Phils Beat Papelbon Again, Sweep Nats

Aaron Nola pitched like an ace.

The First Place Washington Nationals were 8-1 at home before the Third-Place Phillies completed a 3-game sweep of them there Thursday.  The Phils have now won 6-out-of-seven games and are a mere 2 1/2 games behind Washington, sandwiching the Second Place Mets, who have won 6-straight and 9-of-10.  

Starting pitcher Aaron Nola S.O. 7 with 7 innings of 2 hit shutout baseball.  Closer Jeanmar Gomez recorded his 7th save  (#2 in the NL) with another scoreless 9th and the Phillies beat Jonathan Papelbon yet again, causing him more misery against his former team.

Thursday, Nola reached 37 S.O. on the season, which ranks him #4 in the NL.  His 0.88 WHIP ranks #7, although he is 1-2 and did not record the win.

In the top of the 9th with the score knotted at nothing apiece, the Nationals brought on relief pitcher Felipe Rivero and his 1.54 ERA.

Herrera, a true lead-off hitter.

Phils CF Odubel Herrera was the first to face him.  Herrera was 0-for-2 on the night.  He had been struckout looking in the 4th and lined out to right in the 6th.  However, while it could appear he had been unproductive, that is far from true.  In fact, he drew a lead-off walk and attempted a steal, but was caught to start the game.  It's terrific to see his aggression on the base paths, where he ranks #7 in the NL in stolen bases.

Herrera has a .453 on base percentage (#4 OBP in NL) with 22 walks (#2 in NL).  That's amazing when you consider he isn't a power hitter or playing for a First-place team, which means nobody is pitching around him, which they are Arizona's slugger Paul Goldschmidt who leads the league with 1 walk more than Herrera.

Herrera's ability to draw walks and utilize a scrupulous eye at the plate makes him arguably the best true leadoff hitter the Phillies have seen in quite some time.  Without opening a debate or drawing extensive  comparison, it is well-known that Jimmy Rolllins, who loved to leadoff for the Phils, had an Achilles heel in that role: his putrid .324 career OBP.

Herrera lead off the 9th with a single to center field.  Then, SS Freddy Galvis doubled to deep left center, moving Herrera to 3rd base.  Sensational 3rd baseman Maikel Franco was intentionally walked to load the bases with still nobody out.  Then, sadly (and strategically debatable), Darrin Ruf was brought in to pinch hit for Ryan Howard.  (Wow, sign of the times.)  The Nationals, desperate to salvage a game of the series and maintain their dwindling first place stronghold behind their franchise-best start, which shrunk daily throughout the week during the Mets win-streak, countered with  closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Papebon promptly S.O. Ruf on 3 pitches.

Rupp's double sails over Jayson Werth.

However, with 1 out, the next batter to face Papelbon was catcher Cameron Rupp.  Rupp fouled one off, then another.  Papelbon had the hitter right where he wanted with 2 quick strikes.  With 1 out and 2 strikes on Rupp, none of the bases loaded runners had scored and the score still read 0-0 with Rupp facing an 0-2 hole.  Then, Rupp drew a ball.  Then another.  It was a 2-2 count.

On the next pitch, Rupp doubled to deep right (he has a .480 SLG % with 1 HR and 7 2B in 50 AB) to plate Herrera and Galvis and put the Phils on top 2-0.  

"It's always sweet, especially sweeping these guys in your division," Rupp said. "A lot of people write us off saying we don't want to win. That's not true. We come out here and play."

Gomez has authoritatively taken the reigns from Giles.

Then, 28 year-old Gomez came in to swat the Nats in the bottom half of the inning.  He surrendered a lead-off single to  Ryan Zimmerman, but then induced a fly out followed by a Jayson Werth ground out double play to SS to end the game.

Gomez has been amazing for the Phils.  He is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.  Meanwhile, Kenny Giles, who Gomez has replaced, is 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP for the Astros, who the Phils traded him to late last year for a bunch of promising prospects, including Vincent Velasquez, who has been one of the Phils best starters this season: 3-1, 1.78 ERA (#6), 33 S.O. (#5, behind teammate Nola) and 0.87 WHIP (#5).

