Phillies Fall To Cardinals In Extra Innings

GAME RECAP: Cards Outlast Phils 4-3

Randal Grichuk does not want to get sent back to the Minors -- and he's playing like it. Jhonny Peralta led off the 11th inning by hammering a double into left. An out later, Grichuk followed with a two-bagger of his own, driving home Peralta and giving the Cardinals a 4-3 lead that St. Louis top prospect -- per MLBPipeline.com -- Alex Reyes closed out in the bottom half of the inning on Friday at Citizens Bank Park, earning his first career save. The win was the Cardinals' fifth in a row and gave them a two-game lead over Pittsburgh for the second National League Wild Card spot. The double was Grichuk's third hit of the game. He finished a triple shy of the cycle after homering down the left-field line in the second and adding a single in the fifth. He's hit safely in all seven games he's played in since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis, driving in nine in that span. "We all know what he's capable of doing," Cardinals second baseman Jedd Gyorko said. "He's just got to get a little more consistent. As far as talent or stuff like that, you're not going to find someone with more talent than what he's got. He's just going to keep getting better and better. He's gonna be a guy we rely on going down the stretch here." Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez allowed a two-run, game-tying blast off the bat of Gyorko in the ninth inning to blow his fourth save of the year and erase a stellar outing from Adam Morgan, who outdueled Adam Wainwright, tossing six innings of one-run ball. Odubel Herrera and Freddy Galvis led off the sixth with back-to-back blasts to open up a 3-1 Phillies lead off Wainwright. The dingers followed Wainwright's complaint about the mound condition after he slipped delivering a pitch to Herrera. He wasn't the same after the grounds crew manicured the mound. After the homers, Wainwright issued walks to Aaron Altherr and Ryan Howard but he escaped, erasing Altherr on a double play and Howard on a caught-stealing. "We just didn't capitalize on scoring opportunities," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We had our chances. A man on third base with less than two outs twice. We couldn't get him in. We couldn't make contact." Overcoming home runs and mound troubles, Wainwright tossed his first quality start after four tries. He got back on track with six innings of three-run ball against the Phillies after having given up six and seven runs, respectively, in his last two starts. "I'm still not where I want to be," Wainwright said. "I'm patiently, slash, impatiently waiting on my good stuff to come. I know it will come. But today was significantly better than last time out for sure."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Mackanin said before the game that Morgan "has to start doing something" to keep a job in the big leagues, pointing to his 1-7 record and 6.62 ERA heading into the game. Morgan delivered, and he allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings for the first time in nine starts, dating to May 21 against Atlanta. "I don't really want to look at it that way," Morgan said, asked if he considers these final few weeks make-or-break for him. "I just want to take advantage of the opportunity. I feel like once you start looking back, like, 'Oh, gosh, I've really got to do good here to stay in the big leagues,' I feel like the mind wanders. It's pretty simple. I'm trying to take advantage of the opportunity and give the team a chance to win every time I go out." 
• Gomez has been one of the Phillies' best stories of the season, beginning the season as a middle reliever only to become their closer in early April. He entered the game having saved 32 games in 35 opportunities, but he could not put away Gyorko in an eight pitch at-bat in the ninth. "He hung a split to Gyorko," Mackanin said. "It was center cut. He's been so good for us this whole year. He's been very good for us. I can't fault him."
• Dating back to Aug. 5, the Phillies have homered in 13 consecutive games for the first time since homering in 14 straight games from May 27-June 9, 2013. The team has 19 homers in those 13 games.
• Tommy Joseph, pinch-hitting for Howard, ripped a ball into the left-center-field gap off Kevin Siegrist in the eighth inning and stretched a single into a double, at least initially, after he was called safe on Grichuk's throw. The Cardinals challenged, and after a two-and-a-half minute review, the call was overturned. "It was so close," Joseph said. "I felt myself hit the bag with Kolten [Wong] tagging right away. That was a tough play."
• Matheny challenged for a second time in the ninth inning on a tailor-made double-play ball. The Phillies didn't turn two, but Matheny challenged that Emmanuel Burriss's foot came off second. It did not, the umpires confirmed.
• The Phillies challenged a call that Stephen Piscotty was hit by a pitch in the 10th inning, but the replay official confirmed the call.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65 ERA) returns to the mound Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Cardinals after tweaking his back Aug. 10 at Dodger Stadium. Hellickson had been scheduled to pitch this Wednesday against the Dodgers in Philadelphia, but the Phillies pushed back his start a few days to make sure his back was healthy. He said it is.

