Minor Awards And Major Disappointments

GAME RECAP: National Edge Phillies 5-4

Maybe manager Dusty Baker said it best: Trea Turner is a difference-maker. The rookie center fielder proved it once again at Nationals Park on Friday night, when he clubbed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Nationals over the Phillies, 5-4. Washington's magic number dwindled to 14 to win the National League East. The second-place Mets defeated the Braves, 6-4. With the score tied at 4, Turner battled reliever Frank Herrmann for nine pitches. Turner connected on a 1-2 fastball and hit the ball over the center-field fence to end the game. It was also his second home run of the night. "I finally got a pitch up in the zone. I put the barrel on it," Turner said. "I'm still laughing at how it ended up over the fence. I felt good." Turner now has eight home runs in 223 at-bats. He had only six home runs in 331 at-bats with Triple-A Syracuse this year. Baker had nothing but praise for his center fielder. "Keep it coming. The sky's the limit. He is probably doing some things that even amazes himself," the skipper said. "He just let it flow and let it be. He is playing an outstanding center field. His first two-homer game, his first walk-off homer game. This one he will remember for a long time." The Nationals blew a three-run lead before Turner's homer ended the game. The score was tied at 1 when the Nationals took the lead in the sixth inning off Philadelphia starter Jake Thompson. After Daniel Murphy doubled with one out, Bryce Harper singled to right field, sending Murphy home. An inning later, Phillies right-hander Colton Murray was on the mound when Turner hit a two-run homer to give Washington a three-run lead. But Washington's lead didn't last long. In the eighth inning, Koda Glover allowed a three run homer to Cameron Rupp to tie the score at four. "That kid Turner is a good-looking player," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• He did not get the win and he did not pitch six innings, but Thompson continues to make strides following a rough start to his big league career. He had a 9.78 ERA after his first four starts, and he was unable to pitch more than five innings in any of them. But after he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Nationals, Thompson has a 2.33 ERA (five earned runs in 19 1/3 innings) in his last three. "I thought I had it," Thompson said.
• Rupp belted a game-tying, three-run homer to left-center field in the eighth inning. Rupp has struggled lately since hitting .278 with 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 38 RBIs and an .831 OPS through Aug. 5. In fact, he had hit a mere .185 with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and a .515 OPS in his previous 71 plate appearances, entering the game. Perhaps this shot gets him back on track. "I was ready for it," Rupp said. "I would say I sold myself on getting a fastball there."
• "I thought about hitting [Tommy] Joseph there or [Darin] Ruf, someone to maybe hit a home run, but my biggest concern was going 14 innings and having to go to those guys. That would be the worst-case scenario for me." -- Mackanin, on Herrmann hitting in the ninth. Mackanin said he hit Herrmann there because relievers Edubray Ramos, Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez have pitched too much recently.
• Herrera left the game in the fifth inning with a bruised right leg after Roark hit him with a pitch in fourth. X-rays were negative. He is day to day.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Jared Eickhoff (10-13, 3.86 ERA) faces the Nationals on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series at Nationals Park. He has pitched six innings in each of his last four starts, allowing three or fewer runs in each of his last three.

PHILS PHACTS:

Rupp Goes Deep – Cameron Rupp needed that one. He mashed a game-tying, three-run home run to left-center field in the eighth inning Friday night in a 5-4 loss to the Nationals at Nationals Park. The 2-0 fastball from Nationals reliever Koda Glover left Rupp's bat at 106 mph and traveled a projected 420 feet, according to Statcast™. But it looked like it traveled faster and farther than it did. He crushed it. "I was ready for it," Rupp said. "I would say I sold myself on getting a fastball there." Rupp hopes the shot reverses his fortunes following a rough few weeks. He had hit .278 with 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 38 RBIs and an .831 OPS in 283 plate appearances through Aug. 5, making him one of the most productive catchers in baseball this season. But he has struggled since then. He entered Friday night hitting .185 with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and a .515 OPS in his last 71 plate appearances. "I just hit one of those spots," Rupp said. "It's part of the game. At some point every hitter goes through it. It took me a little longer to get out of it. It was a little frustrating at times. I got away from myself a little bit and finally found my approach again and got back to getting the ball in the zone and putting a good swing on it." Said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin: "He's pulling off the ball. I talked earlier about how he changed his approach at the plate and changed his swing path. Well, he was reverting back to his old swing path. That's common for players to do. When you do something one way your whole life you kind of creep back to it little by little. But he put a charge into that one." But Rupp never needed to worry too much. He solidified himself as the team's No. 1 catcher with his strong play through early August. Even with his recent struggles, he still ranks seventh out of 20 catchers in OPS, making him the projected Opening Day starter behind the plate next season. "You've got to have success in this game to keep your job," Rupp said. "It was nice to get off to a good start, but I really can't worry about that. I've got to stick with my strengths and worry about pitch selection and calling games and working with the pitchers and just let the offense happen."

