Phillies Stave Off Cubs For The Win

GAME RECAP: Phillies Control Cubs 3-2

The Phillies needed brilliant efforts from Jerad Eickhoff and Jeanmar Gomez to beat the Cubs on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Both delivered in a 3-2 victory over Chicago, preventing a season sweep, as the teams play the series and season finales Wednesday. Eickhoff allowed just two hits, one run, two walks and struck out eight over seven innings to give the Phillies just their fifth victory in their last 18 games. The Cubs threatened in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, but Gomez replaced Hector Neris and allowed only one run to score to work out of the jam as he picked up his Major League-leading 19th save. "Wow," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "That was just a little loss for the Cubs, but it was a huge morale booster for us." Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard homered in his first start since May 31 to help the Phillies' offense. "It's good," Howard said. "I wasn't thinking about the week or the past 10 days, I was just thinking about that moment. I got a good pitch to hit, he hung me a breaking ball and I was able to hit it out."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Eickhoff pitched a gem in a game the Phillies sorely needed. It was just the third time this season a starter had pitched seven or more innings and allowed one or fewer runs against the high-octane Cubs offense. Eickhoff, who has a 2.76 ERA (10 earned runs in 32 2/3 innings) in his last five starts, struck out six of seven batters at one point. "He just made pitches," Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward said. "All night I feel like we had good at-bats, got to 3-2 counts a lot. He was able to make some pitches and that was kinda it. We faced him recently. Hitters adjust, but he was able to make an adjustment tonight.
• Things looked bleak for the Phillies in the eighth when the Cubs loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to a Cesar Hernandez error and a couple hits allowed by Neris. But Gomez entered the game to pick up a six-out save and came up big. He allowed a sacrifice fly for the first out. Jason Heyward then hit a smash to Andres Blanco, who had just replaced Hernandez at second base. Blanco flipped the ball to Freddy Galvis, who threw to first to complete an incredible inning-ending and game-saving double play. "I said, this is the guy I want to face the top of that lineup right now," Galvis said about Gomez. "He trusts his stuff. His ball has a lot of movement right now. He controls the ball. That's why he is so good."
• "Nobody believes it. I was talking to Whitey [Blanco] and Jeanmar. This is going to sound weird, but he has no emotions. He's like really chill when he pitches." -- Galvis, on what has made Gomez so effective as the team's closer.
• Howard has been a hot topic of conversation lately as Mackanin benched him last week and a fan threw a beer bottle at him Saturday. But Howard, starting for the first time since May 31, hit a solo home run to right-center field in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. It was his 366th career homer, which ties him with Lance Berkman for 80th on the all-time list.
• Cubs reliever Clayton Richard caught Odubel Herrera between first and second on a pickoff move in the eighth inning. Herrera sped toward second after Richard tossed the ball to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo fired a throw to beat Herrera to second, but Herrera dodged Zobrist's tag. The Cubs challenged and it took 2 minutes, 45 seconds to uphold the call. Maddon is now 7-for-15 on challenges this season.

NEXT GAME:

Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez starts the series finale at 1:05 p.m. ET against the Cubs. Velasquez (5-2, 3.67 ERA) has not pitched more than five innings in each of his previous four starts, posting a 6.00 ERA.

PHILS PHACTS:

There’s A New Hoff In Town – If the Phillies had any chance to beat the Cubs this season, they needed one of their starting pitchers to pitch nearly perfectly. Jerad Eickhoff came close Tuesday night in a 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed two hits, one run, two walks and struck out eight in seven innings. It was just the third time this season a starter had allowed one or fewer runs in seven or more innings against the high-octane Cubs offense. "That's as good as he's been all year," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Eickhoff struck out seven batters through four innings. He struck out the side in the fourth, giving him six strikeouts in seven at-bats. It helped that he showed the Cubs a bit of a different look. Eickhoff threw a career-high 28 sliders. His previous high had been 25, which came in his previous start. He struck out three batters on the pitch Tuesday. He had struck out just five batters on sliders the entire season entering the night. Eickhoff's best pitch is his curveball. He entered the game with 40 strikeouts on that pitch. But the slider was working well Tuesday, so he kept with it. It has been a conscious effort on his part. It began a few starts ago following a conversation with Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure, and another talk with Phillies broadcaster Larry Andersen. Eickhoff threw his slider just 6.1 percent of the time in April and 14 percent of the time in May. That number is up to 26.6 percent through two June starts. "That was kind of the spark," Eickhoff said. "To key them off my fastball and curveball. It's a huge thing to think about, just a third pitch for the hitters."

