Giles Greeted By New Look Phillies

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Phillies Top Astros 5-4

Nobody knows where it will go once the regular season starts, but the Phillies are showing some pop in their bats this spring. Cesar Hernandez hit a leadoff home run in the first inning in Sunday afternoon's 5-4 victory over the Astros in a Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field. It was Hernandez's first homer of the spring and the Phillies' 29th. They entered the afternoon with the second-most home runs of any team in Spring Training. Hernandez finished the day with three hits and three RBIs. He singled to drive in Cedric Hunter in the fifth and doubled to score David Lough in the seventh. Hernandez scored the game-winning run on a safety squeeze by Freddy Galvis later in the seventh. The Phillies scored twice in the fifth inning against Ken Giles, who is Houston's likely closer. It was the first time Giles faced the Phillies since they traded him in December. Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who is in line to start Opening Day, allowed no hits and three walks and struck out six in five scoreless innings. Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, who is battling for a job on the team, allowed two hits and one run and struck out five in four innings. The Astros took a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning when Colby Rasmus hit a three-run home run to right field off Phillies reliever Hector Neris.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera has not played since March 12 because of a bruised left finger. He said he plans to hit again Tuesday. Mackanin said the Phillies are being "very careful with him," which makes sense because they are very thin in the outfield without Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche. "We're going to give him time to get 100 percent," Mackanin said. "He's a big part of our offense, and we don't want to take any chances with him. He'll be ready for the opener."
• The Phillies have had two successful squeezes in the last two games. Charlie Morton executed a safety squeeze Friday and Freddy Galvis executed a suicide squeeze to score the game-winning run in the seventh Sunday. "That's the kind of offense we're going to have to utilize," Mackanin said. "We're going to have to do a lot of different things to make the other team nervous."
• Left-handers Daniel Stumpf (4.00 ERA) and Bobby LaFromboise (0.00 ERA) each threw a scoreless inning. Both are competing for a bullpen job.
• The Phillies celebrated Alumni Day before the game, honoring former Phillies like Darren Daulton, Dick Allen, Dave Cash and Ron Clark.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Aaron Nola is scheduled to start Monday's Game against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., at 1:05 p.m. ET. The game can be heard with a free, live exclusive webcast on MLB.com. Nola is on schedule to start the second game of the season and the home opener April 11. 

PHILS PHACTS:

Facing A Former Phillie – Ken Giles flashed a smile and shook a few hands on Sunday morning at Bright House Field. A couple hours later his fastball flashed 101 mph on the scoreboard. During the Phillies' 5-4 win on Sunday, Giles faced his former team for the first time since it traded him to Houston in December. The Phillies sent Giles and Minor League infielder Jonathan Arauz to the Astros for five pitchers: right-handers Vince Velasquez, Mark Appel, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz and left-hander Brett Oberholtzer. Velasquez is the favorite to be the team's No. 5 starter, while Oberholtzer is expected to open the season in the bullpen. "I think it's great," Giles said about being the key piece in a seven-player trade. "I didn't think I was that valuable to begin with because I'm just a reliever. Nobody thinks a reliever is that valuable. The market's changed for a reliever. I feel humbled that they thought of me as that valuable, and hopefully both teams get the best benefit." Giles seemed a little fired up to face the Phillies. His first pitch to J.P. Arencibia, who led off the fifth, hit 101 mph. But the Phillies still got him for two runs. Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel hit a 99 mph fastball to center field for a one-out single. Pinch-hitter Cedric Hunter then hit an 86 mph slider for a two-out double down the right-field line to score Goeddel to make it 2-0. Cesar Hernandez followed, hitting a 97 mph fastball to left field for a single to score Hunter. "They said he throws hard," Goeddel said. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin liked the fact Goeddel squared up the fastball from Giles because he had been tardy on them lately. "I was just trying to get on top of something," Goeddel said. "You've got to hit the fastball in this game to be successful. I've been trying to shorten everything up." "He's been working on a little flaw in his mechanics," Mackanin said. "It was good to see. "I like Hunter a lot. He's an aggressive hitter. The guy comes up there to do damage. I like aggressive hitters. We've tried with a few guys the past few years to be aggressive early in the count, but they haven't been. They're starting to get the hint." Hernandez went 3-for-4 with one double, one home run and three RBIs. He is hitting .390 (16-for-41) with three doubles, one triple, one home run and eight RBIs this spring. "Thank God it's gone well," Hernandez said about his spring through Arencibia, who translated for him. "I'm a lot more relaxed. Now I understand I'm an everyday player so I know I'm going to be out there every day."

