May 14, 2015
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Harang deals against the Pirates. He tossed eight scoreless innings in the 4-2 win.
For the second game in a row, the Phillies received a strong performance from their starting pitcher -- this time Aaron Harang -- and beat the Pirates, 4-2, to split the four game series with the Buccos.
Here are some instant observations:
Things didn't get off to a great start for ex-Phillie Vance Worley, who made his second start against his former club. The first batter he faced, Ben Revere, was the player acquired when the Phillies sent Worley to Minnesota following the 2012 season, and here's a look at how the first inning went for the 27-year-old righty:
Revere reached on an error. Freddy Galvis singled. Chase Utley popped out. Ryan Howard singled to load the bases. Cesar Hernandez then walked to make the score, 1-0, before Grady Sizemore followed with a single up the middle to make it 2-0. Odubel Herrera then grounded into inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. All said, the Phillies scored two runs -- one earned, one unearned.
Worley was hit with the loss, and fell to 2-3 on the season. Revere finished 1-for-5 with a run scored in the Phillies' 4-2 win.
It's a question worth asking after another strong performance. And for teams hoping to acquire a rental pitcher with a cheap price tag, look no further than Harang.
The veteran righty, on a one-year deal with the Phillies, improved to 4-3 on the season following a stellar outing against the Pirates on Tuesday, scattering five hits and a walk over eight scoreless innings. That lowered his season ERA to 2.03 and his WHIP to a minuscule 0.98, both WELL below his career averages (4.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP).
And Aaron Harang, as of this moment, leads the NL with 53.1 innings. His 2.03 ERA is 6th
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) May 14, 2015
He's making $5 million this year, but that's not the cost other teams will be concerned with. For a team looking to make a postseason push later this summer, Harang won't cost nearly as much, prospect-wise, as a guy like Cole Hamels, who is better, younger and under contract for the next four years (at a much greater financial cost).
However, if he keeps pitching like this, general manager Ruben Amaro may be able to get something decent in return.
Galvis helped get the scoring started for the Phillies Thursday against the Pirates, which is nothing new. Entering play, Galvis was tied for fifth in the National League with a .336 average.
With his first-inning single, his average jumped to .342 (good for fifth in the NL) and he found himself sporting a better OPS than some of the best hitters in the game:
Players with a lower OPS than Freddy Galvis: Tulo Cespedes Sandoval Morneau C. Santana Kinsler LaRoche Encarnacion Braun Beltre Papi Mauer
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) May 14, 2015
He added another single in to lead off the third inning, this one coming on a routine ground ball to second. It should have been an out, but because no one covered first, he was given a hit. Something about the rich getting richer...
No Pirates player covers first base on a routine ground ball to second, and so Freddy Galvis has his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) May 14, 2015
That single improved his average to .347 on the season, moving him into a tie for third in the NL. But he wasn't done. Not yet.
The only National League players with better batting averages than Freddy Galvis are Dee Gordon and Adrian Gonzalez. It’s May 14th.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) May 14, 2015
Galvis added another single, his third of the game, in the fourth to up his season average to .353, seven points behind Adrian Gonzalez, who is currently second in the NL. He also walked in the sixth and scored twice for the Phillies.
This is Freddy Galvis' seventh three-hit game this season. Only Dee Gordon (10) has more.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) May 14, 2015
A day earlier, Galvis spoke to PhillyVoice about how he's been able to take his game, especially offensively, to the next level:
"I think if you have the opportunity to play every day, you have the opportunity to do something," Galvis said following a 2-for-3 performance in the team's 3-2 win over the Pirates on Wednesday night. "If you're 0-for-4 today, you have the opportunity to go tomorrow and do something and give yourself more confidence. It's going good so far."
Galvis has carved out a spot in the Phillies' everyday lineup and made most fans forget about the former MVP that he replaced.
You can check out my full story on how Galvis has more than filled Jimmy Rollins' shoes, here.
Galvis wasn't the only Phillies player to record three hits against the Buccos.
Howard also got on base three times (3-for-4), including a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. It was Howard's seventh home run of the season, but it might be more appropriate to say it's his seventh since April 21, when he hit his first of the season.
Since that date, Howard is hitting .260 (he's at .230 for the season) and has a slash-line of .260/.333/.602 in 21 games with 7 HR, 14 RBI and 10 R.
By comparison, Howard hit his seventh home run last season on May 8:
(Howard hit his 7th home run last year on May 8. He finished with 23 in 153 games).
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) May 14, 2015
However, he was already at five homers on April 21, the date of his first 2015 homer. So in terms of pace, it took a little longer to get started this season, but once he did, he's played much better than in 2014.
Thanks to his improved play, Howard has brought his numbers up to a place that makes him slightly more attractive to rival GMs:
Ryan Howard's hitting .230/.293/.478 The American League average for DHs is .215/.318/.398. Piece is slugging 80 points higher
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) May 14, 2015
That contract though...
Cameron Rupp got the start behind the plate in order to give Carlos Ruiz a day off. He may only be hitting .162 this season, but he's been stellar behind the plate. After ending the third inning by throwing out Josh Harrison at second. Still, this was a stat I did not expect to see:
Cameron Rupp has thrown out 6 of 12 base stealers this year and 40.6% career. Carlos Ruiz has thrown out just 3 of 17 this season.
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) May 14, 2015
As impressive as that is, it's no longer accurate, because Rupp gunned out another Pirates runner, Starling Marte, to end the fourth inning.
Worth noting... Cameron Rupp's 6th and 7th caught stealing moves him into a 3rd in all of major league baseball! 6 SB to 7 caught stealing
— Chuck Porter (@OCP22) May 14, 2015
Not too shabby...
... and Jonathan Papelbon's day off.
Because the Phillies were up four runs and there was no save situation in the top of the ninth, Sandberg turned to set-up man Ken Giles to record the final three outs. Unfortunately, he was only able to get one before Starling Marte hit an RBI double off the top of the wall in the deepest part of center field to trim the Phillies lead to 4-1.
Enter Papelbon.
Less than 24 hours after setting a new Phillies record for career saves, Papelbon was back on the hill trying to secure the win for the Phillies, which he did, but not before Marte advanced to third on defensive indifference and scored on a fielder's choice, making the score 4-2. He also plunked Jung Ho Kang with two strikes and two outs.
