Rejoice: Phillies finally beat a lefty starter for the first time all season
The Phillies were 0-10 in games started by left-handed pitchers this season. The longest streak of its kind by a National League club since at least 2000. A historically embarrassing number that has been hanging over this team like a dark cloud since the second week of April.
On Wednesday night, they finally broke through with a 6-3 comeback win over the Athletics at Citizens Bank Park.
It shouldn’t have taken this long. This lineup is too talented and too expensive to go winless against lefties for an entire month but here we are, celebrating the fact that a $300 million roster managed to beat a left-handed pitcher for the first time in 11 tries.
The bar is underground right now. At least they cleared it.
The 8th Inning Rally
Down a run in the eighth, the Phillies got some help from the baseball gods for once. Schwarber walked. Jeff McNeil made a throwing error on what should have been a Harper forceout. Garcia singled to load the bases.
Then Edmundo Sosa battled through a long at-bat and punched a two-run single through the right side to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Marsh followed with his third hit of the night to extend the lead. Crawford brought in another run on a groundout.
Was it pretty? No. Did it require a fielding error to even get started? Yes. Do I give a shit? Absolutely not. This team has been finding new and creative ways to lose against left-handed pitchers all season.
Finding a messy, fortunate, grinding way to win against one is progress. The Phillies didn’t solve A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs, who was solid through 5 1/3 innings. They survived him and then attacked the bullpen when the opportunity presented itself. That’s the difference between this stretch under Mattingly and the first month of the season. The Phillies are finding ways to win games they would have lost three weeks ago.
Phillies Hit Parade:
Brandon Marsh Is the Hottest (Platoon) Hitter in Baseball
Three hits for the second straight game. Marsh is batting .336, which is fourth in the majors. Over his last 15 games he’s hitting .400/.424/.600 with 22 hits. The man who everyone had questions about against left-handed pitching laced two hits against a lefty on Wednesday night.
Here are the splits…
Against lefties this season, Marsh has 25 at-bats and is slashing .280/.333/.360 with a .693 OPS. Against righties, he has 94 at-bats and is slashing .351/.370/.553 with a .923 OPS.
I always said this dude never passes the eye test. He looks like he shouldn’t be this good. He looks like a caveman who wandered out of the woods and picked up a bat for the first time. Then he rips a triple the other way off a lefty and you remember that the eye test is bullshit and the only thing that matters is production.
The sample size against lefties is still too small to draw any real conclusions but honestly it doesn’t matter. Marsh is the best platoon player in Major League Baseball and the Phillies are better for it. When he’s in the lineup against righties, he’s hitting like a borderline All-Star.
When he gets spot matchups against lefties, he’s been productive enough to hold his own. That’s exactly what you want from a platoon outfielder and the Phillies have been getting more than they could have ever expected from Marsh this season.
Edmundo Sosa should start at third base
Sosa’s two-run single in the eighth was the biggest hit of the game. He’s hitting .333 with an .889 OPS against right-handers this season and has been productive enough in spot starts and pinch-hit appearances that Mattingly is leaving him in the lineup in situations where a different hitter might have been used.
I’ve been saying it for weeks. Sosa should be getting more at-bats. Specifically at the expense of Alec Bohm, who is still hitting .161 with a .440 OPS. The platoon at third base between Bohm and Sosa should have started already. Sosa is earning playing time with every at-bat and Bohm is losing it. The numbers are screaming and Mattingly needs to listen.
Wheeler Keeps Building
Zack Wheeler made his first home start since August 2nd of last year and gave the Phillies 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball on 98 pitches. He left to a loud standing ovation from the Citizens Bank Park crowd. His ERA through three starts sits at 3.12.
The velocity continues to climb. His four-seamer averaged 95 mph Wednesday, up from 94.3 through his first two starts. The sinker, splitter, and cutter all ticked up about a mile per hour too. He didn’t generate as many swings and misses as his first two outings but opponents are 1-for-16 against his four-seamer this season with six strikeouts. The pitch is still a weapon and the velocity trending upward means the best version of Wheeler this season is probably still ahead of us.
Most importantly, Wheeler gave the Phillies a chance to win on a night when the offense needed time to find its rhythm against a lefty. That’s what an ace does. He keeps the game close long enough for the bats to figure it out.
8-1. The Lefty Monkey Is Off Their Back
The Phillies are 8-1 in their last nine games and 16-20 overall. The lefty problem isn’t fixed. One rally against a bullpen doesn’t erase 10 losses or the worst right-handed hitting splits against southpaws since 1920. But the streak is broken. The Phillies don’t have to answer questions about going winless against left-handed starters anymore because they finally got one.
The schedule has been soft in early May and the Phillies have taken advantage of it. The real tests are coming in the second half of the month. If the rotation keeps pitching like this and the offense continues to find different ways to score, the Phillies are going to start climbing back into the NL East race before anyone realizes it.
I keep saying it. This team is too talented to stay at the bottom. The numbers are backing it up now.
Join The Chase
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Real question, does Philly sport teams require a sacrifice to succeed? We saw it before and now it’s happening again. Should other Philly teams pay attention to this trend? Are we correct in thinking the bigger and better the sacrifice, the more success? I can name a few people that should be on the list. Starting with Ryan Conway, this choice reminds me of live action Scooby Doo “Spooky Island” movie where the beloved dog Scooby agrees to be one without knowing what a sacrifice is. Ryan, being the happy go lucky guy with the personality and loyalty like a beloved family dog, will be missed but purest souls yields the best results. If soul purity doesn’t matter than second on my list with be a joint offering to the sports gods in it being Dumbroski and partner in crime Lizardo.