Top ten moments of the Philadelphia Phillies 2017 season
With the 2017 regular season now over, let’s take a look at the top ten moments for the Philadelphia Phillies this season.
It’s hard to argue the fact that the Phillies were very hard to watch this season. They finished the first half without reaching 30 wins and looked far away from any sort of contention.
Two and a half months later, the script has completely flipped as they showed major signs of life in the second half of the season. They were actually quite fun to watch by the end of the season and look like a much different team in 2018.
With the season over, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments of the season, even some that happened when the team was at the bottom of the barrel.
No. 10: Welcome to the bigs, kids
The Phillies saw 13 players make their major-league debuts in 2017, including some of their best prospects heading into the year. Andrew Knapp opened up the year as the team’s backup catcher while spring training success story made the team as a non-roster invitee.
There were plenty of highly anticipated debuts as well with Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins, and J.P. Crawford all reaching the majors by the end of the year. Jorge Alfaro debuted in 2016 in September, but this year was his first real chance at extended playing time.
Several notable pitching prospects debuted as well with Drew Anderson, Ben Lively, Nick Pivetta, and Mark Leiter, Jr. all contributing to the rotation while Ricardo Pinto, Yacksel Rios, Jesen Therrien, Victor Arano, and Hoby Milner all contributing to the bullpen.
The success of several of these rookies makes many believe that the team should make a huge step forward in 2018. That will be figured out in time, but it was great to see several top prospects make their debut this season.
No. 8: Beating the AL’s best
Little to nothing went right for the Phillies in June as they finished the month just 9-18. It was better than their abysmal May, but still certainly not something to be proud of.
One of those nine wins came on a night most probably wouldn’t expect the Phillies to win. That was on June 16 when the Boston Red Sox were in Philadelphia and their ace, Chris Sale, started. Sale was among the AL’s best pitchers this year and has a strong case for the Cy Young award. Even if he doesn’t win, he should still be runner-up.
For the most part, Sale did exactly what he was supposed to do to a struggling lineup like Philadelphia’s. He gave up just one run on four hits, recording ten strikeouts while walking just one. From that line alone, one would think that the Phillies were destined to lose.
However, Nick Pivetta kept the Red Sox with his best start of the season according to Game Score v2. He went seven scoreless innings, striking out nine batters while giving four hits and walking two. When Pivetta had to be at his best, he was.
Philadelphia’s lone run in the game came off the bat of Ty Kelly. He hit a RBI double down the left field line that just managed to score Andrew Knapp from first base. That hit built upon the legacy of the Ty-Breaker.
Kelly’s double secured a 1-0 win, breaking an eight-game losing streak for the Phils. It was a great moment in the middle of a terrible losing streak for the team.
No. 7: Six home run game
Heading into the All-Star break it was hard to be a Phillies fan. The team had won just 28 games prior to the last day of the first half and was on a five-game losing streak. If you were doing something other than watching them July 9 against the Padres, no one would blame you.
However, it turned out to be a fun game to watch. The Phillies hit six home runs in their 7-1 win over San Diego. Freddy Galvis hit two home runs on the day and Nick Williams notched his first career home run after a week and a half in the majors. Cameron Rupp, Odubel Herrera, and Aaron Altherr all contributed solo home runs as well.
This strong offensive performance was a sign of things to come in the second half. The offense improved vastly in the second half, leading to a much better record.
No. 4: Phillies hit two walk-offs in one game
Sep. 12 was a wild night for the Phillies despite it being a meaningless game in the end. The Phillies rallied from a 7-2 deficit to bring the game within one run of the Marlins. Rhys Hoskins started the rally with a monster home run in the bottom of the seventh inning before they put together a three-run eighth inning.
The ninth inning is where things started to get crazy. Nick Williams was hit by a pitch, Maikel Franco singled, and J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases with one out for pinch-hitter Hyun-Soo Kim. Kim singled into right field, scoring Williams with ears. Cesar Hernanedz, who pinch-ran for Franco, also appeared to have scored and the team celebrated what they thought was a walk-off win. Instead, Hernandez was ruled out after a replay review, leaving the game tied.
Marcell Ozuna led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run, putting Philadelphia behind 8-7. Freddy Galvis and Aaron Altherr recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, leaving Hoskins as the last hope. Hoskins delivered, hitting his second home run of the game to once again tie it up.
The game stretched well into the night until Williams scored Altherr on a double. This walk-off was unquestionable, finally sending everyone home after a nearly five-hour game.
No. 2: Aaron Nola establishes himself as an ace
This wasn’t a particular moment as it was more of a collection of moments where Aaron Nola really established himself as a potential ace. Nola came into the season a complete question mark not for his performance, but for the fact that he missed the last two months of the 2016 season with an elbow injury. Elbows are finicky things and fans were understandably worried about whether or not Nola could return to 100 percent.
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By the end of the season, it became clear that Nola’s elbow was not only healthy, but that his performance had improved. As a whole, Nola finished the year with a 3.54 ERA (121 ERA+), 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.6 walks per nine, and 1.208 WHIP in 27 starts.
Nola’s most impressive string of starts came between June 22 and Aug. 12 when he had a 1.71 ERA, .196 batting average against, 78 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 68.1 innings.
This stretch included dominant starts against the playoff-bound Astros and Rockies.
It’s hard to pick just one start to label the best of the year, but one that certainly has an argument was his start Sep. 13, the day after (of?) the two-walk-off game mentioned earlier. The bullpen was battered after such a long game and the team needed Nola to deliver a strong start. He did just that, striking out a career-high 11 batters in seven innings while giving up just one run on four hits and two walks. It’s starts like that make people think Nola could receive Cy Young votes and be this team’s ace.