Harper hit a 9th-inning walk-off double to give the Phils a 9-8 win, a game in which they blewa five-run lead. Harper also homered, walked twice and finished with 5 RBIs. Maybe, just maybe, he's gotten comfortable enough to play like the MVP he's being paid to be.
In his last 15 games, Harper is slashing .316/.418/.579 with 4 homers and 13 RBIs. If only some other pieces of the Phillies offense could get hot at the same time. Harper has been an absolute beast with runners in scoring position–hitting .395 with 40 RBIs and an OPS of 1.163 in 95 plate appearances. But when there's nobody on base, he turns into Michael Martinez/Steve Jeltz/Andrew Knapp (take your pick) with a .163/.300/.294 slash line. Blech.
Some other observations:
- Can we please stop pretending that Vince Velasquez can be an effective starting pitcher? He lasted 4.2 innings last night and 4 of the 5 hits he gave up were home runs. He's now allowed 17 homers in just 61 innings. He's pitched through the 6th inning just once in his 10 starts this season. Enough. Stick him in the bullpen and let him throw gas for an inning.
- Hector Neris is doing Hector Neris things again. In his last 6 innings, he's given up 10 hits and 4 walks and earned a 13.50 ERA. Not great. Unfortunately, he seems to be the best option for the 9th inning with seemingly every other experienced reliever on the injured list.
- Monday night's 16-2 beatdown was the third time this year the Phillies have lost by at least 14 runs. That hasn't happened since 1935, when they finished in 7th place with a 64-89 record.
No comments:
Post a Comment