Philadelphia Phillies: Top five moments from the first half of 2017
With the All-Star Break fully in swing, let’s take a look back at the top five moments from the first half of the Phillies 2017 season.
The first half of the season for the Phillies has certainly been rough for the team. They are 29-58 and are the worst team in MLB this season. May was an absolutely horrid month where the team won just five games of the 25 they played.
Even though the team was bad, there were still some exciting moments throughout the first couple months of the season. Let’s take a look back on some of those moments from the first half of this season.
There are more that could easily wind up here, but these are just the ones I decided upon. Tell me on Twitter what you would add to this list.
No. 5: Six home runs in one game
The Phillies ended the first half in grand fashion with a dominant 7-1 win over the Padres. It snapped a five-game losing streak and gave the team some momentum heading into the second half of the season.
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What made the win so special was the fact that they hit six home runs in the win. It was the first time the Phillies had done so since Aug. 11, 2004 when they beat the Rockies 15-4. Randy Wolf and Jim Thome each hit two while Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley each added one.
This time around, it was Freddy Galvis leading the way with two monster shots of his own, one that went into the second deck and one that hit the scoreboard hanging off it.
Nick Williams hit his first career home run on an opposite-field line drive that just stayed fair and got over the fence. Aaron Altherr, Cameron Rupp, and Odubel Herrera rounded out the home run onslaught.
It was one of the more impressive wins of the season and just fun overall to watch. That hasn’t happened too much this season so when there’s a fun win, we better revel in it.
No. 4: Outdueling Chris Sale
The trade of Chris Sale to the Red Sox from the White Sox (swapping sox you could say) was the biggest trade of the offseason. The Red Sox paid a hefty price, giving up top prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Basabe, and Victor Diaz.
So far this year, the trade has been worth the cost. Sale has been utterly dominant, striking out 12.55 batters per nine innings. As of the All-Star Break, he has a 2.75 ERA, 2.09 fielding-independent pitching, 0.90 WHIP, and 5.3 fWAR. The 11-4 pitcher will start for the American League in the All-Star Game Tuesday night.
However, one of those losses came at the hands of the Phillies. When the two teams met June 15, it seemed like an easy win for the Red Sox with Sale on the mound facing off against the inconsistent rookie Nick Pivetta.
Instead, the game became a pitcher’s duel with Pivetta matching Sale for seven innings. Each allowed just four hits with Pivetta striking out nine and Sale striking out 10. The lone run came in the bottom of the eighth when Ty Kelly knocked a pinch-hit double to score Andrew Knapp from first. It was the only blemish of the game for Sale, but with Philadelphia’s pitching being spotless, they were able to steal one from one of the best pitchers in the league.
No. 3: Carlos Ruiz returns to Philadelphia
May was a rough month for the Phillies as a whole with few wins coming that month. However, there was one bright spot when the Mariners came to Philadelphia. It marked the return of catcher Carlos Ruiz who spent 11 years in Philadelphia. He was an easy fan favorite who guided the team’s pitching staffs throughout their many playoff runs.
Mariners manager Scott Servais killed the narrative by leaving Ruiz on the bench to start the first game of the series, but Ruiz pinch-hit in the seventh inning. Just like they had for the last 11 years, the Philadelphia fans belted out the “Chooooooooooch” chant as they had so many times before.
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The next day Ruiz was in the starting lineup. He went 1-for-5 but drove in four runs. Three of those runs came on a three-RBI double that was a difference-maker in Seattle’s 11-6 win over Philadelphia. Despite the fact that it hurt their team, Phillies fans cheered for their favorite catcher anyway. Ruiz told Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer what the moment meant to him:
“That was really emotional. I’m really happy to come back here and enjoy the ovation from the fans,” Ruiz said. “That’s something that you’re always going to remember. We don’t see that too often. Just want to say thank you to everybody for the ovation and the support. “They were so good to me throughout my career. I was so happy.”
It was the second time the fans had celebrated a former player coming back and beating their old team. They gave Chase Utley a curtain call after he homered twice against Philadelphia when he returned last summer as a Dodger.
Most of the players from the 2008 World Series team are out of the league by now, but when they do return to Philadelphia, they receive a warm welcome – unless you’re Jayson Werth – and Ruiz was no exception in this case.
No. 2: 12-run inning
After an Opening Day win the Phillies lost their next three games as they stumbled out of the gate to start the 2017 season. Their second game against the Nationals was important to follow because it was the first time Aaron Nola started a game since July of 2016. It turned out to be a great game for a much different reasons.
The offense got off to a strong start by loading the bases with no one out to start the game off Washington starter Jeremy Guthrie. The first run scored on a Maikel Franco sacrifice fly. From there the attack was on as 11 more runs came around to score before the inning was finally over.
Howie Kendrick drove in three runs on a bases-clearing triple and Franco, Michael Saunders, and Tommy Joseph each drove in two in the inning.
It was the biggest offensive inning for the team since when they scored 13 runs against the Reds in the fourth inning of a game April 13, 2003. They set the team record for the most runs scored in the first inning of any game. The large 17-3 win skewed the team’s run differential for quite some time, even as the season went down the drain in May.
No. 1: May 7 walk-off win over the Nationals
The Phillies actually had two walk-off wins over the Nationals this season, but their second one on May 7 was much more dramatic.
That game was the last of a ten-game stretch where Philadelphia had to face three National League powerhouses in the Dodgers, Cubs, and Nationals. They had just one win in nine games heading into May 7.
Philadelphia had not done much offensively through most of the game, scoring two runs early on a double by Freddy Galvis but falling behind by a 5-2 score by the seventh inning. The team needed a spark late in the game if they wanted to steal a game from the top team in the NL East.
That spark came off the bat of Aaron Altherr. Cesar Hernandez and Daniel Nava singled earlier in the inning but were stuck on first and second with two outs. Altherr pinch-hit and delivered, hitting a game-tying home run to center field. It was his biggest play of the season in terms of win probability added and put the game on even footing heading into the ninth inning.
After no one scored in the ninth, Philadelphia came to bat in the bottom of the tenth and immediately loaded the bases. After Andres Blanco struck out, Galvis came to bat. He hit a deep sacrifice fly to center field, easily scoring Odubel Herrera from third base.
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Even though the Nationals are running away with the division and the Phillies are falling farther and farther into the cellar, they were still able to steal a game from the Nationals early on in the season.