Tough Save – Freddy Galvis looked up at the scoreboard in the top of the eighth inning Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park to see exactly who Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez needed to beat with the bases loaded and no outs to pick up his 19th save of the season. He had to face the top of the Cubs' lineup with the Phillies holding a two-run lead. "I said, this is the guy I want to face the top of that lineup right now," Galvis said after a dramatic 3-2 victory. "He trusts his stuff. His ball has a lot of movement right now. He controls the ball. That's why he is so good." Gomez, who replaced Hector Neris, got Dexter Fowler to hit a sacrifice fly to left field for the first out. He then got Jason Heyward to hit a bullet to Phillies second baseman Andres Blanco, who replaced Cesar Hernandez in a double switch. Blanco slid to his right, backhanded the ball and flipped it to Galvis at second base. Galvis caught the relay, avoided the slide from Javier Baez and threw to first baseman Ryan Howard for the inning-ending and game-saving double play. "I don't give Gomez the only save," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I give Freddy and Blanco one, for turning that double play in the eighth inning. Wow. That was a special play." Blanco told Galvis afterward that he just wanted to knock down the ball. He did better than that and made a perfect flip. "I just tried to get away from the runner," Galvis said. "We were talking about the new rule at second base. If this happened last year, he might have killed me right there, you know?" Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth. The guy who entered the season as a middle reliever suddenly leads Major League Baseball in saves. "I didn't know what role I would have," Gomez said. "I just try to be ready." "Nobody believes it," Galvis said. "I was talking to Whitey [Blanco] and Jeanmar. This is going to sound weird, but he has no emotions. He's like really chill when he pitches. Whatever happens, happens. He's a Christian guy, so when he goes to the mound he says, 'I'm here, I'm going to throw the ball and that's it.' He has no emotions, so he's controlling himself in that moment. It's really good to have a closer without emotions like that. He can stay in the game, even if he gives up a homer or something like that. He stays in the game." And most of the time when he is pitching with a lead in the ninth, the Phillies win.

Defense Only Does So Much – The biggest reason the Phillies acquired Peter Bourjos in the offseason is they loved his defense. But his stellar defense and its benefits to a young pitching staff no longer outweigh his offensive struggles. "Unfortunately, yes," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We were just talking about that. He has got to make a drastic change to his approach offensively. Because he just has that tendency to pull off the ball too much." Bourjos, who started 43 of the team's first 51 games, has started just one of the last eight after starting on the bench Tuesday night because he is hitting .196 with a .511 OPS in 158 plate appearances. There are 215 hitters with 150 or more plate appearances this season. According to FanGraphs, Bourjos' offensive production is next-to-last in baseball, above only Erick Aybar. Bourjos' wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) is 34. Aybar's is 13. According to Baseball Savant, 42.5 percent of pitches thrown to Bourjos this season have been breaking balls, which ranks eighth in baseball among 238 hitters that have seen 500 or more pitches this season. "Well, you know, he's got to make an adjustment," Mackanin said about Bourjos seeing a steady diet of breaking balls. "I love his defense. He has to make adjustments mechanically like a lot of our guys." Of course, Bourjos made a fine defensive play in the ninth inning in Tuesday's 3-2victory over the Cubs. He cut off a ball in right-center field to prevent the tying run from scoring. "Not too many right fielders would have cut that ball off in right-center like Bourjos did," Mackanin said. "I give him a save, as well. Defense really saved us."

Can’t Blame The Coaches – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has talked plenty lately about his hitters' approach at the plate. He sees Maikel Franco and Peter Bourjos pulling off the ball. He sees Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis chasing too many pitches outside the strike zone. He sees Cesar Hernandez mishandling offspeed pitches. Their struggles, among others, are why the Phillies rank 29th in baseball, averaging 3.24 runs per game. But Mackanin made it clear Tuesday he thinks Phillies hitting coach Steve Henderson is delivering the proper message to his hitters. "I listen to him, and I go in the cage and I watch what they're doing, and they are doing exactly what they need to be doing," Mackanin said. "And in the cage, they do it. The hard part is taking it into a game. You can only teach so much. "I've said this many times, but I can't teach you how to ride a bike. You got to get on it and feel it. Ice skate, I can't teach you how to ice skate. I can tell you how to tie your skates and push off, but you've got to figure it out." Coaches can be easy scapegoats, regardless of a team's expectations or talent level. Mackanin knows a coach can only do so much. "If you're a hitting coach and you're teaching a guy to do something, and he does it in the cage over and over again and then in the game he doesn't bring it, all you can do is show him the video," Mackanin said. "'Look it, you're not doing it. Let's do it.' And then they take it out into batting practice and do it and then in a game; it's uncomfortable. "It's like teaching a guy a [split-finger fastball]. On the side he says 'OK, that feels good.' Is he going to throw it in the game? Is he going to push it? Is he going to let it go? It's hard to do, but if you want to improve you've got to do it. If you don't do it, you're not going to improve."

Today In Phils History – It is all about the 2’s today. It starts in 1914 when Fred Luderus hit two home runs with the first being the result of the ball getting lodged in a hole in the brick wall for an inside-the-park home run. In 1968, outfielder Howie Bedell hit a sacrifice fly to collect his only RBI of the season which also ended Don Drysdale's record scoreless innings streak at 58 2/3 innings. While not known as a power hitter by any stretch of the imagination, Steve Jeltz hit 2 homeruns, 1 from each side of the plate, to lead the Phillies back from a 10 run deficit in 1989 against the Pirates. 7 years later, in the 1^st Phillies game shown on the Fox Network, Jim Eisenreich hit 2 homers in the loss to Houston. And, finally, the Phillies got 2 for 1 in 2005, when they traded Placido Polanco to Detroit for Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Martinez.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 29-30 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 48-57-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!

