Phillies Nation

With Chase Utley on the disabled list and Ryan Howard on the precipice of injury with his hurting left knee, there has been an outcry from some fans for the Phillies to call up Darin Ruf. To some, the Ruthian-type hero from last year who blasted 20 home runs in one month, and 51 between three leagues is the obvious choice for a team which so desperately needs an offensive boost. But to others, his recent 0-for-21 slump warrants some more minor league seasoning before joining the Phils.

In talking with Ruf today at Lehigh Valley, it was clearly evident that he, nor anyone else, is particularly worried about his recent skid. He does not feel like it is a mechanical issue, pressure to perform, or a lack of confidence at the plate. In fact, Ruf is extremely sure of his abilities and makes absolutely nothing of his struggles of late. To him, it is just the natural ebb and flow of the game.

Here is some of what he had to say about dealing with his slump:

“Everybody struggles in baseball at some point. In a six-month season you’re going to go 0-for-20, 0-for-30- that just happens. You just have to shorten [the slumps] and try to get into a rhythm as quickly as possible.”

Continue reading Should Darin Ruf Be Called Up Despite Recent Slump? Depends How Much He Will Play

(AP)

According to the beats down in Miami with the Phillies, it appears likely Chase Utley will find himself on the disabled list soon. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Chase Utley swung for the first time in batting practice Tuesday and it did not feel right. He took a second hack, then another, and one more. That is when he went to Charlie Manuel and told him his right side hurt.

“It definitely scared me a little bit,” Utley said Wednesday.

More bad news for the Phillies, who have been crushed by the injury bug. Add Utley to the bloated list including Roy Halladay, Carlos Ruiz, John Lannan, and Mike Adams.

Adams could return by Wednesday, Rich Dubee told the Inky. He’s scheduled to pitch in a rehab game in Clearwater on Monday.

Jeff Schuler of the Allentown Morning Call has reported the following:

Josh Fields‘ bags were packed and he was getting hugs. Asked if he was heading south, said with smile, ‘Not the man to ask that question.”

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Dave Brundage on potential Fields move: “I can’t comment on that right now.’ Best guess: look for Howard to go to DL

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Connecting the dots, it appears that INF Josh Fields, who went 3-4 and was a HR away from the cycle tonight in a 14-5 IronPigs win, and not Darin Ruf will get the call if/when Ryan Howard heads to the DL. Fields entered today’s game with a .272/.340/.457 triple-slash and undoubtedly raised that tonight with an outstanding night.

We will have more as this develops.

Ruf could be on his way if Howard sees the DL. Photo by: Ian Riccaboni

Ryan Howard is getting a precautionary MRI on his left knee and will likely be out for Monday’s game against the Marlins. John Finger and John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly are saying Howard’s knee, according to Howard, is a day-to-day issue. Of note, however, Howard also said his knee has been bothering him since Spring Training and that it “kicked in a little bit more than normal” on Saturday.

All was going well for IronPigs’ outfielder, and part-time first baseman, Darin Ruf going into May 16. Earlier that week, he got defensive praise from the Phillies Farm Director Joe Jordan, saying “The left-field play has been very good.  It’s not a concern for me. It’s not a concern at all.” And then the bat caught fire: he was suddenly hitting .290/.367/.486 after a slow start with 12 2B and 5 HR in 138 PA heading into the morning of May 16.

It is a shame the Phillies now need a first baseman instead of an outfielder – Ruf would have fit right in. I kid.

Continue reading Time to Get Ruf?

In a classy move, the injured Roy Halladay summoned reporters before tonight’s game so that he could offer some conciliatory words to Phillies fans.

Below is a snippet of Roy’s comments.

I’ve been thinking just the last couple of days. I just felt like I should address the fans. I know there is a lot of mixed opinions on pitching, not pitching, all that kind of stuff. I know there are people who are disappointed about how I pitched the last two years. I know there are a lot of people who are very supportive.

So, one, I just wanted to thank them for their support. And my heart goes out to all of the people who spend all of their money and go out to the games and don’t get to see what they want to see. I know I’m not the whole team. There are still a lot of guys out there and it’s a fun team to watch. But I feel bad that I’m missing the time that I am. I feel bad for the fans that I’m missing the time.

