Six things we learned from Phillies big series win over the Brewers
By John Town
Get Hector Neris away from the ninth inning
This article was originally going to be only five things before the bottom of the ninth inning. I had it all more or less written with a 10-5 win seemingly in the books. Then Hector Neris had to keep struggling.
Neris had a good outing Saturday night, needing just eight pitches to record a ninth-inning save. It was his 10th save of the year and the first time he pitched a meaningful inning in quite some time. It gave manager Gabe Kapler enough confidence to send him out in the ninth again Sunday with a five-run lead. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal.
Instead, Neris nearly blew yet another save. He gave up a solo home run on the first pitch of the inning then allowed a three-run home run soon after, bringing the game to 10-9. Odubel Herrera saved the win making a jumping catch at the warning track to rob Christian Yelich of an extra-base hit.
At this point, there is no reason to let Neris pitch in any meaningful game. His splitter simply isn’t the same pitch it was the last two seasons. He now has a 6.00 ERA this season, allowing a home run on every fourth fly ball. Kapler has given Neris more than enough chances, and he has failed miserably.