And The Slide Continues For The Phillies

GAME RECAP: Nats Down Phils 5-1

Daniel Murphy completed his scorching hot month of May with another multi-hit game, including a solo home run, and Joe Ross delivered a strong outing to help lead the Nationals to a 5-1 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Murphy improved his average to .397 on the season and tied a franchise record for most hits in a single month with 47, including seven homers. He had only homered seven times in a single month once, this past October while he helped the Mets complete their run to the World Series. "Murph's ready to hit June, July August and September," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "And we've seen him in October. Doesn't really matter, just as long as we can keep him healthy and happy." The Nationals had four homers on the day -- Jayson Werth's solo homer in the first inning, Murphy's homer in the sixth, Danny Espinosa's two-run homer in the ninth inning followed by a pinch-hit inside the park home run from Stephen Drew -- to back Ross, who tossed seven innings of one-run ball. The Nationals will go for a series sweep Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has dropped nine of its last 11 games despite starter Aaron Nola's solid outing. Nola struck out six over six innings, allowing two runs. "That was the one bright spot," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Nola's outing. Bryce Harper sat out with a right knee contusion after being hit by a Jeremy Hellickson pitch in Monday's game.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Despite being only 22 years old and in his first full Major League season, Nola has flourished in his role as the quasi-ace of a staff that never really had one. He took the loss on Tuesday, but to no fault of his own. Nola notched his ninth quality start in 11 tries. He stranded three Nationals on base, escaping the rare jam in which he found himself. The only damage off the Nats' bats against Nola came on two solo home runs. "He competes pitch by pitch is what he does and he doesn't let anything bother him," Mackanin said. "He's like a golfer who sees the water in front of him and the sandtraps to the side and just puts that out of focus." 
• It remains a mystery where the Phillies' offense will come from each night. On Tuesday, the lone run was driven in by a Cesar Hernandez triple. Hernandez was batting eighth only because Pete Mackanin was hoping "to change our luck" offensively. In the past 33 games played at NL parks, Mackanin had hit the pitcher eighth in all but one. But Hernandez, in the eight hole, was the catalyst for the bottom third of the Phils' order. Three of the Phillies' four hits came from their bottom three -- two singles from David Lough on top of Hernandez's triple. "We're just getting out-homered every night," Mackanin said. "Four hits. We're not hitting home runs. I feel like it's a broken record -- we're not hitting."

NEXT GAME:

Adam Morgan (1-3, 6.67 ERA) gets the ball for the Phillies in the series finale against Washington. He has lost his last three starts and his only two quality starts this season have come against the last-place Braves.

PHILS PHACTS:

Nola Continues To Mature – After Clint Robinson reached third with no outs, Aaron Nola appeared to be in trouble in the second inning of the Phillies' 5-1 loss to the Nationals on Tuesday. But Nola bore down and retired three of the next four Nats to strand Robinson on third and keep the Phillies within one. After getting Joe Ross swinging to end the frame, the typically stoic right-hander couldn't contain a fist pump as he left the mound. Nola left for good after the sixth. The two runs he allowed came on two solo home runs. He scattered four more Nats' baserunners and struck out six en route to his ninth quality start in 11 tries. "That was the bright spot of the night," manager Pete Mackanin said. Look beyond Nola, and you'll find just one run scored, four hits and a bullpen that let the score escalate from 2-1 to 5-1. Of Nola's 96 pitches, he'll categorize only two as mistakes: a first-pitch fastball to Jayson Werth in the first inning and another heater to Daniel Murphy in the sixth. Both landed in the seats. After each home run, though, Nola ended the damage there. After Werth's shot, Nola responded by getting Murphy, who leads the Majors with a .397 batting average, looking. After Murphy's homer, he struck out Robinson swinging on a sinker to close the sixth. "It shows a lot of moxie," Mackanin said. "This guy, nothing bothers him." Nola has begun to embody a cold-blooded mentality. And he's the guy the Phillies turn to when they need to stop a losing streak. Since he came up last July, Nola has eight times pitched after the Phillies had lost two or more in a row -- including his last two times out. In those starts, Nola's pitched 49 innings and posted a 2.94 ERA, while striking out 2.8 batters for every one he walks. Yet, he hasn't been able to snap every skid. Of those eight starts, Philadelphia has won five. In the three losses, the Phillies offense has averaged just 2.67 runs of support for Nola. "It's baseball, it happens," the level-headed Nola said. "Sometimes we pitch bad and get a lot of run support. Sometimes we pitch good and don't get too much run support." Nola denied treating these games unlike any other start. Mackanin, though, believes Nola has the special quality it takes for a starter to become a rotation's stopper. Whether the 22-year-old does have it, or if it's just masked by his maturity, Mackanin believes Nola's calm and cool demeanor has become infectious. "It's great to see," Mackanin said. "I think it rubs off on some of the guys."

Today In Phils History – Ed Delahanty made the first mark on franchise history when he hit two inside the park homeruns in the same game in 1893. 30 year later the Phillies weren’t so fortunate as the Giants scored in every inning of a 22-8 drubbing. The Phillies played their first night game, and lost to the Pirates, in 1939. 30 years later, Dick Allen homered in his 5^th consecutive game setting a team record. A decade later, manager Danny Ozark, long before Tony LaRussa, had Steve Carlton bat 8^th in the lineup without any success. 4 years later, Mike Schmidt was once again on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Finally, it has already been 11 years since Chase Utley was sent in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 8^th in a tie game against the Giants and hit a grand slam.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 26-26 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 45-55-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!