It’s tough. You feel an obligation to the organization, to your teammates, to the fans to try to go out and pitch. Especially on a competitive team that sells out. For me, that was a big factor. If I’m playing for a last-place team and there’s things going on, you maybe speak up. But we have a chance to go win a World Series and we have sellouts and fans have expectations. You want to do everything you can to try to make it work.

Really, that was a lot of the reason I tried to keep going. Like I said, I never really felt the pain. I just wanted to reach out to the fans, thank them for their support and apologize to the ones who pay the money and show up in the second inning and it’s 9-0. I apologize to the fans that I won’t be out there for three months.

I don’t feel like I have to apologize to the team because I think they know. I just want the fans to know that I’m thinking about them. I don’t take that for granted. I don’t take playing for Philadelphia for granted.

You can read the full transcript at Ryan Lawerence’s Daily News article.

In case you missed it last night, here is this week’s episode of Phillies Nation TV.

Pat and Corey analyze Roy Halladay’s future as well as Tyler Cloyd, his replacement for Friday’s game. They also discuss some early season trade rumors, breakdown the best MLB players for WAR, and preview the Arizona series.

Of course, Ryann has reader questions presented by BQ Basement Systems and also an exclusive interview with Jimmy Rollins.

Kyle Kendrick purses his lips for his haters during another brilliant start. (Photo: AP)

What a difference a flight out west makes.

When the Phillies arrived in San Francisco yesterday, they had been in a rut, dropping two straight to the lowly Miami Marlins, including an embarrassing 14-2 loss on Sunday. Now, for a second straight night, they got a dominant performance from their starting pitcher on the way to a victory. This time, Kyle Kendrick was the responsible party, easily dispatching the Giants lineup in a 6-2 victory that never seemed in doubt.

CYLE KENDRICK

Coming into tonight’s game, Kendrick led Phillies starters with a 2.43 ERA. Dating back to July 1, his ERA is a pristine 2.57. He’s been dubbed the team’s stopper–albeit with a tongue in cheek connotation–for a reason. He’s pitched like a true ace. Combine his recent run of success with his 1.89 career ERA when facing the Giants–his lowest against any National League opponent–and his final line would be no surprise: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. These stellar outings from Kendrick are becoming commonplace.

He was in control all night, rarely getting into trouble and finding a way out whenever he did. KK was particularly impressive in the fourth. After allowing two in the third, the fourth frame began with an ominous tone for the 28-year old. Buster Posey led off with a  single. That was followed by an error by Michael Young on a dead doubleplay ball. With two on, no outs, and a tight one-run ball game, Kendrick was in hot water. No matter. Pitching like a seasoned veteran with ice water in his veins, Kendrick calmly struck out the next two hitters before getting the third out on an easy groundball. Lord Kendrick giveth; Lord Kendrick taketh away.

Kendrick could have pitched the eighth, as he only threw 88 pitches through seven. However, he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top half of the inning, capping another routine day for the lead horse in the Phillies rotation. Check out this nugget our own Corey Seidman tweeted about Kendrick: “His last 17 starts: 2.44 ERA, .217 opponents batting average, 14 quality starts.” Continue reading Behind A Sensational Kendrick, Phils Beat Giants For Second Straight Night

Ryan Howard’s second inning home run started a Phillies power surge tonight. (Photo: AP)

Behind the steady pitching of Jonathan Pettibone, and a few home runs from the offense, the Phillies were able to make it two in a row with a 4-1 victory over the hapless Miami Marlins.

PETTIBONE: CONTINUED SUCCESS

In tonight’s Gameday, I predicted Pettibone would pitch through the sixth inning for the first time in his big league career. He did not disappoint. In fact, he turned in what is probably his best start yet. His final line: 6.1, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO.

Pettibone’s only hiccup came when he allowed a homer to Donovan Solano in the fourth. What was most impressive about his outing was his continued ability to prevent free passes. Coming into tonight’s game, he had walked just two in 10.1 innings pitch. It’s now two in 16.2 innings pitched. Not a bad number at all. The Phils needed Pettibone to be serviceable in place of the injured John Lannan, and he has done just that, turning in quality outings consistently.

HOWARD LEADS THE WAY FOR THE OFFENSE

Folks, Ryan Howard has begun to heat up. After a porous start where he didn’t hit much of anything, Howard had been marred in a stretch where he seemingly couldn’t hit anything but singles. That was before this current nine-game stretch. After his second inning home run to make it 1-0, Howard has now hit four homers and four doubles, including one tonight, in his last nine games. During that stretch, he was slugging .714. And that was before his two extra base hits in tonight’s game.

