Morning Phil Up – 5/14/2014 – Asche, Asche, we all fall down

May 13, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Cody Asche (25) watches the ball pass by him on a fielding error in the sixth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Angles won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s Game

Angels defeat Phillies 4-3

Quick Summary

Cody Asche‘s fielding errors led to four unearned runs, and the Phillies were unable to compensate on offense. To read Spencer Bingol’s more in-depth recap, click here.

Emotional reaction immediately after the game

So…how has Maikel Franco been looking?

Less emotional reaction after thinking about it a bit

Asche probably has two more months to show more than he has. After that, it’s going to be very tempting for them to call up Franco to play third.

Heroes

In his first start of the season, Matt Shoemaker pitched five effective innings. Luis Jimenez drove in the winning runs for the Angels with a sixth inning double.

Goat

Wasn’t it just a week ago when Asche had that huge night that made us think he was starting to come around?

Today’s Game

Los Angeles Angels at Philadelphia Phillies (17-20)

Garrett Richards. Image Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Game time: 1:05 PM

TV: CSN

Starting pitchers: Garrett Richards (3-0) vs. A.J. Burnett (2-2)

Preview

The brief series will conclude with an afternoon contest. At first glance, it should be a pretty good pitching matchup.

In his third full season, Angels starter Garrett Richards has emerged as a very good pitcher. In seven starts, he’s given up more than three earned runs only once.

He’ll be opposed by A.J. Burnett who is coming off a poor start against the Blue Jays. He’ll hopefully be able to rebound and allow the Phillies to snap this two-game losing streak.

Link of Interest

CSN Philly – Sandberg won’t hesitate to use Hernandez at shortstop

The main reason Cesar Hernandez has spent the majority of the season in the minor leagues is because the team wanted him to learn to play shortstop. If he can serve as a backup at that position, he provides the team with much-needed flexibility. Manager Ryne Sandberg says that despite Hernandez’s relative inexperience at the position, he wouldn’t hesitate to play him there if necessary.

Tweet of Importance

Unfortunately, baseball doesn’t seem inclined to end this interleague play thing any time soon.