Phillies Week in Review: 6/27-7/4
The Philadelphia Phillies went 5-1 during last week’s action, and an improved offensive game is the main factor.
After a dreadful stretch of baseball, the Phillies have really stepped it up over the last two weeks. The Phils started last week off strong, sweeping the Diamondbacks in Arizona to close out their West Coast road trip.
The club then finished Independence Day weekend by taking 2 of 3 from the defending World Champion Royals and the first game of their series against the Braves.
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly published an article today about how the Fightins have led baseball in hitting over the last 13 days. The offense has been as explosive as 4th of July fireworks.
What has gotten into these guys of late? According to Salisbury’s article, catcher Cameron Rupp believes confidence in the team’s hitting abilities has been key to their offensive resurgence:
“Confidence breeds success,” he said. “When you’re struggling, it’s hard to have confidence up there, especially going against some of the veteran pitchers we’ve seen that have been in the big leagues for a long time versus a very young lineup. I think the confidence was a little down, but now it’s through the roof.” More from That Balls Outta Here Philadelphia Phillies bullpen could still struggle greatly in 2023 season Philadelphia Phillies: Most impactful transactions in 2022 How will Rob Thomson manage the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen in 2023? How Phillies’ Ranger Suárez is set to build on 2022 postseason dominance What can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?
This team has been oozing confidence of late. Rupp himself is carrying a 10-game hitting streak, the best on the team aside from Peter Bourjos, who has a 13-game streak going right now.
The improved offensive production is the primary reason that the team has begun to slowly dig its way out of the hole into which they were beginning to become buried. The Phillies have moved within eight games of the .500 mark, the closest they have been in three and a half weeks.
It’s not just Rupp, but also left fielder Cody Asche, who has moved into the 3-hole in the batting order of late, 2nd baseman Cesar Hernandez, and of course, Odubel Herrera continues in what should be his first NL All-Star season.
Let’s take a closer look at who has been surging and who has been struggling during this fun stretch of Phillies baseball.
Next: PHILLIES SURGING BATS
SURGING BATS
Rupp’s confidence paid off at the plate this week. The catcher hit .500 with a homer and three doubles this week. He’s had a stellar first half of the season for the team.
Cesar Hernandez was on fire this week as well, hitting .542 with a double, triple, and two RBI. Cesar worked with coaching staff to change his approach at the plate. Early results have been quite successful for the young second baseman.
Maikel Franco has also picked up his game over the last couple of weeks. After struggling for most of the season offensively, Franco batted .417 with a double, three homers, and seven RBI this week.
Franco now has 15 dingers on the year. Here’s hoping Maikel has shaken off the sophomore slump, and that his offensive resurgence will carry over to the second half of the season.
Peter Bourjos continues to hit, batting .435 on the week with a homer, two doubles, and a triple. If he keeps this up, Bourjos might net a decent return at the trade deadline.
Next: PHILLIES STRUGGLING BATS
STRUGGLING BATS
Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel continues to struggle at the plate. Goeddel hit just .167 over the last week for the Phils in four games played.
The team’s 1st base tandem of Ryan Howard and Tommy Joseph continues to struggle mightily as well. Joseph hit just .133 with an RBI, while Howard batted a measly .111 with four strikeouts.
With Cameron Rupp emerging as the starting catcher for the Fightins this year, Carlos Ruiz has seen his playing time decrease. ‘Chooch’ played just twice this week and managed a lone hit.
Next: PHILLIES SURGING ARMS
SURGING ARMS
Vincent Velasquez continues to pitch well after his stint on the DL. The hard throwing righty gave up just two runs over six innings while striking out seven in the Phils 7-2 win over the Royals this week.
Jeremy Hellickson had another outstanding start this week, throwing six innings and striking out a half-dozen in the Phils win over the Royals on Friday.
had a pair of fantastic starts this week against the Diamondbacks and Braves. Eickhoff struck out 14 batters over 12.2 innings pitched. He is having a phenomenal sophomore season for the Fightins.
Jeanmar Gomez and Brett Oberholtzer had nice weeks out of the bullpen, with the duo combining for 5.1 scoreless innings.
While it is likely that Herrera represents the Phillies if the club receives just one NL All-Star rep, Gomez certainly is very deserving of serious consideration for the honors himself.
Adam Morgan has also found success since being moved to the bullpen, giving up just a single run and striking out four over 3.2 innings pitched.
Next: PHILLIES STRUGGLING ARMS
STRUGGLING ARMS
David Hernandez had a poor week out of the pen, surrendering three earned runs over three innings pitched for an 8.10 ERA.
Severino Gonzalez also struggled out of the bullpen this past week, giving up two earned runs in just two innings pitched.
Aaron Nola‘s pitching woes continued this week. The young righty gave up five earned runs over five innings against the Royals in his start this week.
Nola surrendered all of the runs in the 2nd inning, but finished the game strong by retiring the last 10 batters he faced and finishing the day with seven strikeouts.
The Phillies announced that they are skipping Nola’s last start before the all-star break to help him clear his head and shake off this tough stretch of starts.
Hopefully Nola’s strong finish against the Royals and the Phillies recent offensive surge will carry over into the second half of the season.