Herrera and Galvis score the winning runs in the 9th.

The Phils won 3-0 to complete the impressive sweep in Washington, their first since 2009.  

They return home for a weekend series against Cleveland before beginning a 10-game road trip.

The Phils are young, competitive and exciting.  They haven't been that combination for a long time.

Phils Relish Embarrassing Papelbon

Walkoff win!

For the Phillies it was just another chapter in the psychological undressing of Jonathan Papelbon.  7/28/15 the Phils traded their all-time leading closer (123 saves) and Boston's all-time leading closer (219 saves) to division rivals Washington.  While neither the Phillies or the Nationals were playoff bound last season, it was widely considered that Papelbon (who was 17-for-17 in saves for the last-place Phils at the time) would squash them under his cleat at ensuing divisional contests in coming seasons, while closing for the up and coming Nationals.  Already touting one of baseball's most stocked minor leagues, Washington got off to its best start in franchise history this year at 9-1.  Then came Sunday.

Harper's record power vs. Phils.

Washington was looking to sweep the Phils Sunday after pounding their lights out for two straight nights for a cumulative score of 17-2, giving them 7-straight wins.  It looked like a cinch when defending NL MVP Bryce Harper hit his 6th HR (2nd in NL) and 15th RBI (also 2nd in NL) 428 feet to right center in the top of the 10th inning off reliever Jeanmar Gomez to put Washington on top, 2-1.  

Bryce Harper has now hit HR in 6 consecutive games at Citizen Bank Park.  When Harper hit his solo HR Sunday, he tied Cubs infielder Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks for a record at Phillies' stadiums.  Banks hit 6-straight at Connie Mack stadium playing against Phillies legendary pitcher Robin Roberts.  No Phillie has ever done it.  The closest was Chase Utley, who hit HR in 5-straight at Citizens Bank Park in 2008. 

Then, Papelbon met his fate in the bottom of the 10th when he faced an unlikely nemesis: SS Freddy Galvis.

"I played behind him, so I know how he pitches," Galvis said of Papelbon, who blew a save by allowing a HR to Galvis in his 1st game back in Philadelphia last September. "I know what his ball does."

With one out, Peter Bourjos (hitting .189) doubled to left off Papelbon (5-5- in saves, 1.80 ERA coming in).  Then with 2-out, Andres Blanco (.308) PH an RBI single to left to tie the game at 2-2, then advanced to second on the throw with veteran base running (at 32, one of the older Phils).  

Galvis isn't exactly, well, Bryce Harper-- or even Andres Blanco for that matter.  Entering the at-bat, Galvis was 0-for-4 with a .205 batting average.  However, he drove a Papelbon 2-strike fastball to left over the head of former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth (himself no Galvis these days, hitting just .171 at age 36 after hitting .221 last year) to plate Blanco and win the game.  Galvis stomped on 2nd base and players rushed to him from the Phillies' dugout to celebrate.

Still playing, for what it's Werth.

"I just didn't execute," said Papelbon, who was 5-for-5 in 2016 before blowing the save vs. his former team.

Improbably, it wasn't the first time Galvis had beaten Papelbon since the two parted ways.  

In his first trip back to Philadelphia in September, Papelbon surrendered a HR to Galvis (blowing a save opportunity). 

Galvis is now 3-for-3 with a HR, a 2B, a walk and 2 RBIs against Papelbon.

Meanwhile, Papelbon is 1-2 with a 12.27 ERA in four games against the Phillies since joining Washington.

Pivetta: 6-foot-5, 220 pound Rottweiler.

The Phils return for the famed yet infamous closer was Double-A right-hander Nick Pivetta, 7-6 with a 3.02 ERA in 18 games/17 starts between Class A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg last season.

Pivetta, a 22-year-old Canadian, was a 4th-round draft selection in 2013. He was ranked by Baseball America as the 10th-best prospect in the Nationals' organization.

Papelbon chokes Harper 9/27/15.

