opportunities to improve his catching, from working with advanced pitchers to picking the brains of his coaching staff, including manager Bill Haselman of the Dodgers, himself a former big league backstop. "These are guys who know what they're doing on the mound," Knapp said of the pitchers on the Glendale staff. "You can get a ton of work in the bullpen. I'm working with the [coaches from the] Dodgers and the Phillies in the cages and on the side fields. You get a little more down time, less playing, but you get to work on the side, so that's good." Getting to talk with catchers is nothing new for Knapp. His father Mike caught at Cal just like his son did and spent parts of 11 seasons catching in the Minors, reaching Triple-A. He had former big league catcher Dusty Wathan as a manager in Reading and now has Haselman in Arizona. "Throughout my career, I've pretty much been surrounded by catchers," Knapp said. "You get to pick those guys' brains. They've been there before, they've done it, they've caught over 100 games in a year, they know how the body feels, and how it's mentally draining, too. It's been awesome to see how they do it and gain that little bit of experience from them as I'm going through it." Phillies hitters in the Fall League: Aaron Brown, OF - A two-way standout at Pepperdine, the Phillies took Brown as an outfielder in the third round of the 2014 Draft. Coming off his first full season as a hitter only, Brown hasn't played a ton, but the at-bats he is getting should help him make the jump to Double-A in 2016. J.P. Crawford, SS - Crawford was the highest-ranked prospect in the AFL (No. 5 overall), but went home with a left thumb injury after just six games. He should be 100 percent for Spring Training. Drew Stankiewicz, 2B/SS - The Phillies' 11th-round pick in the 2014 Draft, Stankiewicz was added to the Glendale roster to replace Crawford. He played at two levels of A ball in 2014 and saw time at both second base and shortstop. Phillies pitchers in the Fall League: Edubray Ramos, RHP - Originally signed by the Cardinals, Ramos was released by St. Louis in February 2011. He signed with Phillies in November 2012 and finally got moving more quickly in 2015, reaching Double-A -- a level he may be ready to master after pitching well in the AFL. Yacksel Rios, RHP - The 2011 draftee has spent much more time relieving than starting, but three of his first four AFL outings have been starts, something he may get the chance to do in Double-A next year. Jesen Therrien, RHP - The Montreal native is coming off a very solid year out of the bullpen in 2015, one that saw him spend most of the year in the Florida State League. His AFL innings should prep him for Double-A in 2016. Tom Windle, LHP - Windle made a successful transition to the bullpen midway through his first season with the Phillies. He's continued to adjust to the role this Fall.

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.