Phillies beat the Giants: Five things we learned from the series
The Phillies won a series for the first time since April 27, winning the last two games of their series over the Giants. Here are five things we learned.
After losing Friday night, it seemed this series would be more of the same for the Phillies. However, they won the last two games of the series over the Giants, taking home their first series win in over a month.
The win snapped a ten-series losing streak, the longest of which since 1997. They had not won consecutive games this season since April 26-27 against the Marlins. That seems like an eternity from now after the May the team endured.
During the series, the team got some bouncebacks from a couple players, saw a solid debut, and the continued success of an underrated piece. However, we also saw another struggle as he has for the last month.
Here are five things we learned from the Phillies-Giants series.
Jerad Eickhoff’s struggles are real
Every series we are hoping that it’s the one where Jerad Eickhoff turns his season around, but it never is. Eickhoff was the losing pitcher in Friday’s game, lasting just 2.2 innings as he gave up five runs on six hits and five walks. It was the shortest start of his major-league career and his third-worst by game score.
Eickhoff’s performance fell off right when the team did as he has a 6.94 ERA and 1.94 WHIP since April 28, walking 4.11 batters per nine innings. He has five losses in his last seven starts.
Overall, Eickhoff has a 5.13 ERA and 0.9 fWAR in 11 starts this season. He was solid all through 2016, but he has really fallen off this season. He is giving up far too many baserunners as opposing hitters have a .282 batting average against him and he is giving up a walk 8.8% of the time.
Eickhoff’s season is quickly falling off and he has to do something to turn it around sooner rather than later.
Maikel Franco finally turning his season around
This weekend was the best series for Maikel Franco in quite some time. He went 4-for-12 with a double Saturday and a solo home run Sunday. His home run was the game-winning run in Sunday’s win and his first since May 18.
After the game, Franco said he was feeling positive about his season moving forward despite the struggles he had in May: [quote via Marc Narducci of Philly.com]
“This feels really good to me,” Franco said. “[May] was a tough month for me, but I try to throw that away and just think about day to day, game to game, and try to do everything I can to do better.”
Franco had a .218/.274/.322 line with a 6.3% walk rate and 16.8% strikeout rate in May. He did suffer from some poor luck as he had a .243 batting average on balls in play despite having soft contact just 16.7% of the time.
Hopefully, this series is just the beginning of a hot June for Franco as he looks to mark a new beginning for what has been a rather poor 2017 season so far.
After making adjustments to his swing Odubel Herrera delivered in two games against the Giants. He finished 5-8 with four doubles and a home run, coming up clutch on Sunday in the Phillies first series win in over a month.
Hitting coach Matt Stairs work with Herrera is clear, as the outfielder has eliminated a large portion of his leg kick and shortened his swing. The awkward ankle bend in his front foot is gone and is replaced with a more closed stance swing.
Herrera was the new front office’s first big addition through the Rule 5 Draft, and their first big extension. Having him potentially rebound is incredibly important for the franchise needing offense and consistency.
Ben Lively looks strong in Major League debut
For the first time since May 21, the Phillies had a starting pitcher on the mound for more than six innings. Coincidentally, it was Ben Lively making his major league debut after the Phillies acquired him for Marlon Byrd hours before the calendars turned to 2015.
Lively is still looking for his first major league strikeout, but accomplished many firsts. His first win came after seven strong innings of four-hit baseball where the only run came in on a sacrifice fly.
He also recorded his first major league hit, as well as an unusual balk after getting his foot stuck in the mound and holding the ball through his motion.
With so many struggles for the Phillies pitching a performance such as Lively’s was desperately needed for the worst team in baseball. For the sake of the franchise, coaches will hope the added tape on Lively doesn’t lead to major adjustments that throw off the early stages of his career.
Neshek the All-Star?
In a season full of disappointment and flawed acquisitions, the Phillies have seen reliever Pat Neshek evolve into an All-Star caliber arm. He could eventually be the Phillies lone representative at the mid-summer classic and fetch the largest return in a trade.
It’s unlikely the Phillies get an Andrew Miller sized return of prospects for Neshek, but a contender would love an eighth-inning arm who’s shut down opponents all season.
After pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic Neshek owns a .89 ERA for the Phillies in 22 games while allowing just two runs and striking out 20.
Next: Three Reasons the Phillies Fell Apart in May
Nothing is “normal” about how Neshek pitches, but it works and will garner a large return of young talent at the trade deadline.
Joe Maddon, who’ll manage the National League All-Star roster, will certainly take a look at Neshek in Miami. Perhaps the Cubs manager will want Neshek on his scorecard more often once the trade deadline comes around.