PHILS PHACTS:

Making His Case – Pete Mackanin did not mince words Friday afternoon when asked if Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan needed to prove he belongs in the big leagues. "That might be a question that doesn't need to be asked," the manager said. "Darn right, he has to do something." Mackanin pointed to Morgan's 1-7 record and 6.62 ERA entering Friday night's 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Morgan lost a Spring Training competition to be the team's fifth starter, but when he was promoted in April to replace Charlie Morton, who suffered a season-ending groin injury, he struggled. He recently rejoined the rotation to replace Zach Eflin, who had season-ending knee surgery Friday. "He has to start doing something," Mackanin said. "One and seven with a six ERA is not good. I think he's better than that, but he has to start showing it. It's cut and dried." Morgan delivered against the Cardinals and stood in line for the win until Jeanmar Gomez blew his fourth save of the season in the ninth. Morgan allowed five hits, one run, two walks and struck out three in six-plus innings. "I was thrilled about the way Morgan pitched," Mackanin said afterward. "He looked almost masterful with his changeup, keeping them off balance." It was the first time since May 21 that Morgan allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings, when he allowed two runs in six innings against the Braves. He went 0-5 with a 7.65 ERA in eight starts in between. "I don't really want to look at it that way," Morgan said, asked if he considers these final few weeks make-or-break for him. "I just want to take advantage of the opportunity. I feel like once you start looking back, like, 'Oh, gosh, I've really got to do good here to stay in the big leagues,' I feel like the mind wanders. It's pretty simple. I'm trying to take advantage of the opportunity and give the team a chance to win every time I go out."

Unable To Close The Door – Jeanmar Gomez has been one of the Phillies' best stories this season. He entered the year as a middle reliever and only out of desperation became the team's closer in early April. He took to the job surprisingly well and entered Friday night's 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park having saved 32 games in 35 opportunities. But Gomez blew his fourth save in the ninth inning when Cardinals shortstop Jedd Gyorko hit a game-tying, two-run home run to left field. Gyorko fouled off three consecutive pitches before hitting the eighth pitch from Gomez -- an 86-mph splitter -- out of the park. Gomez left the clubhouse immediately after the game, which has happened before following blown saves, so he could not discuss Gyorko's at-bat. "He hung a split to Gyorko," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "It was center cut. He's been so good for us this whole year. He's been very good for us. I can't fault him." Gomez certainly has been solid this season, but his long-term future as the Phillies' closer will be interesting to watch. One reason the Phillies received little to no interest in him before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline -- despite numerous teams needing bullpen help -- is that he does not miss enough bats. Teams love power arms in the bullpen, but Gomez entered the game getting swings and misses on only 6.8 percent of his pitches, which ranked 215th out of 228 pitchers who have thrown 50 or more innings this season, according to FanGraphs. His 5.98 strikeouts-per-nine innings average ranked 207th. That argument has many people thinking setup man Hector Neris could be the Phillies' closer at some point. Neris gets swings and misses on 15.6 percent of his pitches, which ranked seventh in baseball. He averages 11.26 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranked 14th. Neris struck out Tommy Pham on three pitches to start the eighth. Stephen Piscotty grounded out on the first pitch for the second out, and Matt Carpenter flied out on the first pitch for the third out to end the inning. Five pitches, three outs. Impressive. "Neris threw a heck of a good inning," Mackanin said. They needed another one in the ninth.