Herrera Out – Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera left Friday night's 5-4 loss to the Nationals with a bruised right leg. Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark drilled Herrera in the leg with a pitch in the fourth inning. Herrera stayed in the game, but Aaron Altherr replaced him in the top of the fifth inning as a pinch-hitter. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said after the game that X-rays on Herrera's leg were negative. He is day to day. Herrera doubled in his first-inning at-bat against Roark. He is hitting .278 with 16 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 42 RBIs in 139 games this season.

Minor Awards – Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins had two of the best seasons in Minor League baseball this year. So the Phillies on Friday announced both Double-A Reading sluggers earned the organization's Paul Owens Award for its top position players. It is the third time two players won the Paul Owens Award in the same season, and first since 1997, whenJimmy Rollins and Jeff Key won it. Triple-A Lehigh Valley right-hander Ben Lively earned the Paul Owens Award as the organization's top pitcher. Cozens, 22, hit .276 with 38 doubles, three triples, 40 home runs, 125 RBIs, 61 walks, 21 stolen bases, 106 runs scored and a .591 slugging percentage. He led the Minors in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits (81) and total bases (308). Cozens, who the Phillies selected in the second round of the 2012 Draft, set the Reading single-season home run record and is just the second Phillies' Minor Leaguer since 1963 to hit 40 or more homers in a season. Ryan Howard hit 46 in 2004. The outfielder also earned the Eastern League MVP Award and earned a spot on the MLB Futures Game roster. Hoskins, 23, hit .281 with 26 doubles, 38 home runs, 116 RBIs, 71 walks, eight stolen bases, 95 runs and a .566 slugging percentage. He had three multi-homer games and seven games with four or more RBIs. Hoskins ranked second in the Minor Leagues in home runs, third in RBIs and total bases (282) and tied for ninth in extra-base hits (65) and runs.  The Phillies selected the first baseman in the fifth round of the 2014 Draft. "The hardest thing to develop is power, and the hardest thing to find is a run-producing bat," Phillies player development director Joe Jordan said in a statement. "We feel like both of these guys are going to be that. It has been a fantastic experience to watch them, and the reward was seeing them develop as players. We couldn't have drawn it up any better. I think both of them should be a bright part of our future." Lively, 24, went a combined 18-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP (42 walks, 118 hits), 139 strikeouts and a .192 opponents' batting average in 170 2/3 innings with Reading and Lehigh Valley. He is the first Minor Leaguer to win 18 games in a season since Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin in 2008. Lively led the International League in WHIP and opponents' batting average and finished second in ERA. Lively, who won Reds' Minor League Player of the Year in 2014, was acquired from Cincinnati in a trade for Marlon Byrd in Dec. '14. "Ben opened himself up in Spring Training and said, 'I've got to do what I can to get better,' and he has taken a huge step forward," Jordan said. "His delivery is sound and he is a big, strong guy that lives at the bottom of the strike zone. We saw this summer what he has a chance to be."

Today In Phils History – It was on this day in 1955 that Robin Roberts broke the NL record when he surrendered his 40^th homerun of the season (he would finish with 41 and break his own record the following year). A decade later, Fergie Jenkins made his MLB debut pitching 4 1/3 innings of relief and earning his 1^st win. In 1974, Lou Brock broke Maury Wills’ single season stolen base record (105) and Max Carey’s all time NL record (738) in a loss to the Phillies. Marty Bystrom made news for the 1^st time in the 1980 season when he recorded a shutout in his 1^st MLB start. Mike Schmidt hit his 10^th and final walk off homerun to break an 11^th inning tie with the Expos in 1985. 6 years later, Schmidt’s former teammate Larry Bowa was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition to Jenkins, other notable debuts that occurred on this day include Harry Coveleski (1907), Willie Jones (1947), Vic Power (1964 – with the Phillies), Bob Boone (1972), and Cameron Rupp (2013). Finally, happy birthday to Harry Anderson (1931) and Danys Baez (1977).

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 63-78 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 35-70-0 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.

