Rupp, Phils Win Second Straight Series

Catcher Rupp and 3B Franco hit HR Sunday.

The Phils won their 7th of 10 and 5th of their last 6 games when they beat K.C. at the Bank 7-2 Sunday.  The Phils followed a sweep of Arizona by winning 2 of 3 vs. K.C.  Arizona has a losing record, so beating the defending World Series champs over the weekend was vastly more impressive.

More importantly, the Phillies have been amassing hits at a rate unheard of at any prior point in the season.

While the Phils offense still ranks 2nd-to-last in the NL, the Phils have put 70 runs on the board in their last 12 games, which is 5.83 runs per game.  Previously, they were averaging just over 2 runs a game, making it almost impossible to win games once the starting pitching began to falter.  The Phils have double digits in all but 3 of their last 12 games (and 9 hits in one of those 3).

"It only takes one or two guys to get going," Mackanin said. "I always thought we're a better hitting team than we showed."

Rupp is hot-hitting, fun to watch and easy to like.

Catcher Cameron Rupp, who the Phillies don't see as a long term solution at the position, is turning heads.  In June, he batted .290 with 5 HR, a .594 SLG. % and a .941 OPS.

Off and running in July, Rupp hit a 1-2 pitch the opposite way into the right-field seats in the 1st inning to give the Phils a 3-0 lead.  It was Rupp's 6th HR in 19 games.  Rupp now has 8 HR and 16 2B in just 191 AB, while hitting .288 this season, which is the 2nd best average on the team.  He's making $508,000.

"It was 98 mph so he supplied the power," Rupp said of his 362 foot HR. "He left the pitch up and over the plate."

At age 27, Rupp has now totaled 530 AB thusfar in the big leagues since his debut in 2013, all for Philadelphia.  Last season, he logged 100 more AB, totaled 1 more HR (9), but half the 2B (9), so he is managing more power this time around with significantly more hits (he batted .233 in '15).

Starting pitcher Vince Velasquez, in his 2nd start since returning from 3-weeks on the DL because of a strained right biceps, was terrific.  He went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, S.O. 7 and walked 2.  His 1st game back Monday was even better: 5 shutout innings, 7 S.O., 0 BB.  With Sunday's win, he is 7-2 with a 3.34 ERA.  The question isn't "Can he pitch," but rather "Can he stay healthy?"  The Astros answered with a definitive "No" to the latter, then dealt him to the Phils in December as part of the return package for closer Kenny Giles (0-3, 4.76 ERA, 1 save for Houston).

Meeting on mound early Sunday.

At the beginning of the contest, Velasquez scared his manager Pete Mackanin because his hardest pitch was only 90 mph in the early going. Mackanin visited the mound:

"We thought: `Oh-no, not again.' But He assured us he was fine," Mackanin said. "He didn't have his above-average velocity, but he made his secondary pitches."

 "It took me a little bit longer to warm up," Velasquez said. "Just dragging a little bit. Everyone has dead arm at some point. You have to pitch through it and utilize all your pitches."

The Phils still have a run differential of -93, which ranks 4th worst in all of baseball.  However, they've now climbed back up to the 9th most wins in the NL out of 15 teams.

3B Maikel Franco has been red hot.  He pounded a towering HR 431 feet to left-center field in the 8th, after having hit an RBI infield single in the 5th and contributing a single and run scored in the 1st.  

Franco is delivering the best Phils power since Howard 2.0

Franco now has 14 HR and 45 RBI in the first half of the season.  Also, 5-of-his-last-6 games have been multi-hit.  He's 15-for-36, hitting .417 in his last 9 games.  That's  a big improvement over the .233 and .230 averages he disappointingly posted in June and May.  Franco's power has been consistent and much-needed on this roster.  The 23 year-old is 23rd in the NL in HR and 24th in RBI and the team leader in both categories.

The Phils will host Atlanta (28-54) and then travel to Colorado (37-44) to end the first half of their season and head to the All-Star break.  The two losing teams give the Phils ample opportunity to end on a high note by continuing their winning streak.  However, they will have to do it without fallen star starting pitcher Aaron Nola, who will miss his scheduled start Thursday for some extended time off to "clear his head."

The righthander has a 13.50 ERA in his last five starts, which is the first such string of poor outings

Nola sent packing to 'find himself.'

of his baseball career, which until now has been almost too easy at every level of baseball he reached leading to and including the Majors.

How Nola rebounds, adjusts and returns may shape the next chapter in his promising career.

"If you ask anybody, we all want to be pitching every fifth day," Nola said. "It's what they want to do and I understand. But hopefully it will help. Any time you get some time off, it's good. But I'm still going to try to get my work in the best that I can and get ready for my next start."

Atlanta righthander Joel De La Cruz (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will start against Jerad Eickhoff (5-9, 3.38) in the series opener Monday afternoon.