Infamously, Papelbon grabbed his crotch in response to Phillies fans' boos after blowing a save during his waning days in Philadelphia.  He added another in a string of career sideshow low-lights when he attacked his superstar teammate-NL MVP Harper in the Nationals’ dugout last season. The fight broke out after Papelbon was vocally critical that the 22-year-old Harper had failed to run out a pop fly. Harper retorted that he would be happy to “fight [Papelbon] right now,” and Papelbon took him up on it. The next inning, Papelbon promptly surrendered a two-run HR.

The Phillies open a 3-game series in Philadelphia against the defending NL champion Mets on Monday.  Noah Syndergaard, the toast of NY this offseason, opposes Jerad Eickhoff Monday in a pitching matchup of two quality young starters off to hot starts.

Tuesday marks the follow-up for sensational starter Vince Velasquez, who etched his name in history by S.O. 16 (albeit Padres) while walking none his last time out.

Mon, Apr 18	vs NY Mets	7:05 PM		Eickhoff (1-1)	Syndergaard (1-0)	250 available
Tue, Apr 19	vs NY Mets	7:05 PM		Velasquez (2-0)	Verrett (0-0)	859 available
Wed, Apr 20	vs NY Mets	7:05 PM		Hellickson (1-1)	Colon (1-1)

Velasquez S.O. 16, Makes History

The Phillies 23 year-old right-hander Vincent Velasquez made history Thursday, less than 24 hours after his teammate in the rotation Jerad Eickhoff continued to impress with a 9K, 0 BB stellar performance.

When the Phillies traded their closer Kenny Giles to the Astros in December, Velasquez was a key part of the Phils return. In 19 games (seven starts) for the Astros last year, he posted an ERA of 4.37 in 55 2/3 innings and struck out just over a batter an inning, averaging 94.6 mph on his fastball.

The 2010 second-round pick had been re-ranked at No. 69 on MLB's Top 100 list, and sat at No. 4 on the Astros' Top 30 when the Phils got him.  He entered into the Phils prospect list at #5 before being promoted to the majors.

In his first outing with the Phils on April 9th vs. the Mets, Velasquez sparked a shutout at Citi Field.  His 6 innings were dynamite: 3 hits allowed, 9 S.O., 3 walks.

Thursday, however, he took the next step in a thrilling young career.

He S.O. a staggering 16 and walked none in a complete game shutout of the Padres at Citizens Bank Park to complete a 3-game sweep of S.D.  Velasquez allowed just 3 hits.  He has not yielded an earned run yet this year.

Most impressive, the quality and power of his pitches never faltered throughout the contest. Velasquez hit 97 mph with his fastball on pitch No. 101. His final pitch of the game was 96 mph.

More importantly, Velasquez didn't walk a single batter during the start. He induced an amazing 27 swinging strikes!

"I reached back," Velasquez said. "I wasn't really looking at the radar gun. I was just trying to get a last strikeout and celebrate."

"My face doesn't show it, but it was fun," Velasquez said 15 minutes after striking out the final batter. "I'm fully excited. Man. Gosh, it's still hitting me."

Velasquez is the third pitcher (after Dwight Gooden and Kerry Wood) under 24 since 1913 to strike out 16 and walk none in a shutout.

"It looks like we made a pretty good trade, I'd say," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "How much fun was that to watch?!"

"A young Zack Greinke right there," pitching coach Bob McClure said. "That was like watching the same thing."

"That was incredible," righthander Aaron Nola said. "I felt like it was automatic. It looked like a video game."

"His fastball, I mean, it had every bit of life that it had to it," Catcher Cameron Rupp said. "It got to a point where I was thinking to myself, 'I kind of want to mix in a breaking ball here, but I don't need to.' He was blowing everybody's doors off with it."

Ryan Howard (yes, he's still around) hit his 3rd HR of the season and drove in the only 2 Phillies runs Thursday.  The 2nd-place Phils are now 5-5 and have won 3-straight and 5-of-6.  They will host 1st-place Washington and the Mets in back-to-back series beginning Friday.

