Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals: Observations from Philly’s First Series Win
The Phillies picked up their first series win of the season this weekend against the Nationals. Here are a couple observations from the weekend.
The Phillies evened out their record to 3-3 after winning the last two games of their weekend series with the Nationals. Philadelphia lost the first game, 7-6, but won the last two by 17-3 and 4-3 scores.
Thanks to their two wins over the Nationals, the Phils have the tiebreaker over Washington and are just half a game back of the Marlins for first place in the National League East.
Philadelphia’s next game comes Monday night as they open a three-game home series with the New York Mets.
Now, here’s a look at several observations from the last two games of the series.
Aaron Nola Returns Solid
Hidden behind Philadelphia’s monster performance on offense Saturday night was the return of Aaron Nola. It was his first start since July 28 of last season.
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The fact that Nola’s elbow didn’t flare up again made the start a success in its own right, but he had a solid outing as a whole. Nola went six innings, throwing 89 pitches as he gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.
Nola’s health was the biggest question mark of the offseason, and even during spring training the questions persisted. After his start Saturday night, Nola told Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly that those questions are answered:
“I’m healthy. I know a lot of people are wondering, or have been wondering, or are still wondering, but I’m healthy. And I feel great. I just want to stay healthy and maintain that for the remainder of the year.”
Nola’s next start will come on Friday against the Nationals again, and the hope is that he can build off his first outing of the season.
Jeanmar Gomez Can’t Be the Closer Anymore
For the second time in three games, Jeanmar Gomez gave up a home run in a save opportunity. On Opening Day, there was enough of a cushion to keep the lead intact. Sunday that wasn’t the case when Gomez gave up a three-run home run to the pinch-hitting Ryan Zimmerman, blowing Philadelphia’s three-run lead.
Even though the offense bailed out Gomez in the bottom of the inning, the fact that Gomez is getting lit up early in the season can’t go unnoticed. His ERA so far this season is 15.00 with five runs allowed in three innings. That is simply unacceptable from your closer, and as our own George Stockburger wrote, the experiment has failed.
Corey Seidman of CSN Philly put the oddity of Gomez closing in better terms than I ever could:
Well, that's what can happen when the 5th-best reliever in the bullpen is your closer.
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) April 9, 2017
Manager Pete Mackanin said in his post-game press conference that he is going to talk with Gomez about the closing role after Sunday’s game and he is “considering” changing the closer.
This Offense is a Roller Coaster
I don’t know what to make of the Phillies offense. On Friday, I wrote about the team missed some opportunities at the plate that could’ve helped win the game and how the middle of the order was struggling.
Then on Saturday they go and have a record-setting performance, scoring 12 runs in the first inning for the biggest first inning in the team’s history. Their 17 runs in that game were more than they had in the first four games of the season.
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Michael Saunders picked up three hits in Saturday’s win and drove in two. Tommy Joseph collected two hits and drove in three, while Maikel Franco added a hit and two RBI. Then, all three went hitless in Sunday’s win, although Franco did have two walks. Saunders is the only one of the three with a batting average above .200, and even then his is only .211. All three are still in an up-and-down phase of the season, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia converted when it counted Sunday. The Phils knocked in three runs off Steven Strasburg, which is no small task.
Even after Jeanmar Gomez blew that three-run lead, the offense was able to win the game on a Cesar Hernandez walk-off single. Seeing a younger player like Cesar Hernandez come through in a clutch was definitely a great way to end Sunday’s game and a positive sign moving forward for the offense.
Jeremy Hellickson Better Drink Water Next Time
I definitely criticized having Jeremy Hellickson start Opening Day, but so far this season he has looked the part of an Opening Day starter. In ten innings over two starts, he has a 0.90 ERA with just two walks allowed. Through five innings Sunday, Hellickson allowed just one hit and just one walk without giving up a run.
That is why is what so jarring to see Hellickson removed prior to the sixth inning. As he was throwing his warmup pitches, Hellickson said his hand and forearm got progressively tighter to the point where he just couldn’t move his fingers anymore. As expected, he said the issue was likely due to dehydration.
Matt Gelb of Philly.com pointed out the injury may have been rooted in the inning prior while Hellickson was at the plate and grounded out.
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Hellickson said it was the first time his hand cramped up like that during a game, and it will hopefully be the last as he should take his hydration more seriously the next time he has a start.