Game Recap:
Zach Eflin pitched seven innings of three run baseball yesterday, but Joaquin Benoit allowed a game tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and a throwing error by Freddy Galvis in the 13th allowed the Cubs to finish things with a 5-4 victory. The loss gave the Phillies a record of 1-6 on their seven game road trip.
What went right?
Cesar Hernandez went 4-7 at the plate, scoring two runs and also stealing a base. In the top of the seventh, he did get caught trying to stretch a single into a double, however.
Aaron Altherr went 2-5 with an RBI and two walks.
Maikel Franco was 2-5 yesterday, with a home run, two RBI and a walk.
Cameron Rupp went 3-6 on the day with the then go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning. He also had the misfortune of getting caught off of first base twice on line drive double plays.
Zach Eflin pitched very well yesterday, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. He didn't walk a batter and struck out one.
Jeanmar Gomez pitched two shutout innings of relief in the ninth and tenth innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out one.
What went wrong?
Michael Saunders did not have a good game. He went 0-4 at the plate with two walks, and also appeared to lose a ball in the clouds in the first inning that allowed the Cubs to score the first run of the game.
Tommy Joseph went 1-3 with a strikeout.
Freddy Galvis was 1-6 at the plate. He also committed two errors on throws to first base, the second of which allowed the game winning run to score from third base.
Joaquin Benoit blew the save opportunity for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he allowed a one out solo home run from Miguel Montero to tie the game. He pitched the eighth inning, allowing that one huge run and struck out two.
Joely Rodriguez ended up as the losing pitcher for the Phillies. He pitched two and a third innings yesterday, allowing the one unearned run that lost the game. He struck out one, and walked four.
Game Analysis:
Going into this seven game road trip, Phillies fans were feeling slightly optimistic. Their team was two games over .500, and while the level of competition that they were playing was about to get stepped up, there were those that thought the Phillies would be able to handle the Dodgers and Cubs, and at least come out of the trip with a 3-4 or 4-3 record.
That was not the case. Instead, the Phillies were victimized by poor baserunning, mediocre starting pitching, fielding meltdowns and a bullpen that didn't know how to get out of it's own way most of the time during the trip, and they finished with a thud, losing yesterday in 13 innings to the Cubs to finish the trip with a horrible 1-6 record.
After their meltdown in the bottom of the sixth inning on Wednesday night, it was important for the Phillies to get back to basics on Thursday afternoon. Instead, they struggled almost right out of the gate, as Michael Saunders lost a ball in the clouds in the bottom of the first inning. The Addison Russell double gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, and a double by Matt Szczur in the second put Chicago up 2-0 over Zach Eflin.
Eflin settled down after the first two innings, and didn't allow another run until the bottom of the sixth. While the tall youngster didn't strike out many Cubs yesterday, he did put his defense in a position to make a lot of plays. For the most part, they were able to do just that, and though Eflin allowed nine hits, his control was solid enough that he didn't walk a single batter, and he only allowed those three runs in seven innings of work. Eflin has been impressive so far this season, even though he does not have a win yet. He's pitched seven innings in his last three starts, and hasn't allowed more than three runs in any start this season. For a pitcher that is coming off of surgery to both knees, this is about as good of a start as anyone could have expected from him so far this year.
At the plate, the Phillies were less than inspiring yesterday, scoring just four runs off of 15 hits. There were a few exceptions, however. Cesar Hernandez, save for a costly base running error in the top of the seventh, had another solid game with four hits and two runs scored. Aaron Altherr continued his hot return to the lineup with two more hits and a run batted in, and Maikel Franco finished the road trip with another multi-hit game, going 2-5 with two runs batted in. For Franco, his 7-27 performance on the trip continued his recent turnaround at the plate. He has also recorded five multi-hit games in his last ten starts, raising his batting average from .171 to .231 in that time. It's a very nice improvement for a player that seemed lost at the plate over the first few weeks of this season. As for Aaron Altherr, there is no possible way that he can be taken out of this lineup now. When Howie Kendrick returns, it is either going to be in a backup role in the outfield, or as a starter over the disappointing Tommy Joseph and Brock Stassi at first base, and first base is likely the better option for him right now.
Yesterday's game eventually came down to the same two things that cost the Phillies several games on this road trip: fielding and the bullpen. Joaquin Benoit was given the lead going into the eighth inning, and after recording one out, he quickly allowed the Cubs to tie things up with a Miguel Montero solo home run. Just like the bullpen had done against the Dodgers, it failed again in the late innings against the Cubs. Though Chicago wouldn't score again until the 13th inning, once Benoit blew the save chance, there were plenty of Phillies fans who knew how the game was going to end.
Sure enough, it ended the way they thought it would. With one out in the bottom of the 13th, and runners on first and second, Joely Rodriguez looked like he would get through his third inning of work as he induced a ground ball from Matt Szczur to Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez flipped the ball to Freddy Galvis, whose throw to first missed Brock Stassi, and allowed the Cubs to score the winning run. While it was unlikely that Szczur would have been out at first, a good throw would have kept runners on the corners with two outs and given Rodriguez a chance to get out of the inning. Instead, it was yet another loss of the Phillies, who now need to look into shaking their bullpen up considerably.
At the moment, there are a few possible options down in Lehigh Valley that could improve the bullpen situation for the Phils. First would be veteran Pat Venditte. The switch-pitcher can throw from either side of the mound, and in 13 innings of work for the IronPigs, he's allowed just one hit while striking out 17 and walking nine. Control might be a little bit of an issue, but honestly, he's better than at least half the bullpen pitchers the Phillies have right now. The second pitcher to take a look at would be Hoby Milner, who was returned to the Phillies organization after the Cleveland Indians selected him in the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason. That another team would want to even take a look at him speaks to his value, and he's done well this year in Triple-A. Milner has pitched nine and a third innings with eight strikeouts, no walks and no runs allowed. The writing is on the wall, and if the Phillies want to hold leads at the end of games, they are going to need to call some of this minor league talent up sooner, rather than later. All anyone outside the team can do is sit back and see what happens.
Tonight, the Phillies return home to take on the Washington Nationals. Nick Pivetta (0-1, 3.60 ERA) gets the start for the Phils, and he'll be opposed by Stephen Strasburg (2-1, 3.09 ERA).
No comments:
Post a Comment