The Future Takes A Beating

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Phillies Pound Prospects 19-4

The Phillies looked like a Major League baseball team last night… at least when playing against their top prospects. While there wasn’t much to note about the pitching performances across the board, the offense definitely put on a show in Reading with the major leaguers hitting 8 homeruns while the prospects notching a respectable 3 bombs (including a long ball from top prospect JP Crawford). In all the MLB players had 21 hits including 9 extra base hits. It should definitely be an interesting season for both teams.

PHILS PHACTS:

• The Phillies are 15-10-3 this spring with one game left against a Major League opponent. And while manager Pete Mackanin recognizes that Spring Training results don't count for much, he thinks having a winning record was important for a team that lost 99 games in 2015. "For the Philadelphia Phillies, I think it was very important," he said. "Spring Training, it doesn't always matter. But for us it's important to carry that positive attitude into the regular season."
• The Phillies wore caps on Thursday with patches commemorating the 50th anniversary of Reading being affiliated with the franchise.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park for the first time this season to play an exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles. This will be the last major league matchup before the regular season begins on Monday night and the final chance for many to make the roster.

PHILS PHACTS:

What Does The Future Hold? – One of the most popular questions for Phillies executives this spring is how quickly they can rebuild. They will find out this year, and they will be happy with what they see. "What we're going to find out this year more than anything is what kind of track we're on," Phillies president Andy MacPhail said earlier this spring. "Are we on a fast track? Are we on a medium track? Are we on a slow track?" Here is a bold prediction for the Phillies: They will finish the season on the fast track, putting themselves on the cusp of the postseason, much like the Cubs and Astros in 2014 prior to those clubs making the playoffs last season. Maikel Franco will play like one of the best third basemen in baseball, becoming a trendy pick for the 2017 National League MVP Award. Odubel Herrera will hit better than .300, making the former Rule 5 Draft pick the envy of every team in need of a No. 2 hitter. Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez might not be Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, but they will prove capable of challenge the throne. But the Phils know they need more than the young players on their Opening Day roster to get back. They need their prospects to play well, too. They will. The Phillies have seven of the top 100 prospects in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com, which is more than any other team: shortstop J.P. Crawford (fifth), right-hander Jake Thompson (55th), outfielder Nick Williams (64th), right-hander Mark Appel (70th), outfielder Cornelius Randolph (84th), catcher Jorge Alfaro (96th) and outfielder Roman Quinn (99th). A skeptical fan will point to any top 100 list and recall that Domonic Brown was once the top prospect in baseball. OK, so what? Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell and Scott Rolen appeared on Baseball America's top 100 lists, too. Much like the Phils' prospects of the late 1990s and early 2000s, most of their current top prospects will hit. Thompson and Williams will be the first two in the big leagues. Crawford and Quinn will be there before the end of the season. "There's a lot of talent in this organization," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. "Not all of it is polished and going to impact the team on Opening Day this year, but there's a lot of good players in the big leagues and in the upper levels of our system and some exciting players in the lower levels. I'm encouraged that so much that I have heard about prior to my arrival and then this offseason really does appear to be true."

Is Part Of The Future In The Past? – On a weekend when the Phillies are showcasing the best and the brightest of their farm system, Tommy Joseph is a blast from the past. You remember Joseph. The guy who was acquired, with considerable fanfare, from the Giants as part of the Hunter Pence trade at the non-waiver Trade Deadline in 2012. The guy who was expected to be the catcher of the future. The guy who then suffered a series of concussions, was taken off the big league roster and largely dropped out of sight. Joseph entered Thursday night's exhibition game at first base in the top of the sixth and walked in his only at-bat of the Phillies' 19-4 win over the Futures Team at FirstEnergy Stadium. But the fact that Joseph was included on the Futures roster says a lot. And player development director Joe Jordan said even more before the game when asked about his most pleasant surprise of the spring. "If you could have seen Tommy Joseph the last two weeks of Spring Training, it's the first time we've really been able to see him healthy," Jordan said. "He's just been really good offensively. He had some vision deficits due to the concussion stuff he went through that was addressed last fall and over the winter. Offensively, he looks like the guy we traded for three years ago. So he's been a big surprise." Joseph has averaged just 40 games played each of the past three seasons. He said the biggest key to his renewed success is simply that he's been healthy. "I think that's definitely got a lot to do with it," Joseph said. "Last year, I came into camp pretty heavy, too, so I tried to take care of myself a little better this winter. Lost a few pounds, put myself in a better position. And just came in with a positive mindset." Joseph said the transition to first base has gone well, although he still misses catching. But all the concussions -- Joseph thinks there were five, but he can't recall exactly -- and the wrist surgery dictated a change of positions. And that could turn out to be for the best. Two of the Phillies' better prospects, Andrew Knapp and Jorge Alfaro, are now catchers. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and there is no heir apparent waiting in line. "Really, just being able to play every day is the opportunity I'm looking for," Joseph said. "Obviously we've got [Darin Ruf] and he's a pretty good ballplayer, too. He's done a lot of damage over the past few years. So I wouldn't say the job is completely up for grabs. And Howie's still here and he's a great player, too. So until that comes around…" Joseph, 24, may have turned a corner. But he knows he's not all the way back yet. "I've still got a lot left to prove," he said. "I haven't played that much over the last few years. I've got to get out on the field and get back to playing every day. And I'm excited about that this year."