Velasquez's complete game 16 S.O. no walk shutout has only been equaled by 1 active pitcher in all of baseball: (now) Washington's Max Scherzer, who Aaron Nola will face Saturday in Philadelphia.

Velasquez now leads the NL in wins (2), ERA (0.00) and S.O. (25).  He is second in WHIP behind L.A.'s Clayton Kershaw.

The 3 young guns: Velasquez, Nola and Jerad Eickhoff in the Phils rotation are making things very exciting and encouraging with an eye to the future, which the organization has so effectively transformed into something bright.

The Kids Are All Right

The Phillies are seeing return on their monumental trade of homegrown all-star Cole Hamels last August.  Tonight at Citizens Bank Park 25 year-old starter Jerad Eickhoff resembled Hamels in his prime.  Even the inferior offense of the Padres couldn't rain on Eickhoff's gem: 7 innings, 4 hits, 9 S.O. and no walks in a 2-1 win over S.D.

It would be one thing if today was the best game of his young career.  However, truth be told this was Eickhoff's 10th professional game, and he is steadily building a resume of consistently dynamic performance and stellar control.  In 2015 he S.O. 49 while walking 13.  His 2.65 ERA was accentuated by his 7th and 8th career outings to finish last season vs. the division leading Nationals and Mets when he S.O. 10 and walked 1 in each back-to-back start.  This season he has S.O. 12 and walked 2 while posting a 1.50 ERA (16th in MLB).

Hamels, 32 years-old for Texas, has pitched 2 games this season and has posted a 2.08 ERA with 12 S.O. and 6 BB with a slightly higher WHIP than Eickhoff.  There's no question who you'd rather hold the ball opening a playoff series in October-- at this point, but Eickhoff is making premier look mundane under the big lights of MLB.  Not bad from the 4-spot of the rotation.

Nola is on fire and opening eyes across baseball.

When you pair his knockout performances with 22 year-old Aaron Nola (#2 in rotation, a control-and-command pitcher featuring a fastball that averages just 90.5 mph), who has 17 S.O. (4th in MLB), no walks and a 0.71 WHIP (6th in MLB) it's undeniable that the Phillies organization took something out of alignment and quickly put it on track for success.  Those seeds are already beginning to blossom.

According to Baseball America, the Phillies farm system ranked between 22nd and 27th in baseball from 2011-2015.  All that win-now trading had taken its toll down the line.  Now?  After the past couple seasons of shedding old snakes and retooling with an eye down the line, Baseball America ranks the Phillies organizational talent #8 in baseball.  MLB does them one better, placing them at #7.  It is very encouraging, if not exciting and a not so modest achievement of altitude in such a short time.

Franco is most exciting Phils 3rd baseman since Rolen.

Wednesday, it was 23 year-old 3B Maikel Franco's hot-hitting again that staked a lead for Eickhoff and the Phils.  Maikel hit his 2nd HR, a solo shot to left (400 feet) with 2-out in the 1st to put the Phils up for good.

When X-rays revealed a small fracture in his left wrist in August of last year, Franco's bid for Rookie-of-the-Year was cut short.

His mark made, Franco is out of the shoot running in 2016.  He has 2 HR and 5 RBI in his first 8 games, an OBP of .455 and an OPS of 1.110.

In the bottom of the 3rd Wednesday, again with 2-out, Franco doubled to deep left center to drive in the only other run the Phils would get or need to win the game.  Franco is batting .379 and looks like he's enjoying every minute of every game with mounting comfort in the big leagues.

Franco and homegrown Nola are more fun to watch and more exciting to route for than any players who have blossomed with the Phils in a long time.  The kids are not only all right, they're a breath of fresh air.

The 2nd-place Phillies have won 4-out-of-5, including beating the NL-defending Mets 2-out-of-3 this past weekend at Citi Field in N.Y.  They go for the sweep with an afternoon game Thursday 1:05pm EST vs. S.D., then host the division leading Nationals (6-1) for a weekend series.  Aaron Nola pitches Saturday night vs. former Cy Young Max Scherzer.