Chase Utley would keep the phone going when he lead off the third with another dinger, his sixth of the season.

As for Domonic Brown, he homered for the second time in two nights. Coming into tonight Brown had hit .353/.378/.588 with two homers and two homers in nine games. The sudden jolt of power in the middle of the lineup is a welcome sign for this Phillies club.

The Phils would tack on another run in the second in what may be the least probable scenario we’ll see all season. After Carlos Ruiz singled and stole second, Ben Revere, batting in the eight hole, drove him home with a liner to right to snap a 4-for-25 stretch. Revere would go 1-for-4 on the night, so he still continues to struggle.

BASTARDO STRUGGLES WITH CONTROL

In relief of Pettibone, Antonio Bastardo‘s command issues–something that has been an on again, off again issue for him throughout his career–once again reared their ugly head when he walked the first two hitters he faced to load the bases. He’d come back with the dominant stuff we know and love, however, striking out two hitters in a row to end the inning without any damage.

After a scoreless eighth and ninth, the Phils had themselves another victory. Enjoy your Friday night!

UP NEXT

The Phillies look to keep the win streak going tomorrow when Cole Hamels  (1-3, 4.78) takes on Jose Fernandez (0-2, 4.50).

After a disappointing two-game series in Cleveland, the Phillies quickly put it behind them and battled past the Marlins, 7-2, on Thursday night.

KENDRICK BATTLES FOR A WIN

-After 96 pitches, 67 of them for strikes, in seven innings, Kyle Kendrick’s night was complete. He allowed seven hits and two walks, but kept the damage to a minimum by giving up just the two runs to the Marlins. Kendrick added five strikeouts.

-What Kendrick has done a solid job of all season is keeping runners on base. His strand rate coming into the game was 85 percent, 7th best in the National League. That number went up, as Kendrick left runners on base in the second, third, and fourth innings without allowing any damage on the scoreboard. In the third, he held the bases loaded, and that ability to keep teams from scoring in tight situations has catapulted him into a new stratosphere as a starting pitcher.

-Although his line was solid, Kendrick was lucky to come away with this sort of performance. What the numbers don’t really show was that Kendrick was not at his best. He left many pitches up in the zone and would have been hurt much more by a better hitting ball club. Alas, a win is a win, but Kendrick will have to do better next time.

-Great inning from Mike Adams. Hit 92 on the fastball, struck out two, threw 14 pitches, 12 strikes.

HOWARD HOT/BROWN’S BOMB

-Over his last 12 games, Ryan Howard is hitting .326 (14-for-43) with 4 doubles, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. The only problem is his lack of walks. With his eighth inning walk, Howard reached first base by way of bases on balls for the first time since April 12, a stretch of 16 games.

-Domonic Brown is also heating up a bit. Over his last eight games, Brown’s average has risen 60 points, from .206 on April 23 to .266 after Thursday’s game. Brown went yard in the second inning in an estimated time of 3.1 seconds according to Chris Wheeler, who happened to tell me that in the mens room after the inning. Too much? Brown also singled in the fourth inning and again in the eighth, a very good sign. “On pace” means little, but regardless, Brown is on pace for 22 home runs and a line of .266/.333/.426.

-Very productive fifth inning. Erik Kratz lead off with an 11-pitch walk and eventually scored on a Chase Utley sacrifice fly. It was made possible by an error on second baseman Donovan Solano off the bat of Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll then scored the fourth Phillies run on a passed ball. Great way to take advantage of a miscue and tack on some important insurance runs.

-Jimmy Rollins is struggling. He’s just 1-for-15 over the last four games. His average has dipped to .243.

-The Phillies added three insurance runs in the eighth inning. No matter the opponent, it’s been a struggle for them to add any runs late. Another positive.

How about this Jesse Biddle? 10 more strikeouts in 6 IP, giving up only one hit. He’s got a 1.74 ERA with a .114 BAA and just 12 BB in 31 IP.

Ryan Kelly of Service Electric passed along this video of his Ks. We will have much more on Biddle, including some more video, exclusive post-game audio, and notes from Jay Floyd, who lasted all 12 innings at the game today, scouting the six pitched by the curve-balling lefty.