Did You See That? - Ben Revere and the Phillies entered the annals of baseball history when they were involved in the first use of expanded replay. Almost as unbelievable was the productivity that the Phillies got from Rico Brogna following his debut with the team in 1997. 

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have an impressive record this spring… 15-10-3 (17-10-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and 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!

Young Battery Leads Phillies In Big Win Over Braves

GAME RECAP: Phillies Crush Braves 12-2

Cameron Rupp and Freddy Galvis each drilled three-run homers to provide Aaron Nola more than enough support as he bounced back from a rough first inning to lead the surging Phillies to a 12-2 win over the Braves on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. Rupp's fourth-inning home run off Matt Wisler's first-pitch slider provided the Phillies a lead they would not relinquish on the way to improving to 12-2 since the All-Star break. Nola surrendered Nick Markakis' third career leadoff home run during a two-run first inning and then ended his five-inning performance with four consecutive scoreless innings. "When you get a lot of hits, it always looks like there is energy," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said of his team's recent offensive outburst. "When you face a tough pitcher that's really doing a good job then everybody likes to say that there's no energy. But our guys have not let down and they look like, they feel like, they're going to win which is a nice feeling" The Braves, who have lost six straight and nine of their past 10 games, were not as fortunate with their rookie starter. Wisler surrendered a career-high seven earned runs and allowed eight hits before exiting with two outs in the fifth inning. He had allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his previous seven career starts. "[The Rupp home run] really changed the whole game," Wisler said. "Eight-hole hitter with the pitcher on deck, I've got to execute that pitch better. That cost us pretty badly."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Ryan Howard has been showing shades of his former self as of late, dominating opposing pitching over his seven-game hitting streak. With three hits Saturday, Howard improved his total over the streak to 12 and is batting .462 in the stretch. Perhaps the finest indicator of how well he has been playing came in the sixth inning when, with runners on second and third and one out, Howard was intentionally walked for the first time since April 16. "If you've been watching all year I've had some good swings, I've had some bad swings and good stretches where I haven't had balls fall in, but had really good swings," Howard said. "So now it's being able to find real estate."
• The Phillies must've felt guilty for being shut out in Nola's Major League debut, because the team has provided plenty of run support for the rookie in starts two and three. After scoring 11 runs on Sunday in Chicago, tying a then-season high, the Phillies set a new season high with 12 runs on Saturday, earning Nola his second career win. "It's pretty amazing to watch," Nola said. "Those guys, they're averaging so many hits and runs a game. As a pitcher it's awesome to go out there and step on the mound and throw when you have a lead, especially that big of a lead that the guys are putting up."
• "I keep teasing him. Everybody else is hitting home runs and he's hitting singles and doubles. I don't know. How do you explain it?"-- Mackanin, on Howard's hot streak.

NEXT GAME:

After setting a career high in innings pitched last time he faced the Braves, Adam Morgan will take the hill for the Phillies. Morgan is 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA this season. With a win Sunday, the Phillies could execute their fourth sweep of the season and third since the All-Star break. Julio Teheran will attempt to lower his 7.24 road ERA when Atlanta and Philadelphia conclude this four-game series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. Howard and Domonic Brown could pose a problem for Teheran, who has allowed a .309 batting average to left-handed hitters this year.

PHILS PHACTS:

Offense Comes Alive – A few weeks ago the Phillies were struggling mightily. Between June 24 and July 7, the team went 3-10 and dropped to 28 games below .500. Then things got even tougher. Over a three-day span, the team faced All-Star starting pitchers Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner back-to-back-to-back. The Phillies lost all three games by a combined score of 26-2 and struck out 31 times. Then something surprising happened. The Phillies' fate turned for the better. In 16 contests since those three games, the Phillies have a 12-4 record and have scored 5.31 runs per game. Twice in that span the Phillies have either matched or set a season-high in runs scored and eight times they have recorded double-digit hits in a game. Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin has said many times he doesn't quite know what has changed in his team that has led to this offensive eruption. But he did offer one possibility. "I think what happened was when we faced Kershaw, Greinke and Bumgarner and then had the break, I think everybody else looks easy," Mackanin said. Mackanin said that in jest, but the hypothesis isn't wholly unbelievable. Facing any pitching, even elite Major League pitching, after being baffled by three of the leagues' aces could serve a similar purpose to putting a donut on your bat when taking warm-up swings; after deliberately making your job harder, even the difficult tasks seem easier. To see whether or not Mackanin's theory has any founding, there are a few comparisons to look at. The easiest one is to look at other teams who have faced 2015 All-Stars back-to-back-to-back this season. Aside from the Phillies, only two other teams have done that this season: Kansas City and Texas. The Rangers, after facing Kershaw, Greinke and Chris Sale, did the exact opposite of the Phillies, going 4-12 in their next 16 and averaging 3.31 runs per game. The Royals, who faced Sale, A.J. Burnett and Gerrit Cole on three-straight days, split what the Rangers and Phils did, going 6-5 since that stretch and averaging 3.82 runs per game. Based off this season's small sample, facing three aces in a row doesn't necessarily work as a palate cleanser. The sample of teams that have faced Kershaw and Greinke one after another is significantly larger but the results are just as inconclusive. Of the 15 times teams have had to move on after facing the Dodgers' 1-2 punch, six teams have had winning records over their next 16 games, eight have had losing records and one has gone 8-8 with records ranging from 11-5 to 4-12. With data from this season looking as if it doesn't support the idea that great pitching makes good pitching look worse, the Phillies are still looking for an explanation for their offensive renaissance. But if history is any indication this streak might end where it began. The Phillies have to face Greinke on Thursday.

