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That Balls Outta Here

Phillies’ biggest surprises from first half of 2018 season

By Kerry Kauffman

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 09: Nick Williams #5, Aaron Altherr #23 and Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after defeating the New York Mets 3-1 during game two of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 09: Nick Williams #5, Aaron Altherr #23 and Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after defeating the New York Mets 3-1 during game two of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 26: Hector Neris #50 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch in the ninth inning during a game against the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park on June 26, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Yankees won 6-0. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Hector Neris

In 2016, Neris performed well in a setup role, posting a 2.58 ERA in 79 appearances and striking out 102 in just 80 1/3 innings. Taking over the closer role last year, Neris saved 26 and had a decent 3.01 ERA. While not stellar, he was solid enough to have the job coming out of spring training this season.

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Neris was rocked out of the gate, allowing three earned runs in 2/3 of an innings on March 29 against the Braves. Saving 6 out of his next 7, lowering his ERA to 2.77, it appeared Neris was on the right track. However, he blew two more out of his next four, allowing 5 earned runs in the process.

With an ERA hovering around 5.00, clearly no one was comfortable with Neris at the back end of the bullpen.

Neris was optioned to the minor and came back, but that didn’t fix his woes.  Worse than ever, Neris posted an ungodly high 11.17 ERA in June. His last appearance this year, and perhaps in a Phillies uniform was on June 29 against the Nationals. He allowed five earned runs and three home runs in an inning, giving him an ERA of 6.90 for the season.

Next: 5 Phillies prospects who could be in majors in '18

Neris’s future in the majors is cloudy at best. The rest of 2018 will be used to hopefully find himself in Triple-A. If he can’t do that, he won’t have a role on this team long-term.

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