The Phillies successfully called for AAA last night
This was the Phillies before Aaron Altherr arrived on the scene. Shutterstock
I originally wrote up this ridiculous metaphor where the Phillies are a car, Jake Arrieta is the tired driver, and all the things the driver tries to fix the car are his fielders, and they’re not working.
So giving in, the driver calls AAA. And guess who that is?
Aaron Altherr arrived in the nick (not Williams) of time Wednesday night, slamming a three-run centerfield home run to lift the Phillies over Zack Greinke and the Diamondbacks. Forgive me, but it felt like the first really tense game of the season, and Altherr’s home run felt like the first real big moment of the year. I’m sure this will be proven moot in June when the Phils are 10 games under .500.
Who am I kidding? World Series!
Arrieta was a pro out there Wednesday. He clearly didn’t have his best stuff, and his fielders had trouble helping him, but he ended up with a quality line: 7 IP, 1 ER (3 R), 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K. The bullpen did its job, with Adam Morgan, Luis Garcia and Hector Neris gutting out the final two.
Altherr, meanwhile, is nearly at .200, which seems terrible but is great because before the weekend he was below .100. Cesar Hernandez contributed three hits and is now at .313/.431/.434, and I honestly can’t believe he’s become such a skilled offensive talent. It’s remarkable how good he is. Carlos Santana added two hits, so hopefully this signals a breakout of sorts.
The Phillies finish the three-gamer with Arizona today with a businessperson’s special. And in classic businessperson’s fashion, the game is only available on Facebook.