Howard’s Hot Streak Leading Offense – Hitting is contagious. If that wasn't a tired baseball aphorism before, Ryan Howard and Pete Mackanin sure made it one. "Guys are going up there having good at-bats all the way around," Howard said. "Hitting is contagious so to speak." "Hitting is contagious. We've all heard that cliché," Mackanin said. "But it seems to be taking a hold with our team right now." The phrase is a cliché. But that doesn't make it wrong in the Phillies' case. In Saturday's 12-2 victory over the Braves, the Phillies scored the most runs they've put up in a game since May 17, 2014, against the Cincinnati Reds, improving their record to 12-2 since the All-Star break. Howard has been at the center of this offensive explosion. His three hits on Saturday improved his average over his seven-game hitting streak to .462. He has 12 runs batted in over this stretch, the most he has had in a 12-game span since between May 26 and June 1 of 2014. After starting off the game 3-for-3, he was intentionally walked in the sixth inning for the second time this season and the ninth since the beginning of 2014. Since the start of his hitting streak, Howard has improved his batting average from .219 to .238 and his OPS from .697 -- the lowest it had been since early May -- to .751. But as much as it seems as if Howard has turned a corner, he doesn't see it that way. "I've had confidence. I just haven't had balls falling in," Howard said. "Now it's just a matter of getting balls to fall when I need them to. The confidence has always been there. It's just a matter of finding real estate every once in a while." If a baseball field is like a metropolitan area, Howard has been finding his real estate inside the city limits recently, with just eight of his 40 hits since the beginning of June being home runs. But luckily for Howard, his teammates have been able to plant some balls in the suburbs while he's been hitting more like a slap hitter. Saturday was just the fourth time all year that the Phillies hit three home runs with Cameron Rupp hitting a three-run shot in the fourth, Odubel Herrera launching a solo homer into the second deck in right field in the fifth and Freddy Galvis joining the party with a three-run clout of his own in the sixth. Mackanin said he has noticed the trend of Howard falling behind in the home-run chase and has ribbed the former MVP about it. "I keep teasing him," the manager said. "Everybody else is hitting home runs and he's hitting singles and doubles. I don't know. How do you explain it?" Luckily for Howard, if his teammates keep hitting home runs, he very well may join in too. After all, hitting is contagious.

Patience Needed – For a team building toward a bright future, the Phillies acquired a player with a recent history that has been marred by injury. Through trades over the past week, the Phillies acquired young players who now occupy Nos. 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 15 and 24 in their prospect rankings in exchange for veterans like Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon and Ben Revere who didn't factor into the future as the organization envisions it. But also included in the bounty was one player who doesn't quite fit in with the cohort of young, high-upside players headed to Philadelphia: Matt Harrison. A 29-year-old right-handed pitcher the Phillies received from Texas as a part of the Hamels deal, Harrison has made just nine starts since the end of the 2012 season due to complications and surgeries relating to herniated discs in his back. His first action as a Phillie was to go back to the disabled list. That being said, Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said he sees Harrison having a role in the future of the Phillies organization. "I wouldn't bet on [him pitching this year]," Mackanin said. "But like I told him yesterday, I said 'I know you feel bad, but we're looking at you for what we're about to become rather than this year. We're not really playing for a whole lot this year.'" Harrison said upon arriving in Philadelphia on Saturday that he feels "stiff," and doesn't feel that he should rush back onto the field given his injury history. Given that a doctor once told him that he had just a 20 percent chance of ever playing again because of the intensity of his spinal fusion surgery, Harrison knows that he can't take his health for granted. With that in mind, Harrison was more optimistic than Mackanin, saying that he believes he could possibly return when he is eligible to come off the DL in 15 days. "Not too concerned because there's no pain like there used to be, Harrison said. "I think it's gonna be a quick, easy turnaround and I'll be back as soon as possible."