Tattered Rotation – The Phillies will enter the offseason hoping that two of their top young pitchers will be healthy and ready to pitch by Spring Training. The team announced Friday afternoon that right-hander Zach Eflin had season-ending surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his right knee. He will be immobilized for the next six weeks, which will allow a stress fracture in his right foot to heal. Eflin is expected to have the same surgery on his left knee in six weeks. "It seems like that's where it's headed," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said about the second surgery. "If everything proceeds according to plan, he should be no problem for Spring Training. We'll see. "The hope here is that it's going to alleviate the problem and that he's not going to have to deal with it. And in just talking candidly with Zach last night, while not excited to undergo the knife today, he was pretty excited about the possibility of coming to Spring Training next year pain-free for the first time in his life." Eflin, 22, said he has had knee problems since he was 10 or 11 years old, a problem the Phillies said they have known since they acquired him from the Dodgers in December 2014 in the Jimmy Rollins trade. But they also said they also did not believe two knee surgeries were an eventuality. "There was not an imminent surgery looming when we talked about Zach Eflin in Spring Training, for example," Klentak said. "But we know that it's something he's battled and knew it was a possibility that one day this would come, but didn't know if or when, specifically." Before the Phillies placed Eflin on the 60-day disabled list, they placed right-hander Aaron Nola on the 60-day DL on Wednesday because of a low grade sprain of his UCL and a low grade strain of his flexor pronator tendon. He received a PRP injection into the elbow Monday. Nola will not throw for four weeks. The Phillies hope to see improvement at that time. They said surgery for Nola is not a consideration at this point. "Would we like all these guys to pitch a full season and reach certain benchmarks and accomplish all their goals? Well, yeah," Klentak said. "We want that for all of our players. A lot of our guys have made a lot of progress this year. Injuries to pitchers, that's part of how baseball works." The Phillies acquired Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton last winter to stabilize an inexperienced rotation. Hellickson could return next season, if the Phillies make him a qualifying offer and he surprises them and accepts it. But even if Hellickson returns, it seems likely the Phillies will acquire another veteran starter in the offseason. "I think that's the plan," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I think that's what we have to do. We have to make at least some progress for next year and you know, the younger guys, they have to do something to get promoted. We're not going to run guys up here if we don't think they're ready. So it's going to be interesting to see what happens over the winter and then what happens in the spring." Eflin went 3-5 with a 5.54 ERA in 11 starts. He got hit hard in his big league debut against the Blue Jays in June. He posted a 2.08 ERA in seven consecutive starts from June 19-July 22 before posting a 13.85 ERA in his final three starts. "I'm not overly concerned about Nola ,and I'm not concerned about Eflin, because he's had that for a long time, and I think with it behind him now and getting it taken care of, he's got to feel good about that," Mackanin said. "I expect him to be 100 percent, probably better than this year. Nola, time will tell. Perhaps the time off will really help him."

