Biggest July Storylines for the Phillies
The Phillies need to figure out their Closer(s)
Girardi loves to focus on who his closer is, and for most of the season, it was Hector Neris. For the first two months, no one could argue that.
In 13 appearances in April, Neris posted a 1.54 ERA and held opposing batters to a .186/.255/.326 line, allowing just eight hits and three runs over 11 2/3 innings. He followed that up with a strong May, in which his ERA was a still-impress 2.38 over 11 games, and batters fared barely better against him: .175/.283/.350.
But in June, Neris fell apart. Opponents’ slash lines nearly doubled against him, and his ERA skyrocketed to 8.22 over nine games and just 7 2/3 innings. He blew the save in four of six opportunities in June, after only blowing two saves total in the previous months; the Phillies lead MLB with 22 blown saves. Girardi was forced to make a change.
Girardi went to Jose Alvarado; aside from Bailey Falter and Ranger Suarez, Alvarado has the highest ERA+ of anyone in the bullpen.
The key for Alvarado is lowering his walks; in the first 2 months of the season Alvarado had 17 walks in just over 17 innings. In June, he brought his month’s totals down to eight walks in 13 innings, a step in the right direction.
Sam Coonrod will hopefully return soon, and could bolster the bullpen. While he struggled in June with a 6.35 ERA the Phillies just simply need another arm to trust late in games, hopefully, a healthy Coonrod can help them.