Another Shutout, Another Sweep

GAME RECAP: Braves Blank Phillies 2-0

The bottom two teams in the National League East are trending in opposite directions, which was magnified as the Braves finished a sweep of the Phillies with a 2-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Julio Teheran and Jake Thompson matched zeros for all but the second inning, when Matt Kemp provided the lone run off Thompson in Atlanta's sixth win in a row and second straight sweep. Conversely, the loss was the Phillies' sixth in a row and closed out a winless homestand that was bookended by shutouts of the home team. Philadelphia didn't score more than four runs in any of the six losses and averaged only 1.8 per game. "We're striking out too much. We don't have a good two-strike approach," said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin after his team struck out 13 times on Sunday. "I keep preaching about plate discipline; we're not showing a lot of plate discipline. It looks like we're behind fastballs and not putting the ball in play with two strikes." Freddie Freeman added another blast off Michael Mariot in the eighth. Freeman had already doubled earlier to extend his on-base streak to 26 games -- the longest active such streak in the Majors -- and his hitting streak to 11. Ender Inciarte singled in the sixth to move his streak to 15 games. The Braves own the longest active on-base and hitting streaks in the big leagues. "They're threats every time they go up there, both those guys," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Freeman and Kemp. "You saw today what they can do. They carried us." With 6 1/2 games separating them in the standings, the Braves and Phillies are now the closest they've been since June 27, less than a week after Atlanta's only other winning streak of six games.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Thompson's last two starts have been much more like what the Phillies envisioned when they called up the 22-year-old last month. Thompson allowed just one run in seven frames, going that distance for his second start in a row. He's lowered his ERA from 9.78 to 6.48 in his past two starts. "After his first four outings with us, we weren't sure what we were seeing," Mackanin said. "His last two outings, especially today, he pitched extremely well. That was great to see." 
• It took only 52 seconds to overturn what was initially called a diving catch by Aaron Altherr on a fly ball into shallow center by Jace Peterson in the seventh inning. It was an impressive defensive effort regardless, but replay clearly showed the ball bounce into Altherr's outstretched glove.
• The Phillies unsuccessfully challenged a call later in the seventh, when Franco tried to tag out Peterson to start a double play. Peterson avoided the tag and was called safe at third, which was confirmed by replay, but Franco still threw out pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski at first to get an out on the play.
• The Phillies and Braves combined to load the bases in four consecutive half innings, and neither team scored a run. Eleven runners were stranded in the process. Franco grounded out to third base in the bottom of the fifth. Nick Markakis grounded into a double play to end the top of the sixth. Peter Bourjos roped a line drive to right field, but it was right at Markakis. Adonis Garcia then grounded out to third to leave three men on in the seventh inning, the last for Thompson. After taking a moment to think, Snitker couldn't recall a time where he saw teams load the bases and proceed to not score for four consecutive half-innings. "I live inning to inning," Snitker said. "Once the inning's over, I'm turning the page and thinking about the next one. In the seventh, I was trying to figure out who to pitch in the eighth. … I guess any team could have blown this thing wide open, but their starter did a really good job. He's pretty good at getting out of trouble, too."
• Sunday's game came close to breaking a Major League record. At 3 hours and 13 minutes, the Phillies and Braves came 20 minutes short of playing the longest nine-inning, 2-0 game in MLB history. The longest remains the Yankees' 2-0 win over the Twins on July 12, 2013, checking in at 3 hours and 33 minutes.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies open at three-game series in Miami on Monday at 1:10 p.m. ET. Jerad Eickhoff will take the mound, making his 28th start of the year. Eickhoff (9-13, 3.90 ERA) enters Monday with the team lead in innings pitched at 161 2/3.

PHILS PHACTS:

Wasted Effort – It's unclear how long Jake Thompson will continue to pitch this season, but the 22-year-old has been making the most of his innings lately. Thompson pitched seven strong frames in a 2-0 loss to the Braves on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, allowing just one run and striking out six. It was the second consecutive start Thompson has gone seven innings after he posted a 9.78 ERA in his first four Major League starts. "It's nice to get a little momentum going," said Thompson, who gave up his only run on a solo homer to Matt Kemp. "Now I've got a pretty good bulk of innings to work off of. I know what to expect, now I've got to work off that." On Sunday, Thompson skirted through trouble in the sixth and seventh innings. The Braves loaded the bases in both frames, and Phillies manager Pete Mackanin allowed Thompson to stay in the game and work his way out of the jams. Thompson did not allow a run in either inning. In the sixth, the right-hander temporarily lost his control. Thompson issued his first two walks of the game, including a few pitches in the dirt, to load the bases with one out. But he zoned back in after a meeting with pitching coach Bob McClure and got Nick Markakis to ground into an inning-ending double play. In the seventh, Thompson almost got another double play to get out of a jam, but third baseman Maikel Franco did not successfully tag Jace Peterson on the basepaths. An intentional walk to Ender Inciarte gave the Braves another bases-loaded opportunity. Even with his pitch count above 90, the Phillies let Thompson remain in the game, and he got Adonis Garcia to ground out to end the seventh inning on his 100th pitch. "We're trying to develop pitchers who go deep into games," Mackanin said. "I saw no reason to not let him battle his way out of that. He did a great job. I couldn't be happier with his performance. "That's what we're looking for. We're looking for people who will fit in in the future." Combined with his work at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Thompson has pitched 163 innings in 27 games this year. The Phillies -- who shut down 24-year-old righty Vince Velasquez after his Saturday start -- are monitoring Thompson's workload closely, but it seems he'll get a few more starts in 2016. "The last one was really encouraging," Philadelphia general manager Matt Klentak said before Thompson's Sunday start. "Much like we went into the season without a specific target for Vince, we're going to have to play it out with Jake as well." Added Thompson: "I understand their plan. That's not saying that I won't put up a fight in it. I understand what they're doing. I understand the long-term goals, and whatever is best for this organization, I'm going to do."

