Notes From The Phillies’ 4-2 Win Over Washington

The Philadelphia Phillies snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Nationals 4-2. Their record improves to 4-7.

On The Mound

• Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on only four hits and a walk.
• Hellickson struck out only two, but did a tremendous job keeping to potent Washington lineup in check and going deep into the game.
• It’s just the third time a Phillies’ starter has gone into the seventh inning or deeper, with the other two efforts belonging to Jerad Eickhoff.
• Hector Neris pitched a scoreless eighth.
• Joaquin Benoit finally got his first save opportunity since being inserted into the closing role, and shut the door in the ninth.

At The Plate

• The offense managed four runs on six hits.
• Cesar Hernandez was strong at the top of the order, going 2-4, including a two-run homer off of former Phillie Joe Blanton in the eighth inning that put the team on top for good.
• Howie Kendrick went 1-4 with a single.
• Odubel Herrera went 1-3 with a double and a walk.
• Maikel Franco turned into another 0-4, and is just batting below .200.
• Michael Saunders went 1-4 with a single.
• Tommy Joseph also turned in a 1-4 effort.
• Andrew Knapp started for Cameron Rupp, and went 0-3.
• Freddy Galvis went 0-2 at the bottom of the order, and his average has now dropped to .184.

Final Thoughts

Jeremy Hellickson is embracing the role of being the team’s ace early in the season.

The club has won all three of Hellickson’s starts, and today’s effort was his strongest yet. He went deep into the game, giving the bullpen a badly needed breather, and helped stop the team’s losing streak from really getting out of control.

The batting order continues to just look atrocious. Maikel Franco gave the team another lousy 0-4 effort. Michael Saunders and Tommy Joseph have offered very little pop behind him. After Odubel Herrera in the three-hole, the starters in positions 4 through 8 are all hitting below .250 with only Saunders hitting above the .200 mark at a powerful .237.

That’s not good enough if this team has any real hope of keeping things interesting this year.