Likely To Stay – Chase Utley enjoyed an unforgettable homecoming this week at Citizens Bank Park, and the way Ryan Howard has played lately, he could receive an even warmer farewell in a few weeks, too. Howard opened the season in a platoon with Darin Ruf, but he moved into a reserve role following the arrival of Tommy Joseph in May. Howard hit .148 with 11 home runs, 25 RBIs and a .555 OPS in 208 plate appearances through July 1, but he has hit .338 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.116 OPS in 71 plate appearances since. "If he keeps hitting like he's hitting, somebody's going to want him," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I'm happy for him. I like him. I never expected Howie to be my best friend while he was going through [the benching]. It's not fun doing that kind of thing, but the bottom line is I pull for him. He's a great guy. I'd like to see him succeed and go on and play as long as he wants to play. I'm hoping it works for him." Howard was a topic of conversation Friday after Major League Baseball cleared him and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of any wrongdoing following an investigation of the Al Jazeera documentary "The Dark Side" that claimed in December that Howard and Zimmerman took performance-enhancing drugs. "I'm happy it's over," Howard said. "It's something that weighs on you, when you get stuff like that. I'm happy to put it behind me and keep going." But Howard, despite his recent play, is expected to finish the season with the Phillies. The Phillies might see more value in having the iconic first baseman finish the year with them and continue to mentor the team's young players than give him to a contender for a miniscule return. That said, the Phillies are expected to exercise the $10 million buyout on Howard's $25 million club option for next season. "Until somebody is not in our uniform, I always expect they're going to be here the next day," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. Like Mackanin, Klentak also is happy to see Howard turn around his season. "I know especially early in the year, it was a trying year for him," Klentak said. "To see the way that he has handled all of that, and continued to grind, continued to work hard and to earn the playing time and now to be performing as well as he is for the last month or so, it's a really good story. If this is in fact Ryan's last year in Philadelphia, he's helping to write a nice end to it."

Welcome Back – Infielder Emmanuel Burriss rejoined the Phillies on Friday after the team optioned Taylor Featherston to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies made room for Burriss on the 40-man roster when they placed Zach Eflin on the 60-day disabled list following surgery on his right knee. Featherston hit .115 (3-for-26) with one double, one RBI, two walks and 11 strikeouts in 19 games with Philadelphia. Burriss hit .121 (4-for-33) with one double, one triple, one walk and seven strikeouts in 27 games earlier this season. Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez did not start for the second consecutive game after fouling a ball off his foot earlier this week. "We did give him an X-ray on the foot just to rule out any fractures, and there are no fractures," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. "He should be available if we need him, we're just trying to give him some extra rest."

Today In Phils History – The Phillies welcomed back George McQuillan on this day in 1915. In 1951, Richie Ashburn recorded 8 hits in a double header (still the last Phillie to accomplish the feat). 4 years later, following a complete game shutout the day before, the Phillies brought in Robin Roberts in the 9^th inning to face Dodgers pinch hitting pitcher Don Newcombe. The Phillies snapped a 23 game losing streak with a win over the Braves on this day in 1961. The Phillies picked up, via trade, Al Oliver on this day in 1984. 2 years later, Juan Samuel became the second player in franchise history to score the only run in an extra inning game via homerun when he took that night’s starter Mike Krukow deep in the 10^th.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 57-66 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-57-1 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.