GM Pleased – Phillies general manager Matt Klentak told Vince Velasquez on Wednesday that the right-hander would be making his last start of 2016 on Saturday. Klentak was hoping the 24-year-old would end his first full Major League season year on a high note. Seven innings and eight strikeouts later, the GM got his wish. After hitting a rough patch in August, Velasquez looked like a potential future rotation fixture for the Phillies in his last two outings. In starts against the Mets and Braves, Velasquez combined to allow just three earned runs in 12 innings, and he had 15 strikeouts and just one walk in that span. "That's all we really could have hoped for," Klentak said. "... We didn't know exactly when that would be. But as we monitored his workload, his innings, his pitches, the intensity of those innings and outings, this was going to be the right time to do it. We told him on Wednesday. Vince was good with it. Obviously we wanted him to go out on a positive note, and credit to him, that's exactly what he did [Saturday] night." Velasquez ended the year with a 4.12 ERA, throwing 131 innings in 24 starts. The most eye-popping statistic for Velasquez were his strikeouts. He had 152 on the season, including 16 in a shutout against the Padres on April 14. His 10.4 strikeout/nine inning mark was the best among Phillies starters. "It's not easy to strike out 10 hitters per nine in the big leagues," Klentak said. "It's not easy to do that at any level as a starting pitcher, especially in this league. For him to be able to do that for five straight months, that's really impressive." Velasquez had 10 starts in which he went five innings or fewer, including a June 8 outing against the Cubs when he was pulled in the first inning due to an injury. Klentak noted he's hoping to see Velasquez figure out how to go deeper in games as his career continues. "I think we've seen that throughout baseball history, strikeout pitchers mature and become more comfortable in the league," Klentak said. "They understand when it's time to miss a bat and put a hitter away, and when it's time to get some contact. I'm thrilled with the progress Vince made this year." Klentak added it's likely right-hander Alec Asher would take Velasquez's spot in the rotation and start Thursday at Atlanta. Asher is serving an 80-game PED suspension, but it is set to conclude prior to that game. Asher, 24, made seven starts for the Phils last season, going 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA. He is not currently on the Phillies' 40-man roster. Klentak said that he expects approximately six additional players to be called up to the Majors once Triple-A Lehigh Valley wraps up the International League postseason. The Phillies called up three players -- Patrick Schuster, Darin Ruf and Colton Murray -- on Sept. 1.

Today In Phils History – The Phillies ended their double header in 1913 having only scored 1 run but coming away without losing a game (winning 1-0 in game 1 and ending in a 0-0 tie in game 2). The Phillies released Hack Wilson on this day in 1934. Curt Simmons became the 1^st MLB player to be called into service in response to the Korean Conflict when he was inducted into the Army on this day in 1950 (he made one more regular season start but missed the World Series that season). 2 years later, Robin Robert won his 23^rd game of the season after pitching 17 innings and securing the victory on a Del Ennis homerun. 3 years later, Dodger Don Newcombe defeated the Phillies from the mound and at the plate securing his 20^th win and hitting his, NL record for pitchers, 7^th homerun. Larry Christenson hit 2 homeruns and got the win against the Mets in 1976. 2 years later, the Phillies claimed current manager Pete MacKanin off waivers from Montreal. With 2 long balls by Mike Lieberthal and Jimmy Rollins on this day in 2004, the Phillies set a record for most homeruns at home in a season, surpassing the mark of 101 set in 1977. Also on this day, Pat Combs made his MLB debut in 1989. Finally, happy birthday to Nap Lajoie who was born on this day in 1874 and Rod Barajas who was born 101 years later.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 60-76 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-63-3 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 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.