I’ve been repeating the same message over and over the past few weeks – On a Monday-Sunday time frame, the Phillies hadn’t won more than 2 games since the end of April. With every passing week, it was getting more ridiculous just how consistently bad the team was. That streak has come to an end – the Phillies played 6 games from June 26th to July 2nd and won 3 of them. The wins were by a large margin – they outscored their opponents 20-7 in their victories (on the flip side, two of the three losses were by 1 run). It’s too early to break out the party streamers – besides the obvious fact of their season long record (still last in the majors), their future has taken a small hit – with Howie Kendrick on the DL, his trade value is undeniably lower today than it was yesterday. Is it something to get worried about? No. Is it a bigger deal than a 3-win week during a forgettable season? Yes. Let’s all hope for a full and speedy recovery for Kendrick.
Games Recaps- Game 75: Loss, 1-6. Nick Pivetta took the loss, walking 5 batters (which ties the season high for a Phillies starter). 5 walks is a lot, but not unheard of – in the past 5 seasons, the starter has walked 5 or more batters 26 times. The “Wildest Phillies Pitcher” crown either goes to A.J. Burnett or Phillipe Aumont. A Phillies starter has only walked 6 batters or more 7 times – A.J. Burnett has four of these. However, Aumont holds the undesirable distinction of being the only Phillies starter to walk 7 batters in a single start over the past 5 years. It was Aumont’s only start in his professional career, and it ended up being his final major league appearance. For those wondering – the most walks ever in a start by a Phillies pitcher is 12, by both Curt Simmons in 1948 and Jimmy Ring in 1924. Jimmy Ring ended up pitching the entire game. As much as we wring our hands and fret over baseball changing, can you imagine how miserable a complete game, 12 walk performance would be nowadays?
- Game 76: Win, 8-2. To the Mariners credit, they only allowed 4 earned runs. To the Mariners discredit, they allowed 4 unearned runs. Aaron Nola was dealing, going 7 innings and matching his career high with 9 punch outs. Howie Kendrick was the DH for the game as he had hamstring tightness, but was put on the DL after the game. As I said in the intro – Kendrick’s health is the linchpin to his trade value. Short stay plz.
- Game 77: Win, 5-4. After this nail biter of a game (won on a homer by Tommy Joseph and an RBI single from Andrew Knapp in the 9th inning), the Phillies tweeted what was supposed to be celebratory tweet. It came across like someone surprised that they managed to finish a simple task without anything major going wrong. Less of a “Honey, I finished building the deck and brought you flowers” and more of a “Honey, I made dinner AND the kitchen was only a little on fire.”
A two-game sweep is still a sweep!#RingTheBell
