Game Recap:
After an hour and a half rain delay, the Phillies jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs after two innings. Vince Velasquez worked five innings to pick up the win, while Aaron Altherr and Tommy Joseph each drove in three runs to break the team's three game losing streak.
What went right?
Cesar Hernandez went 3-5 with two runs scored.
Aaron Altherr had a very nice game, as he went 2-4 at the plate with three runs batted in and two runs scored. He also made a great diving catch on a Ben Zobrist line drive in the bottom of the fourth inning that help stave off a Chicago rally.
Odubel Herrera was 2-4 with an RBI.
Michael Saunders had two hits in five at-bats, including a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning.
Tommy Joseph went 1-4 at the plate, but his one hit was a three run home run in the top of the first that put the Phillies ahead for good. He also walked once and scored two runs.
Freddy Galvis continued his hitting streak, as it reached 13 games with a two run home run in the seventh inning.
The bullpen had a good showing last night, allowing just a single run in four innings of work.
What went wrong?
Maikel Franco didn't have the best night, going 0-3 with a walk.
Cameron Rupp was 1-4 with two strikeouts.
Vince Velasquez may have picked up the win, but he only lasted five innings, as he allowed a run on just two hits. He struck out four, walked three and hit a batter.
Game Analysis:
The last thing that Phillies fans wanted to see after a bad sweep at the hands of the Dodgers over the weekend was a rain delay on Monday night, but that's exactly what they got. Luckily, the delay seemed to energize the Phillies at the plate, as they chased Chicago starter Brett Anderson after just an inning and a third, and rode that momentum to a very nice 10-2 win over the defending World Series champions.
On offense, there was no better way to start this series against the Cubs. Cesar Hernandez and Aaron Altherr are playing very well at the top of the lineup, and last night was no exception. Hernandez reached base three times and scored twice, while Altherr finished the game with three runs batted in and scored two times himself. The hits didn't stop there, as Michael Saunders, Tommy Joseph and Freddy Galvis all launched home runs into the Wrigley Field bleachers. For Joseph, the first inning home run couldn't have come at a better time, both for himself and his team. Joseph has not had the easiest start to his season, and is hitting just .183 on the season. However, that power that he showed last night was a reminder to the pop he showed at first base last season and hopefully will be the start of a turnaround here in the second month of the regular season.
Lots of Phillies fans, myself included, seem to give Freddy Galvis a hard time. Over the last two weeks, however, that is getting much more difficult. With his seventh inning home run last night, Galvis now has a 13 game hitting streak, and has moved his average up to .273 during this run. With four home runs and 15 runs batted in already, it looks like Galvis is well on his way to surpassing his offensive numbers from last season. If Joseph and Galvis can produce at the back end of the lineup, and Hernandez and Altherr keep up their pace, the Phillies will suddenly have many less problems at the plate than they did last year.
Vince Velasquez looked outstanding through the first three innings of his outing last night, needing only 44 pitches to record nine outs. Then came the last two innings of his start, and things fell apart very quickly. In the fourth, Velasquez walked two batters and hit another while needing almost 40 pitches to get through his own mistakes. The fifth inning started with a home run, and the writing was on the wall after that this Velasquez's night was done as soon as that inning was over. While Vince was able to move quickly through the first three innings, it's the last two that should stick out for Phillies fans. Those two innings looked much too much like the Velasquez from his first two starts this season, and that's not something that anyone wants to see again. Those first two starts were filled with far too many pitches left over the plate, an overall lack of control, and too much reliance on striking batters out, rather than giving the defense behind him something to do. Hopefully, this was just a case of a good lineup figuring out a pitcher the second time through the batting order, but the bottom line is that Velasquez needs to last longer than five innings in a start, especially when he's only thrown 44 pitches through the first three innings.
Luckily for Velasquez, the bullpen did it's job last night, as Edubray Ramos, Joely Rodriguez and Pat Neshek shut down the Cubs over the final four innings of the game. Chicago managed just a single run and two hits in those innings, and the performance out of the pen was nice to see after the previous series against the Dodgers. The less that we talk about that series, the better.
In just about half an hour, the second game of this four game series is set to begin. Jeremy Hellickson (4-0, 1.80 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies, while Jon Lester (0-1, 3.68 ERA) will take the hill for the Cubs.
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