The Phillies went into this one with a five-game win streak and a 1.5 game lead over the Braves in the NL East. After 14 innings, they go home with a 3-2 loss. Here’s what I liked and what I didn’t from last night/this morning’s game:
What I Liked
Jake Arrieta. Arrieta absolutely stymied the Diamondbacks tonight. He went 8 scoreless innings, striking out 4 batters on 110 pitches. Starting pitching has been the key to the Phillies’ recent success, and Arrieta’s performance tonight was as good as you can ask for.
Odubel Herrera. Odubel had a second straight good game, this time going 2-6 with a triple and an infield single. The triple scored Asdrubal Cabrera to open up scoring, and Herrera scored on the next play to put the Phillies up two.
Jorge Alfaro. Herrera was able to score on Alfaro’s sacrifice fly after his triple. Alfaro also made an impressive play on an early sacrifice bunt attempt by Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley. With a man on first, Alfaro fielded the bunt and gunned it to Cesar Hernandez at second base to get the lead runner.
Asdrubal Cabrera. The AssMan went 1-3 and scored the game’s first run before being lifted for Scott Kingery. He also made a nice defensive play right after Alfaro’s, knocking down a hard-hit ball at shortstop and calmly slapping it with his glove to Hernandez, who touched second to retire Godley.
What I Didn’t
Seranthony Dominguez. Seranthony was brought in to close out Jake’s gem and promptly blew his third save of the season, his second blown lead in as many days. He has been worked a lot recently, and I think he may need a few games off to rest his arm and get himself together.
Rhys Hoskins. For the second straight game, Hoskins was 0-4 before being pulled for Roman Quinn. After a serious hot streak post-All Star Break, I’m worried Rhys is leveling off a bit going into a pretty crucial stretch of the season.
Nick Williams. Williams was 0-5 with two strikeouts batting in the third spot in the lineup. The Phillies just can’t seem to figure out a good fit from the third spot in the lineup. Luckily for them, they’ve been getting production from the latter half of the lineup (Cabrera, Herrera, Maikel Franco, Alfaro) since Herrera was dropped to the sixth spot.
What I Liked the Most
Arrieta’s performance tonight was a sight to behold, even though the bullpen came in and decided to take a big dump all over it. The Phillies’ division lead drops to one game over the Braves.
ReJoyce 