Ready For Opening Day? – Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is on target to start Opening Day. The Phillies have made no official announcement, but Hellickson's pitching schedule lines up with an Opening Day start on April 4 against the Reds in Cincinnati. He allowed no hits, three walks and struck out six in five scoreless innings Sunday in a 5-4 victory over the Astros at Bright House Field and is scheduled to pitch Friday and again March 30. Aaron Nola is on schedule to start the second game of the regular season, which would put him on track to start the home opener April 11 against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park. "We're not going to commit to anything right now," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We haven't said anything to anybody." Hellickson, 28, would love the opportunity. "The first dream is to make it [to the big leagues]. The other one is to be the Opening Day starter," he said. "Either way it doesn't matter, but it would be an honor." Sunday was Hellickson's first start in a Grapefruit League game since March 4. He missed some time because of the flu and then had Saturday's start against the Blue Jays rained out. "It's been an odd schedule, but I got four innings in a Minor League game (March 13)," Hellickson said. "But it felt like forever since I pitched up here." Hellickon said his goal this spring is simple: return to the way he pitched earlier in his career. He went 27-21 with a 3.06 ERA in 70 appearances (64 starts) the first three years of his career, which included winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2011. But he is 22-27 with a 4.86 ERA in 72 appearances (71 starts) in three seasons since. "I think I was giving in to guys too easy," he said. "I was throwing a lot of 2-0 fastballs, 2-1 fastballs. If I walk a guy, I walk a guy. It's just not giving in anymore. If I locate my fastball it's a different story. I just couldn't get my fastball down when I needed to. I was getting hurt a lot with guys in scoring position. My first couple years if I walked a guy on a 3-1 changeup, I'll just went after the next guy."

Starter Moves To Bullpen – Brett Oberholtzer can read between the lines. But he can read the Phillies' pitching schedule, too. He will pitch back-to-back games as a reliever later this week, which is a good indication he will open the season in the bullpen. "I guess the writing is on the wall," Oberholtzer said Sunday morning at Bright House Field. "Literally." Oberholtzer, 26, is out of options, so he had a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster. The Phillies acquired him in the Ken Giles trade in December, so they obviously had no plans of losing him. But the storyline entering Spring Training is that he had a chance to be the Phillies' No. 5 starter because he has a 3.84 ERA in 42 big league starts. The Phillies need quality starters. Phillies starters not named Cole Hamels, Adam Morgan,Aaron Nola or Jerad Eickhoff posted a combined 6.19 ERA in 106 starts last season. That cannot happen again. But while everybody acknowledged Oberholtzer deserved consideration to start, the belief remained that he would open in the bullpen because of his versatility and because the Phillies also liked Vince Velasquez and Morgan. Oberholtzer threw eight scoreless innings in Grapefruit League action, plus three scoreless innings in a Minor League game, while Velasquez has a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings -- including allowing just one run and striking out seven in his last start, which saw him go five innings -- and Morgan has a 2.00 ERA in nine innings, plus five scoreless innings in a Minor League game. Velasquez or Morgan will be the Phillies' No. 5, assuming Jeremy Hellickson, Nola, Charlie Morton and Eickhoff open the season healthy. Oberholtzer said he is OK with the situation. "Absolutely," he said. "Once the roster is set and we head up to Philly, there's going to be moves just because guys get hurt and things happen. For me, it's just go out there and be prepared for any role." Oberholtzer could be the first option to start should somebody get injured early in the season. Because of his versatility, he has experience with having his role fluctuate throughout the season. "I've been in the bullpen and up and down and used in different roles at different times, so I've been accustomed to not throwing, throwing, different schedules and all that stuff," Oberholtzer said. "It's just really getting used to a routine and going about it that way. Being prepared to be used every other day or every day, three innings, maybe one batter. I for sure think I have the mentality for it. To be able to go out there and get outs whenever my name is called. But again there's nothing that's set in stone." Nothing is official, but Oberholtzer also has been around long enough to know what's happening. "I haven't gotten a start officially," he said. "So yeah, I feel like I kind of got the hint that maybe it's the role they're using me in."

