• March 28, 2024

Notes From The Phillies’ Series Against San Diego

burnett2The Philadelphia Phillies swept their three-game series against the San Diego Padres this week. Their record improves to 28-36.

Starting Pitching

  • Starting pitching took advantage of a weak San Diego lineup, allowing a combined four runs in three games.
  • A.J. Burnett snapped out of his month-long funk, allowing just two runs on three hits over 7.1 innings on Tuesday.
  • Cole Hamels anchored the team on Wednesday night, throwing eight scoreless innings and striking out 11. However, Hamels was given a no-decision for the night.
  • Kyle Kendrick earned just his second win of the season, allowing two runs (one earned) on Thursday. 

Offense

  • The offense didn’t set the world on fire in this series, but they did enough to get the job done with several big hits. 
  • Marlon Byrd’s three-run homer on Tuesday was the big blow that helped the Phillies get enough separation to earn their first win.
  • On Wednesday, the Phils were held scoreless until the ninth inning when Reid Brignac hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Phils a walk-off victory. Its the second time this year that Brignac has supplied the team with a walk-off hit.
  • The Phils had their best offensive showing of the series in Thursday’s finale, driving in seven runs on 10 hits.
  • Brignac would drive in two more runs on Thursday with a double.
  • John Mayberry got a start on Thursday, and hit a three-run homer.

Bullpen

  • The bullpen combined to allow just one run in 5.2 innings. 
  • Jonathan Papelbon pitched two scoreless innings, picking up his 14th save on Tuesday and his second win of the year on Wednesday.
  • Jake Diekman had two scoreless appearances.
  • Antonio Bastardo pitched a clean inning to earn a hold on Thursday.
  • Ken Giles made his major league debut on Thursday, allowing a solo home run.

Final Thoughts

The Phillies managed to sweep a series, but they didn’t exactly do it against stellar competition.

The San Diego Padres are one of the few teams in the majors that are actually worse offensively than the Phils. Entering the series with a miserable team average of .216, the Padres were a welcome sight for the Phillies. Starting pitching feasted on this terrible lineup, and the bullpen allowed just one run.

I hate how the Phillies have treated Ken Giles since calling him to the major leagues last weekend. Giles didn’t get into a game until yesterday’s finale, and he was brought on with two outs and none on in the ninth. Are the Phillies that scared to throw a young player into action that they had to wait for the easiest possible situation to put the kid into? They waited until they had a five-run lead with two outs and nobody on in the ninth before they let Giles see the mound.

They did themselves and Giles a disservice by having him sit and wait to debut the entire week. A reliever needs to see game action in order to stay sharp, and they didn’t protect him by waiting to use him, if anything they made him more anxious.

 

Denny Basens

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paulman
paulman
June 13, 2014 7:46 am

GM Reuben Amaro announces long-term
deals to Brignac & Mayberry on 5 Year – $60
Million Deals for each Player… Go Phils…