Phillies Pitchers Continue To Struggle Against Dodgers

GAME RECAP: Dodgers Down Phillies 7-2

Chase Utley had no home runs, grand slams or curtain calls on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. But the Dodgers still rolled to a 7-2 win over the Phillies -- extending their lead in the National League West to 1 1/2 games over the Giants. Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to right field in the fourth inning and a two-run blast to right in the seventh to lead the way. Justin Turner added a two-run homer to left-center in the fifth. "The length of the lineup is impressive right now," Turner said. "We're a tough lineup to pitch to one through eight. Anyone can hit a ball over the fence and do some damage. It's fun going up there knowing you can hang a crooked number every inning." The Dodgers have scored 22 runs in the first two games of this series. They've done so on seven home runs, including two-homer games from Utley on Tuesday and Gonzalez on Wednesday. "Adrian's been under the radar," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "But tonight, huge night. Two homers, drove in five. … Good things are happening." The Dodgers also worked out of a jam in the sixth, when the Phillies loaded the bases with none out. Left-hander Grant Dayton got three consecutive flyouts to end the inning. Right-hander Jake Thompson pitched just five innings as Phillies starters have logged fewer than six innings in eight consecutive games, tying a franchise record. "Just kind of lost the feel for working down in the zone and both sides of the plate," Thompson said. "That's not a good problem to have against those guys."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Thompson threw first-pitch strikes to just 10 of the 24 batters he faced, which tells the story of his night. He allowed five hits, five runs, four walks and two home runs as he fell to 1-2 with an 8.79 ERA in his first three big league starts. "Young pitchers tend to overthrow and try to make perfect pitches," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Once you gain that poise and composure, you start understanding how important it is to locate those pitches. It's hard to make the perfect pitch."
• The rookie hit his 16th homer, a solo shot into the upper deck in left field in the sixth. Phillies first basemen have 31 homers this season, which is tied with the Indians for the most in baseball. "Tommy hit that ball in the upper deck, which was nice to see," Mackanin said. "I wish the bases were loaded on that at the time. We swung the bats well. We just didn't come through in the clutch."
• "It was a baserunning mistake. If you're on third base and you're not going to go because it would have been too close ... you stay heads up and the minute you see that ball go to second base, you score. He just shut it down a little bit early." --Mackanin, on Franco not scoring on a flyout to right in the sixth, when Dodgers right fielder Reddick threw to second on the play.
• Cesar Hernandez has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games. He has hit .348 with a .464 on-base percentage in that stretch. It is the longest on-base streak by a Phillies player since Darin Ruf reached safely in 33 games from Sept. 25, 2012, to Aug. 6, 2013.
• The Phillies challenged a call with two out in the ninth inning, when Odubel Herrera appeared to beat a throw to first from Utley. First-base umpire Jerry Meals had ruled Herrera out, but the call was overturned after a brief review.
• Jake Thompson was unable to complete six innings on Wednesday and the Phillies tied a franchise record. It was the eighth consecutive game their starter didn't pitch six innings and the first time it's happened since 1999.
• Cesar Hernandez has reached safely in 23 straight games for the longest streak by a Phillies hitter this season. Peter Bourjos reached safely in 22 straight games from June 16 to July 15. Over the streak, Hernandez is hitting .356 (32-for-90), including his first home run of the stretch on Tuesday.
• Stripling has had quite a bit more success in his limited action out of the bullpen. He made three long-relief appearances in July, posting a 1.54 ERA over 11 2/3 innings. In his 10 starts, Stripling has a 4.61 ERA.

NEXT GAME:

Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling will square off against Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff on Thursday in the finale of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies should be happy to see the Dodgers leave town, as they've managed just one win in five games against Los Angeles this season. Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley likely won't harbor similar feelings. He has mashed against his former team since homering in his first at-bat against the Phillies in Los Angeles. In his return to Philadelphia, Utley hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to cap an eight-run seventh inning on Tuesday night. Utley and Frank Thomas are the only players to homer twice in their first games back in a city where they previously hit 200 or more home runs. Thursday's finale will be the sixth and final meeting between the clubs this season. The Dodgers have taken full advantage of a rebuilding Phillies club since its last postseason appearance in 2011. Los Angeles has won 12 of its 15 games at Citizens Bank Park dating to the start of 2012. Additionally, the Phillies have dropped 10 of their last 13 to the Dodgers and six of their last seven. Stripling (3-4, 4.07 ERA) will make his third start since transitioning from the bullpen back into the rotation. Eickhoff (8-12, 3.82) shut out the Rockies for five innings, but gave up three runs in a sixth inning where he only recorded two outs in his last start.

PHILS PHACTS:

Rotational Shortcomings – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin answered a question about his bullpen on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, when he quickly segued into a discussion about the rotation. "We just need our starters to get out of that rut where we're not getting six, seven, eight innings," he said before a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers. "We're trying to develop nine-inning pitchers. But it has not happened like the Phillies had hoped, particularly lately. Rookie Jake Thompson yielded five hits, five runs, four walks and two home runs in five innings in his third big league start. He threw first-pitch strikes to just 10 of 24 batters as he fell to 1-2 with an 8.79 ERA. "He's 22 years old and made some mistakes," Mackanin said of the Phillies' No. 5prospect. "The interesting thing is that he doesn't walk that many people, but he's got nine walks in [14 1/3] innings. I attribute that to the fact he's 22 years old and his first go around at the big league level. Pitching is all about repeating your mechanics and making good pitches. In time, he'll get there." Mackanin said Thompson simply might be trying to impress too much, trying to follow up an impressive run at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he went 8-0 with a 1.21 ERA in his final 11 starts with the IronPigs. "I wouldn't say I'm trying to impress," Thompson said. "I'm just trying to get outs regardless of who I'm facing. Just trying to be too fine, falling behind, especially to those guys in the middle of the lineup. That's a terrible place to be." Phillies starters have pitched fewer than six innings in eight consecutive games, tying a franchise record last done in 1999. They also have not thrown seven or more innings in a game since July 26 in Miami, when Jerad Eickhoff gave up one run in seven innings. That is 19 consecutive games without a starter pitching seven innings. Phillies starters have a 7.05 ERA in that stretch, falling short of logging six innings 16 times. "We have to get it going and get back on track and pounding the strike zone, getting ahead early and running the counts deep, and getting outs early in the counts," Mackanin said. The Phillies' rotation looked pretty good early in the season, but the past few weeks have been quite a contrast. Aaron Nola will finish the season on the 60-day disabled list with an injured right elbow. Zach Eflin might not pitch again this season because of knee issues. Vince Velasquez has struggled recently, posting a 7.24 ERA in his last five starts. Thompson, who is the No. 67 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, has not pitched more than five innings in his three starts. "Mentally I'm fine," Thompson said. "It's kind of how pitching goes. Every now and then you struggle with stuff. I dealt with it in Lehigh. I had a terrible first month of the season, partially due to the same thing -- erratic fastball command. We'll get in the bullpen and get it ironed out."

Nola Done – Aaron Nola's season is finished. The Phillies announced on Wednesday they've placed Nola on the 60-day disabled list with an injured right elbow to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Frank Herrmann. The Phils promoted Herrmann from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace left-hander Elvis Araujo, who was optioned to the IronPigs. "I'm pretty confident right now that everything is going to heal correctly, and by Spring Training, I should be good to go," Nola said. But Nola's recovery is not entirely certain. Dr. James Andrews examined Nola on Monday in Alabama. The righty has a low-grade sprain of his UCL and a low-grade strain of his flexor pronator tendon. "At this time nobody is talking about surgery," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. Nola also received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Monday, and he will not throw for four weeks to allow the PRP injection to work. "We'll ramp him back up at that point to see how he responds," Klentak said. If everything goes well, Nola is expected to be ready by Spring Training. If he does not respond, what is the next step? "We haven't gone down that road yet," Klentak said. "Right now, nobody is suggesting that surgery is the way to go on this, and we feel good about the fact that there's a consensus among all the doctors that have seen him." Nola finished 6-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 20 starts this season, and he went 1-5 with a 9.82 ERA in his final eight starts. Interestingly, Nola said he does not think the injured elbow had much to do with his recent struggles. "I think it was unrelated," Nola said. "Before the last game, everything felt good. My arm felt good. I don't think this had to do with any of the previous starts before then. Just overall my body felt really good leading up to that. It was just something that happened. ... I had some real bumps in the road there. But I want to learn from those, I want to learn from the challenges I had. The experiences that didn't go well, I want to learn from them and kind of build on those." The Phillies have used this season to look at their young starters. The results have been mixed. Jerad Eickhoff has been steady, but Nola struggled mightily before landing on the DL. Zach Eflin has patellar tendinopathy in his knees and it is unclear if he will pitch again this season. His results have varied. Vince Velasquez dominated early, but he has a 7.24 ERA in his last five starts and has struggled recently to pitch deep into games. Velasquez's workload is being monitored closely. He said he could make "three or four more starts" before the end of the season. Klentak said the Phillies do not have a specific day targeted as his final start. "More than anything it reinforces the position that we've taken for most of the last year about the importance of starting pitching depth," Klentak said about the rotation's performance. "For four months, this team's starting rotation was about as healthy as any starting rotation in baseball, and for the last two, three weeks it's been something less than that. That's kind of the nature of our game." Expect the Phillies to make a qualifying offer to Jeremy Hellickson after the season. If he accepts, they will have at least one veteran in the rotation. If he rejects the offer, expect them to pursue at least one more veteran starter. "We need to figure some more things out," Klentak said. "It's fairly reasonable to expect that every offseason we'll be looking to add starting pitching depth. There's a lot of different ways to skin that cat. But I think realistically this offseason will be no different than any other."

