Hittin’ Season’s Greetings from the Phillies

Jun 6, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) reacts with left fielder Howie Kendrick (47) after scoring a run against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 6, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) reacts with left fielder Howie Kendrick (47) after scoring a run against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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Herrera Doubles the Phillies to Another Victory. Photo by Eric Hartline – USA TODAY Sports.
Herrera Doubles the Phillies to Another Victory. Photo by Eric Hartline – USA TODAY Sports. /

As the never-ending defeats fade with the rest of May, the dark cloud hovering over the Philadelphia Phillies’ dugout continues to dissipate into the stratosphere.

Lazarus-like Elixir:

Regarding consistency, nothing even remotely suggests a permanent state of positive or negative outcomes because it’s always a mixture of both.

If a team is average defensively, the recipe for winning is in three parts and requires at least two ingredients to be good and all three for excellence. In other words, two on any given night can keep you on the edge of your seat and be enjoyable. But those two parts can vary every day. To be victorious, the Phillies need starters to keep their teammates in the game, enough offense depending on the competition and/or hurlers to protect their advantage in the eighth and ninth innings.

Even though the losing began before May 1, it continued through June 2. And those defeats revealed many contests where only one aspect worked and two did not. But if they produced enough runs, the starters gave up more or the relievers failed to hold the lead. Or the hitters provided no run support for the pitchers. Therefore, you can be triumphant with three parts, you can win or lose with two ingredients, but rarely will you be successful with just one.

After Joaquin Benoit complained about a lack of set roles, the first signs of renewed life sprouted with relievers putting up zeroes for four frames or more almost daily. The pattern formed was Edubray Ramos in the sixth, Pat Neshek for the seventh, Benoit in the eighth and Hector Neris to close the ninth.

In June, Neris again began struggling with his splitter. He closed out one victory only after a Giants batter angered and motivated him. Then, the red and white needed one pitch from Jeanmar Gomez to induce a game-ending grounder for a save because Neris couldn’t finish off the win. And, lastly, Mackanin pulled Neris after two singles in Atlanta and called on Neshek to preserve the victory. Ergo, one way or the other.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:   “Why certainly I’d like to have that fellow who hits a home run every time at bat, who strikes out every opposing batter when he’s pitching, who throws strikes to any base or the plate when he’s playing outfield and who’s always thinking about two innings ahead just what he’ll do to baffle the other team. Any manager would want a guy like that playing for him. The only trouble is to get him to put down his cup of beer and come down out of the stands and do those things.” – Danny E. Murtaugh
Kendrick Ignites a Phils’ Victory with His Fourth-Inning Homer. Photo by Dale Zanine – USA TODAY Sports.
Kendrick Ignites a Phils’ Victory with His Fourth-Inning Homer. Photo by Dale Zanine – USA TODAY Sports. /

While Aaron Altherr, Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez were hitting, Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco slumbered during May and Howie Kendrick was on the disabled list. But June provided CPR for the offense. Like April, the first lineup spots put men on base, but the middle of the order supplied some punch this time. Franco went three-for-eight in the first two wins, Joseph had four knocks in nine at-bats in the next two victories, and Altherr joined Joseph in those two triumphs with four hits in eight ABs.

June stats:

  • Hernandez: .333 with 2 RBIs.
  • Herrera: .550 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs.
  • Kendrick: .333 with 1 homer and 2 RBIs.
NICE CATCH:     “The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back.” – Steve P. Garvey

During a weekday in an opponent’s stadium, you can occasionally hear the field-level calls of the home plate umpire. Ball! Outside! And the count went to 3-2 before two fouls and ball four.

After the next batter took two balls in the dirt, the organist began playing a song for the home crowd, and you knew what it was without looking. A powwow on the mound. Fans nervously murmured because the red pinstripes had two on with no outs. Base hit!

Despite the fact that San Francisco has offensive woes, they fought to the final out in their last two defeats at the Bank. And although it requires a little imagination, you can picture how the meetings of players and coaches with the skipper included how unacceptable losing to the Philadelphia Phillies was. He expected a series win or even a sweep.

Nola Dials Up an Eight-Inning Gem in Atlanta. Photo by Jasen Vinlove – USA TODAY Sports.
Nola Dials Up an Eight-Inning Gem in Atlanta. Photo by Jasen Vinlove – USA TODAY Sports. /

By the third inning, the Phillies were usually down seven runs or so it seemed. But reality was not appealing either: Four clubs blew out the locals in seven of 11 games. On June 3, however, Ben Lively set the tone for the five-man staff with seven frames of solid pitching during his MLB debut. Granted, the rotation leader continued to struggle, and the second promoted arm from Triple-A managed but five innings. Thankfully, it was enough.

After Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff got the “you’re better than this” speech from Mackanin, Nola fired his best performance of 2017. Then, Eickhoff looked like the hurler everybody expected in May despite the outcome. Basically, if Nola, Eickhoff and Lively keep producing, these Phils will give their squad more chances to win.

Next: The Phillies' 26th Man

According to the schedule, the Phillies will travel to the city of the Gateway Arch, aka baseball heaven, for three games with the St. Louis Cardinals. Yes, the Cards have lost six straight, but what team will the hometown nine find this weekend? And how do you feel on June 8 with a winning record for the month? Alive!

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