Scouting Nola – Background: Aaron Nola caught the attention of scouts while he was still at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, La. The right-handed starting pitcher was named the 2011 Class 5A State Player of the Year and was voted the state's "Mr. Baseball." His efforts earned him a selection in the 22nd round of the '11 Draft. However, instead of signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, Nola chose to attend Louisiana State University. Nola's success continued for the Tigers and the awards continued to come. He was named to several All-America teams and was the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He was also a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award. The Phillies selected Nola seventh overall in the 2014 Draft and he was immediately placed on a quick path to the big leagues. A year after being drafted, Nola is pitching for the parent club. Not huge by today's standards, Nola is 6-foot-1, 195 pounds. Nola began this season pitching for Double-A Reading and advanced to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In total, he threw 109 1/3 Minor League innings this season and posted a 10-4 record with a 2.39 ERA and a sparkling 1.05 WHIP. After pitching in parts of only two Minor League seasons in the Phillies' system, Nola made his Major League debut on July 21 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He threw six very solid innings, allowing one run and striking out six, in a losing cause. Repertoire: Nola has an effective repertoire that includes a two-seam fastball that sits between 92 and 94 mph, an infrequent four-seam fastball, a very good changeup and a curveball that can be very effective. He mixes and matches well between those pitches. Everything works off his sinking fastball. The pitch results in a good percentage of ground balls, always a great sign for a pitcher. Due to his good control and command, Nola is not afraid to pitch inside. He also has the confidence to use any pitch in any count. This is why Nola is No. 2 on the Phillies' Top 30 Prospect list. Mechanics: Nola has advanced pitching mechanics, changing his low three-quarter arm angle on occasion, resulting in good movement on all his pitches. It is the movement and use of the entire strike zone that adds deception to his delivery. It is rare that Nola is behind in counts, negating a need to throw a "get-me-over" fastball. Challenging hitters is an important part of his plan. Nola has appropriate confidence in his talent and can skillfully navigate a solid lineup. He has always had an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio. Strengths: Nola brings a very mature demeanor and presence to the mound. He is advanced in almost every phase of his game. Being able to change speeds and locations with ease, Nola takes charge on the mound and throws strikes. In fact, in his brief Minor League career, he had a walk rate of 1.5 per nine innings and struck out an average of 7.5 per nine. Due to his ability to keep the ball down in the zone, Nola has yielded less than one home run per nine innings throughout his career. At a very hitter-friendly park like Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Nola's ground-ball proficiency will be an asset. Even though Nathan Karns -- his first mound opponent -- hit a home run off Nola in his debut, the young righty should be able to limit long-ball damage. Contrary to the norm with many right-handed pitchers, Nola has shown an ability to succeed against left-handed hitters. Weaknesses: If he elevates the ball, his pitches have a tendency to straighten out. However, he self-corrects and may only experience a brief encounter with a lack of command. I find this interesting: Nola's older brother, Austin, also attended LSU and is a professional baseball player, too. He is a middle infielder in the Marlins' organization. Aaron is only 22. Austin is 25. The future: The future is now for Nola. It is likely he can retain a role in the Phillies' rotation. Nola in a word: Ready.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 41-64. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance so far this season, this could end up being the worst team in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 46-58-1 on this day.

Harang Continues To Show Value Despite Worthless Offense

GAME RECAP: Rockies Stifle Phillies 5-2

Eddie Butler may not have expected to start Saturday, but his performance proved he was ready. Thanks in large part to the efficient work of Butler, who was a last-minute substitution for scheduled starter Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies continued their winning ways Saturday, defeating the Phillies 5-2. Butler settled down after allowing a run in the first inning and hurled five shutout innings to finish what was statistically his most effective start of the season. He needed just 78 pitches to dispatch the Phillies in a six-inning, four-hit, one-run performance that brought the rookie to 3-5 and dropped his ERA from 4.60 to 4.22. "I attacked the zone, got early contact and let the guys make some plays," said Butler, who accumulated 11 outs on grounders, including one double play. The Rockies homered three times for the second straight game, scoring their first three runs via home runs from Nolan Arenado, Michael McKenry and Ben Paulsen. The team has won six of its last seven and seven of 10. Colorado also clinched its first regular-season series win at Citizens Bank since Aug. 9-12, 2004. "When you hit the ball out of the park and get good starting pitching, usually you're in good shape," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. For the Phillies, the loss extended their losing streak to six games for the second time this season. The team is now a season-high 13 games below .500. Starting pitcher Aaron Harang threw six quality innings, only allowing two runs on four hits and striking out seven, but his offense was unable to back him up after the first inning. "That was a quality start for Harang," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Threw 109 pitches and gave up two runs. He pitched well with men on base. We struggled out of the bullpen with command and leaving pitches up in the zone and gave some runs up. On the offensive side of things we had men left on base and couldn't get the big hit."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• After scoring all of their runs on homers in a 4-1 victory Friday night, the Rockies went deep twice in the second against the usually homer-stingy Harang. Arenado parked his 11th homer of the year and McKenry hit his third. McKenry is hitting .367 with three homers and eight RBIs in 30 career at-bats at Citizens Bank Park. Harang had given up just two homers in his 10 previous games. "When things aren't going right, it's just tough," Harang said. "It's tough because I thought I made two good pitches there. I went back and looked at them. They were down. They were able to stay through it and get a pretty good bat on it."
• The last time he faced Butler, Ryan Howard hit a mislocated curve for a prodigious homer, and he doubled in a first-inning run Saturday. But with two on and two out in the third, Butler challenged Howard with three fastballs in the strike zone. The last was a hard grounder to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, already shifted behind second base.
• Just one day after the Phillies stranded runners on first and third down two runs in the eighth inning, the team found itself in nearly the same scenario and came up with same result. Saturday the Phillies trailed the Rockies by three runs with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth but came out of the situation empty thanks to a Howard strikeout and a Maikel Franco groundout. "For a stretch there a couple of weeks ago, we were getting the big hit and the timely hit and we had a winning streak, and we blanked out in this cold streak with men on base," Sandberg said. "It's keep knocking at the door, keep having runners out there and somebody needs to come up with the big hit."
• In the top of the seventh inning, Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis made a no-look flip behind his back to Chase Utley on a sliding stop to force Rafael Ynoa out at second base. Utley collected the ball cleanly and threw to Howard, who was unable to make the catch to execute the double play. Galvis' play was met with cheers across the stadium and multiple replays on the Phillies video board.
• With two out in the eighth, the Phillies' Jeff Francoeur launched a fly ball to deep left against Rockies reliever Scott Oberg. A fan reached over the wall with his glove but failed to make the catch. Francoeur was awarded a double, and an umpire crew chief check of the replay confirmed the call.