Lucky Play – Ryan Howard turned an unassisted double play during Sunday's Phillies-Astros Grapefruit League game. Now, there are two ways it could've gone down. If you watch the clip, it looks like Howard dropped Colby Rasmus' fourth-inning liner by accident, and then haphazardly turned it into an unassisted double play amid the chaos and confusion at first. And that may very well have been the case. Or, it could've all been part of his plan. After all, Howard's played almost 1,400 MLB games at first. He's fielded a lot of liners. He could've flubbed the catch on purpose, knowing he'd be able to nab Carlos Correa taking off for second. He could be a master of deception. Either way, he ended the inning, so it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But whichever you believe probably says a lot about you as a person, just saying. 

Today In Phils History - In a bipolar show of affection the Phillies honored Robin Roberts with a cocktail party to retire his number the same night following an exhibition game during which they roughed him up but lost to his new team, the Yankees. 15 years later, the Phillies paid their respects to cross Commonwealth rival Roberto Clemente by traveling to Puerto Rico to play a two-game exhibition series against the Pirates to benefit sports programs honoring the late superstar. Finally, it was 2 years ago today when Freddy Galvis was diagnosed with an infection form antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing Galvis to be placed on the DL and the Phillies having to disinfect the entire clubhouse.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have begun the spring with a 13-5-2 record (14-5-2 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!

Will Frenchy Return To Philly?

PHILS PHACTS:

Will He Be Back? – Jeff Francoeur made his feelings about the Phillies pretty clear late last season. He would love to return for at least another year. But will Francoeur be back? And if not him, who? Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock declined to comment on negotiations with Francoeur, citing a memo from the Commissioner's Office regarding free agency. "I really don't have anything to report," Proefrock said. "But one thing I can speak about is the job Jeff did for us last year and how valuable he was in the clubhouse. He was a good fit as a veteran who understood his role and he was a great influence on our young players." But while sources said the Phillies remain interested in Francoeur, they are exploring other options. They are not expected to be in the running for free-agent outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon, who will receive the most lucrative multiyear deals this offseason. But other everyday and part-time outfielders like Chris Young, Ryan Raburn, David Murphy, Rajai Davis, Alejandro De Aza and Justin Ruggiano might be a fit. Francoeur hit .258 with 16 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 45 RBIs and a .718 OPS in 343 plate appearances last season. Off the field, he established himself as a sorely needed vocal leader. Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has said a positive culture in the clubhouse is important to him, but the potential for more production offensively from other outfielders might outweigh that. Certainly the free-agent market has been slow moving to this point, so nothing is imminent, but eventually the Phillies are expected to add at least one veteran outfielder to the 40-man roster because they have too many question marks in the outfield. Whether or not that veteran is Francoeur remains to be seen.

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.