Crawford Dealing With Injury – Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford remains sidelined with an injured oblique, but it probably will not affect his chances of being promoted to the big leagues before the end of the season. Crawford, 21, has not played since Aug. 9 after tweaking the oblique while making an acrobatic play in the field for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is hitting .258 with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, 25 RBIs and a .681 OPS in 306 plate appearances with the IronPigs. "J.P. is day to day," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said on Wednesday. "I expect he'll be back in the lineup in Lehigh sometime in the next couple of days. He's been playing catch. He's been hitting off a tee. He's been doing a lot of work on the side. We're just trying to be a little careful with him and make sure he doesn't re-aggravate it." Crawford is the No. 3 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. He could be the Phillies' everyday shortstop as early as next season, but the Phils might not promote him until 2017 because of 40-man roster considerations. The Phillies have to protect multiple prospects before this year's Rule 5 Draft. The list includes 12 of their Top 30 prospects, according to MLBPipeline.com: Nick Williams (No. 3), Dylan Cozens (No. 7), Mark Appel (No. 11), Andrew Knapp (No. 12), Ricardo Pinto (No. 16), Nick Pivetta (No. 18), Elniery Garcia (No. 20), Malquin Canelo (No. 22), Carlos Tocci (No. 23), Ben Lively (No. 24), Jose Pujols (No. 27) and Alberto Tirado (No. 29). There are others not on that list, too. Crawford does not have to be protected yet, so keeping him off the 40-man roster until next year would allow Philadelphia to protect an additional prospect it feels is at risk of being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Today In Phils History – In his 1886 debut, Charles Ferguson gets the win over Boston and go on to collect 12 more victories and 4 ties in 16 games. 20 years later, Kitty Bransfield hit an inside-the-park grand slam against St. Louis. In 1909, Arlie Latham became the oldest player in MLB history to walk and steal a base when the Giants inserted the coach into the lineup against the Phillies. In 1960, the Braves Lew Burdette threw a no hitter against the Phillies with only Tony Gonzalez reaching base when he was hit by a pitch in the 5^th inning. Larry Bowa hit his 1^st MLB homerun on this day in 1972… he had amassed 1,745 plate appearances before hitting the inside the park homerun at the Vet. Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver faced off for the last time in 1981 with Seaver, once again getting the victory and improving his head to head record to 12-2. In 1990, Tommy Greene made his Phillies debut. 5 years later, the Phillies sent 4 Kevins to the plate against the Giants (Stocker, Elster, Flora, and Jordan). 2 years later, for only the 2^nd time in franchise history, the Phillies hit 2 grand slams in the same game as Mike Lieberthal and Billy McMillon both connected against the Giants. Lieberthal once again etched his name in Phillies history on this day in 2006 when he caught his 1,125^th game passing Red Dooin as the all-time leader in games caught and celebrated the milestone by throwing out 2 baserunners and connecting for a homerun in a loss to the Nationals.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 56-65 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 44-62-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Howard And Rupp And Franco… Oh My!

GAME RECAP: Phillies Outlast Giants 5-4

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

PHILS PHACTS: 

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

NEXT GAME:

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

PHILS PHACTS:

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

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

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

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

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

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 50-59 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 50-61-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.