NEXT GAME:

Rockies right-hander Jordan Lyles (2-5, 5.10 ERA) left his last start with a sprained left big toe, but is in line to start Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET against the Phillies and righty Jerome Williams (3-4, 5.33). Williams will make the start for the Phillies Sunday. Williams is tied with Arizona pitcher Josh Collmenter for the National League lead in hits allowed with 70 this season. This will be the right-hander's last start of a rough May where he has allowed 22 runs in 30 1/3 innings for an ERA of 6.53.

PHILS PHACTS:

Rewarded With Losses – Control in baseball has two meanings. When it comes to putting a pitch where he wants to, Aaron Harang has control. Of the 109 pitches he threw Saturday in the Phillies' 5-2 loss, 74 were for strikes and for the first time this season, Harang didn't issue a walk. And he controlled his pitches in the zone, allowing just four hits and two runs in six innings while striking out seven. But when it comes to the defense behind him and run support, Harang has zero control. This is something the veteran has come to accept over his 14 seasons in the Majors. "You can't really go out and try to change too much," he said. "You've got to go out and keep doing what you can do. You've got to do what you can do to contribute to the team. Things will eventually change and the numbers will show the overall outcome of your season." The numbers to which Harang were referring are his season marks, which are far better than anyone would expect a pitcher with a losing record to have at the end of May. Despite his 4-5 record, Harang has an ERA of 2.02 and is striking out more than 6.5 batters per nine innings. In six May starts, Harang never allowed more than two earned runs in a game but the Phillies won just two of those outings. Though Harang admitted that this can be frustrating, he is accustomed to this. When Harang was younger and just coming into his own as a starter in Cincinnati, his team was rebuilding just as the Phillies are now. One thing he learned over that period was that having "ups and downs" is a natural part of baseball. Thus, Harang said he doesn't think about his win-loss record or things that are out of his control. Harang's attitude on getting through tough situations can be summed up by how he reacted to his early adversity Saturday. Harang entered play Saturday as the best in the National League in home run prevention among starting pitchers, having allowed just two home runs all season. But he gave up two home runs in the second inning alone against the Rockies. He thought he made good pitches on both of the home runs, and when he went back and watched the tape, it confirmed his suspicion. But even though the pitches were where he wanted them, Harang said he understood why the balls were hit as well as they were. "Once I let go of the ball, it's kind of out of my control," Harang said.

Where’s The Offense? – Twice in 10 days, Eddie Butler has started against the Phillies. But based on the disparity of results, Philadelphia might as well have faced off against two pitchers. On May 20, the Phillies feasted on Butler. The Rockies right-hander struggled to survive three innings, requiring 77 pitches to find nine outs against 18 batters. The Phillies jumped on the rookie, scoring four runs, two earned, on six hits, two walks and a home run. Fast forward to Saturday, and Butler manged to avoid Phillies' bats this time. He stifled the Phillies' offense in the Rockies' 5-2 win, allowing just four hits and one run in six innings with an economical 78 pitches. If you were to watch Butler's two starts back-to-back, you would think he was starting against two different Phillies teams. And given the way manager Ryne Sandberg assessed his team's play over its current six-game losing streak, he kind of did. "For a stretch there a couple of weeks ago, we were getting the big hit and the timely hit and we had a winning streak, and we blanked out in this cold streak with men on base," Sandberg said. Saturday was no exception to this "blanking out." The Phillies were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. In the eighth and ninth innings alone, the Phillies stranded four runners, two of whom were in scoring position. This continued a trend from Friday when they stranded runners in the last two innings of a 4-1 loss. Power has been lacking for the Phillies. Before Cesar Hernandez's eighth-inning solo home run, the team hadn't put a ball in the stands over the losing streak. To Sandberg, this is one area where the offense needs to turn things around immediately. "It's pretty good hitting weather out there," Sandberg said. "The flags are blowing. We have guys capable of that. We like to see more contact first and then the ball going out of the park will definitely give us a jumpstart with the offense." The Phillies are now a season-worst 13 games below .500. Two weeks removed from a six-game winning streak, the team is now on its longest losing streak of the year. With the offense stagnating, the bullpen struggling and the starting pitching doing everything it can to keep this team in games, Philadelphia looks to have lost its way. To Saturday's starter Aaron Harang, this is a by-product of being on a young baseball team and can easily be remedied. "It's just a matter of kind of getting everybody synced together," he said. "You have some games where your pitching isn't doing well and your offense has got to pick that up, and other games where your offense isn't doing well and your pitching has got to pick that up. It's just you've got to find the right lane on the road and make sure you get on it and go from there."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the NL east at 19-32. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are 40-61-0 on this day.