Phillies’ Offense Sputtering To Life

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Pirates Pinch Phillies 6-5

Sebastian Valle ripped a walk-off double in the ninth inning to cap a comeback from four runs down as the Pirates topped the Phillies, 6-5, on Friday at McKechnie Field. Brian Bogusevic began the scoring with a solo homer and Cody Asche added a two-run homer to give the Phillies the early lead against former teammate Vance Worley. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, competing for a spot in Philadelphia's rotation, blanked the Pirates for three innings before surrendering consecutive doubles in the fourth to Starling Marte and Pedro Alvarez. Gonzalez, who had allowed 12 hits and seven runs in his first seven innings of the spring, went 3 1/3 innings and gave up five hits and a run. Alvarez added a two-run opposite-field homer off left-hander Mario Hollands in the sixth. Jose Tabata's RBI single capped a three-run inning to draw the Pirates within 5-4. Tony Sanchez tied it with an RBI double in the eighth, driving in Alvarez, who had doubled. Worley stretched out to five innings, Pittsburgh's first hurler to go beyond four this spring. He gave up a total of six hits and struck out four without issuing a walk; he has walked one in a total of 11 innings. "Is that all?" Worley responded, surprised. "That's real good. I usually don't get real sharp command until the last [preseason] game, but I've been able to locate early to both sides of the plate." Steve Lombardozzi, battling as a non-roster invitee for a spot on the Pirates' bench, had two hits to raise his spring average to .346. Jordy Mercer and Marte, batting .387 after five hits in his last seven at-bats, also had multihit games for the Bucs.

TODAY’S EXHIBITION GAME:

Left-hander Cole Hamels is scheduled to make his fourth start of the spring as the Phillies host the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. ET at Bright House Field, with the game on MLB.TV. Hamels, the subject of seemingly endless trade speculation this spring, gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in only two innings of work against the Orioles on Monday. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is scheduled to start for Toronto.

PHILS NOTES:

• Reliever Ken Giles entered Friday's game in the fourth inning with two on and one out. Sandberg said he chose that moment for Giles in part so he could face some of Pittsburgh's big league hitters, but it was also something of a test for Giles. The 24-year-old pitched more than one inning in eight of his 44 appearances last year. He got through 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts on Friday. Could more of those outings be in his future? "He can be a four-out type of guy," Sandberg said. "Probably depends on how it goes."
• Left-hander Mario Hollands struggled on Friday, allowing three runs on four hits while recording only two outs. Despite his experience in the Majors last year, Hollands isn't a lock to earn a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. "We're looking at a lot of guys for the last few spots in the bullpen," Sandberg said. "With about half of the camp to go as far as games go, there's still some competition, looking at some different guys."

PHILS PHACTS:

One Day At A Time – Phillies right fielder Domonic Brown underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed no tear in his left Achilles, but he does have moderate tendinitis. Brown is listed as day to day, but he could be out of Grapefruit League games for up to a week. Brown left Thursday night's game against the Yankees in the third inning due to soreness in his left Achilles, and he revealed that the tendon had been bothering him for several weeks. Brown said he began to feel soreness in the area when he started chasing after Yankees third baseman Chase Headley's second-inning home run at George M. Steinbrenner Field. "I want to be in there, Spring Training or not," Brown told reporters on Thursday night. "I feel pretty good at the plate. I don't want to miss any time, but this is part of the game, also. I'm definitely frustrated for sure. It seemed like we were going in the right direction, it was getting a little bit better." Brown is hitting .241 (7-for-29) this spring. The Phillies are hoping for a bounce-back campaign from the 27-year-old, who hit .235/.285/.349 with 10 home runs last year after a breakout, All-Star 2013 season in which he hit .272/.324/.494 with 27 homers.

Winning The Battle For Third – The Phillies answered any remaining third-base questions on Friday morning when they sent top prospect Maikel Franco to Minor League camp. That means the job still belongs to Cody Asche, and his performance so far this spring has been encouraging to the club. Asche went deep for the second straight day on Friday afternoon vs. the Pirates at McKechnie Field. After launching a home run off the Yankees' Esmil Rogers on Thursday night, Asche crushed an 0-1 pitch from former Phillies starter Vance Worley over the boardwalk beyond the right-field fence. The 24-year-old third baseman hit .252/.309/.390 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs, but Asche struck out 102 times in 121 games for the Phillies last year. Manager Ryne Sandberg said the club asked Asche to make a few adjustments over the offseason, and the Phils like what they've seen so far as Asche is off to an 8-for-30 (.267) start at the plate. "I think he's having a real good spring, just from making adjustments on what he needed to work on from last year," Sandberg said. "He has a real good two-strike approach. He's putting balls in play, and he has a short, nice, sweet stroke resulting in some balls hit hard and home runs here in the camp. I think he took to heart our suggestions over the offseason, and he's showing results through the camp. "I think he's one of our more solid hitters as we speak."

