Five things learned from Phillies series loss to the Blue Jays
The Phillies lost yet another series to a beatable team over the weekend, this time to the Blue Jays. Here are five things we learned from the series.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Phillies lost a series to a beatable team. They dropped two of three games to the fourth-place Blue Jays, bringing their 2018 record to 70-60. The first two games were very winnable, taking a lead in each. It is now their sixth series in a row without winning a single one, with the only solace being a series split with the Red Sox.
Thankfully, the Braves also lost two games over the weekend, keeping Philadelphia three games behind them in the NL East. The division remains very close with 32 games left to play this year.
With the Blue Jays series now wrapped up, let’s take a look at five things we learned over the weekend.
Hector Neris is back
Hector Neris hit rock bottom in June before his demotion. He had a 6.90 ERA in 33 appearances, giving up 11 home runs in 30 innings. His splitter had lost his effectiveness, essentially making him a one-pitch pitcher. He was sent back to Triple-A for a month and a half, hoping to regain what made him such a strong reliever the previous two seasons.
Whatever Neris did in Triple-A, it worked. In 6.2 innings since his return, he has been electric. He has racked up 15 strikeouts with just one walk and three hits allowed in this time. His splitter is working again, and it has paid massive dividends. He even has mixed in a couple sliders.
Neris has given the coaching staff enough confidence to put him into high-leverage situations again. Friday night in the seventh inning, Neris came on with runners on first and second and no outs after an error and hit. The Phillies were down 4-2 at the time with the game looking like it could go downhill quickly. Neris didn’t allow that to happen, striking out three straight batters to keep the game as it stood.
Neris pitched in the seventh again Sunday with a three-run lead. He struck out the first two batters he faced but allowed a double to Billy McKinney. That didn’t faze Neris, as he struck out Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. to end the inning.
Neris utterly dominated the Blue Jays over the weekend to highlight what has been a strong bounce-back by him. An effective Neris is exactly what this team needs for the playoff push.
Wilson Ramos can’t be stopped
The Phillies acquiring Wilson Ramos was one the most underrated moves at the deadline this year. While the All-Star was injured at the time of the deal, his bat could be a difference-maker the last month and a half of the season.
Ramos returned from the disabled list Aug. 15, a half-month sooner than expected by the team. He made an instant impact, going 3-for-4 in his Phillies debut. A sore wrist caused him to miss the Nationals series, but he returned for the Blue Jays series this weekend.
Friday night, Ramos went 1-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He had another huge game Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a double and his first home run as a Phillie. He drove in three runs, bringing his RBI total as a Phillie up to eight in just six games.
After Sunday, Ramos has 12 hits as a Phillie, with six going for extra bases. Prior to Sunday, he was already worth 0.4 wins above replacement here. That total will certainly go up after his strong performance. When this season is over, we will likely look at this move as one of the biggest steals of the year.
Seranthony Dominguez continues to struggle
I talked about Seranthony Dominguez when looking back on the Nationals series after he blew his fourth save of the season and his third in August Wednesday night. He was trending downwards before the Blue Jays series, and things only got worse during it.
The Phillies jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Saturday afternoon’s game before letting the Blue Jays back into it, with the game at 6-5 when Dominguez entered the seventh inning. He got a four-pitch strikeout to end the inning and leave the tying run on first, so Gabe Kapler sent Dominguez back out for the eighth.
That decision, while not bad in principle, backfired horrifically. Dominguez simply didn’t have his command once he got back out on the mound, getting just one out while loading the bases. Victor Arano replaced Dominguez, but he allowed a three-run double with all three runs being charged to Dominguez. That rose his ERA all the way to 3.22, almost a full run more compared to his 2.28 ERA before Wednesday.
Thankfully, Dominguez looked much better on Sunday without the pressure on. He pitched the ninth inning with a five-run lead after Tommy Hunter gave up a solo home run in the eighth. Dominguez threw 15 pitches, 10 for strikes, as he got two strikeouts and a pop out to end the game.
While it was good to see Dominguez pitch much better on Sunday, there was little pressure on him, unlike when he had a one-run lead Saturday. We will have to see him pitch like he did Sunday in high-leverage situations several times to restore confidence in him moving forward.
Nick Pivetta remains inconsistent
Nick Pivetta, like the rest of the Phillies, has been inconsistent for most of the season. He started off the year with a 3.26 ERA through May, seemingly turning the corner after a pedestrian rookie year. Pivetta then posted a 6.70 ERA in June & July combined, walking 18 batters and allowing 11 home runs in 49.2 innings.
This month, we have seen the good and the bad with Pivetta. He started off the month with three straight quality starts, giving up just three runs and striking out 19 batters in 18 innings. Then, Pivetta served up batting practice to the Mets in the Little League Classic, allowing six runs on eight singles in 3.2 innings.
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Saturday’s outing against the Blue Jays was another dud for Pivetta. He gave up a two-run home run to Kendrys Morales and an RBI single to Teoscar Hernandez in the fourth inning, bringing the game to 5-3. He was sent back out in the seventh with 84 pitches under his belt. Pivetta allowed a leadoff double but got two strikeouts. Billy McKinney then took a first-pitch fastball and turned it into a home run, ending Pivetta’s day.
After Saturday’s start, Pivetta now has a 4.76 ERA and 1.294 WHIP in 136 innings this year. His strikeout rate and walk rate are both significantly improved compared to last season, but home runs continue to kill him. He has now allowed 20 this year. His 3.61 fielding-independent pitching and 3.33 skill-interactive ERA both indicate he should be performing better, but his on-field results remain troublesome.
Vince Velasquez remains solid
One of the least talked about storylines this season has been the development and improvement of Vince Velasquez. After a disappointing injury-plagued season in 2017, Velasquez needed to take a major step forward this year, and he has.
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Overall this year, Velasquez has a 4.05 ERA, 3.71 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.255 WHIP in 129 innings. His numbers are dragged down significantly by his 10-run clunker June 8 in Milwaukee. If you remove that start, he has a 3.43 ERA this season. That is a radical jump from his 5.13 ERA last year.
Velasquez has been especially strong since that 10-run outing. In 13 appearances since then, he has a 3.09 ERA and 1.127 WHIP.
Sunday was another solid outing for Velasquez. It certainly wasn’t his best as he allowed three walks and three hits in five innings. He gave up two runs on a home run by Kendrys Morales, who now has eight home runs in his last seven games.
All things considered, he delivered a good enough performance to get the job done, earning his ninth win of the season.
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Velasquez has put things together at the right time with games really mattering. As long as his start against the Brewers remains an outlier for the season, the calls for him to move to the bullpen should be silenced.