The Philadelphia Phillies won the first game of their series with the Mets on Tuesday night 6-2. Their record improves to 5-8.
On The Mound
- Zach Eflin got the start after being called up from the minors to take the place of Clay Buchholz in the rotation. Eflin struggled early, giving up two runs in the first inning, but would settle down and deliver four scoreless after that.
- Eflin gave up just three hits, but also walked three.
- Joely Rodriguez pitched a scoreless sixth.
- Edubray Ramos struck out the side in the seventh.
- Hector Neris kept the game tied through the eighth.
- Luis Garcia pitched a scoreless ninth and got the win.
- Joaquin Benoit finished the game in the 10th, although it was not a save situation.
At The Plate
- The offense put up six runs on 11 hits.
- Odubel Herrera put the team on the board in the first inning with a solo home run. Herrera also singled and worked a walk.
- The Phils would then be held scoreless until the eighth inning, when Andres Blanco doubled home the tying run.
- The team took the lead in the 10th with a sac fly RBI from Cameron Rupp, an RBI-single from Aaron Altherr, and a two-run single from Daniel Nava.
- Cesar Hernandez had another multi-hit game at the top of the order, going 2-6 with a couple of singles.
- Maikel Franco still can’t remember how to hit a baseball, turning in another 0-4. He’s now 0 for his last 17.
- Michael Saunders had a multi-hit game with two singles in five at-bats.
- Tommy Joseph went 1-4 with a single.
Final Thoughts
Locked in another close game, this time around luck was on the Phillies’ side as they managed to outlast the Mets for a critical win to start the series.
Pete Mackanin really needs to seriously consider sitting Maikel Franco for a game or two at this point. Franco has been absolutely killing the team with his utter lack of production out of the cleanup hole, and the team could benefit from getting Andres Blanco some more looks.
Tags: Phillies
A Nice Comeback Win and Effort for the Phillies
Nava,Altherr & Blanco seem to make things happen when they get their opportunities..
Not sure sitting Franco does anything except make him press even more at the plate. Why not let him hit his way out of it as you are not really trying to win anything this season. I am on the fence about sitting guys so early in the season.
This is a huge year for Franco– The phils need to determine if he is a cornerstone of the rebuild or if 3B is where they will spend huge FA money. He is under a microscope more so than anyone IMO–is he a .275/25/100 guy or not… if not then they buy machodo
I’m not sure that Franco will be ever be disciplined enough to Bat .275 +
I think he’s a .240 Hitter with Pop and will Hit 20-25 HR’s and get 80 RBI’s consistently, but also have 170-180 K’s and lots of missed opportunities to drive in more Runs.. He has the Skills and a Powerful,Quick Swing, No doubt, Now he needs to learn the Pitchers, the Umpires and learn to become more selective up at the Plate and get where he’s dictating the Pitch Sequence and not the other way around, but you could say the same thing for many Young MLB Hitters..