Showing Improvement – Phillies right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez put together his best outing of the spring Friday afternoon against the Pirates at McKechnie Field. Gonzalez entered the day with a 9.00 ERA in Grapefruit League play through his first three appearances, having given up seven runs on 12 hits and three home runs in seven innings. Facing a Pirates split squad on Friday, Gonzalez gave up only one run on five hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Most of the damage done against Gonzalez came in his final inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Steve Lombardozzi to begin the game then retired eight straight hitters. The righty gave up two more singles in the third, but escaped the inning without allowing a run. But Gonzalez staggered when he came out for the fourth. After recording one out, he served up back-to-back doubles to Pirates center fielder Starling Marte and first baseman Pedro Alvarez. He walked the next batter, Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez, and left the game for reliever Ken Giles. "His last couple innings, he pitched behind in the count a little, but he made some pitches when he had to," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. Gonzalez struggled in his limited time in the Majors last season, giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Phillies. But that came after a solid three months in the Minors. From June 20-Aug. 30, Gonzalez recorded a 2.19 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .195 average during stops at Class A Advanced Clearwater, Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Gonzalez, in the second season of a three-year, $12 million contract, is competing for a spot in the Phillies' rotation this spring. Left-hander Joely Rodriguez, one of the other candidates for the job, was optioned to Minor League camp on Friday morning, leaving Kevin Slowey and Paul Clemens as Gonzalez's primary competition to fill the last spot behind Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams and David Buchanan. Continuing on the pace he set Friday would help bolster Gonzalez's case for the job. His fastball velocity peaked at 95 mph, and he picked up his only strikeout by getting Alvarez to whiff at a changeup during the second inning. "Overall, he continues to show improvement out there," Sandberg said.

Patience Grasshoppers – Maikel Franco was scheduled to ride the bus to Bradenton on Friday morning and serve as the Phillies' designated hitter against the Pirates. Instead, Franco packed up his bags inside the Phillies' clubhouse and headed to the Minor Leagues. The Phillies optioned Franco, their No. 3 prospect as ranked by MLB.com, along with lefty Joely Rodriguez and right-hander Nefi Ogando to Minor League camp Friday morning. Franco, 22, went 6-for-30 (.200) with one RBI and four strikeouts this spring. He came into camp with an opportunity to push third baseman Cody Asche for a job on the big league roster. Last spring, Franco went 7-for-38 (.184) with two RBIs and six strikeouts. He didn't record an extra-base hit either year. "Maikel's time's going to come," said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. "I know he's upset, because I know that he probably wanted to write a different script for himself, but the fact of the matter is just like any other young player who we feel is going to impact the Major Leagues, his time will come when it's time for him to come. "I think there was probably some element of him trying to do a little too much, like he did last spring. But he doesn't need to impress us. He just needs to go play." Franco will do that in the Minors, spending most of his time at third base and some at first base. He spent last year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, batting .257/.299/.428 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs. In 16 games with the Phillies last season, Franco hit .179 with five RBIs and 13 strikeouts. "When he gets a chance to be back in the big leagues, play a few games and have some success, it'll carry," Amaro said. "It's just a matter of him getting the opportunity, and he'll get the opportunity, because he's going to create it for himself." Rodriguez, acquired from the Pirates in the Antonio Bastardo trade, had been mentioned by the Phillies as a possible rotation candidate. The 23-year-old gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks over nine innings this spring. "He's got a good, steady demeanor. Great kid," Amaro said. "I think he's going to help us. I'm not sure when. At some point this year, he'll probably help us." Ogando, 25, also impressed in four appearances this spring. He held opposing batters to four hits and struck out six while allowing only one run over 5 1/3 innings.

ON THE RECORD:

The Phillies will look to rebound this season from a 73-89 record last year. While uncertainty abounds, there is little question that the franchise is in rebuild mode based on the moves and statements that have been made during the offseason. The only question that remains is whether or not the young and veteran talent on the team can work together to disprove Gillick’s predictions either this year or next.