A Glimmer of Hope for the Phillies
Maybe it was because they played the Los Angeles Angels – of Anaheim, a club that might just be the American League equivalent of the Phillies. Even their name isn’t a complete, realized idea. Somewhat like the roster of both teams.
Both the Angels and the Phillies are expensive, offensively heavy, and remarkably inefficient. The Angels have now lost 10 consecutive games. The Phillies had lost 18 of their last 29 games, the final straw in the firing of former manager Joe Girardi.
For each game in this series, 6 cumulative MVP trophies took the field. 3 belonged to shoe-in Hall of Famer and Millville native Mile Trout. Two belonged to Bryce Harper, the most recent of which he split with his American League counterpart Shohei Ohtani.
However, it was only the two belonging to Harper that seemed to have any real impact on the series, with Harper going 4-10 with 3 walks, 3 home runs, and 8 RBIs – half of which came on a 2-out Grand Slam to tie Game 3 in the bottom of the 8th inning. Trout, on the other hand stayed colder than Millville’s Union Lake on New Years Eve – trust me, it’s not a plunge you want to be taking – continuing a slump that left him 0 for his last 26 at-bats. Ohtani, fortunately enough for the Phillies, wasn’t afforded the opportunity to pitch and had little impact offensively over the series, going just 2-10 with no RBIs.
Still however, it wasn’t just Harper’s continued excellence that gave the Phillies, for the first time in a while, a glimmer of hope in this weekend’s sweep of the Angels. Rather, it was the amalgamation of a multitude of smaller factors, all happening at just the right time – an occurrence, that whether or not the fault of Girardi, never seemed to happen enough under his reign.
Zach Eflin pitched his best game of the season on Friday night, striking out six over 8 shutout innings in just 104 pitches. Zach Wheeler, the National League pitcher of the month, also had a strong outing in Game 2, allowing just 2 runs in six innings with 9 strikeouts. Erstwhile lead-off man Kyle Schwarber finally got hot, slugging two home runs in Game 1. And, perhaps most encouraging of all, the Phillies youngest players – Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Nick Maton – all proved pivotal in the series sweep while filling in for an injury ridden infield.
Yes, Maton suffered a right shoulder sprain on a diving play. Yes, closer Corey Knebel proved inept yet again when blowing a 6-6 tie in the top of the 9th in Game 3. But for now, the Phillies will take what they can get. Under interim manager Rob Thompson, a win’s a win and we all know the Phillies could sure use some more of them.
Featured Image: Eric Hartline / USA Today Sports
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