I was at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night to witness the shocking loss by the Phillies to the Washington Nationals, 4-3. Yet another defeat to the Nats, who have now won 5 in a row over the slumping Phils. Philadelphia falls deeper into third place in NL East, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves and now 2 1/2 games in back of Washington.
It was a sell-out at the ballpark on a beautiful summer night in July. Fireworks were held after the game. A perfect Saturday night which would turn into a nightmare for Phillies fans.
It was another wasted effort by Aaron Nola, who pitched 6 brilliant innings, striking out 9 Nats.
The game was a microcosm of Makail Franco's career. He has two hits, including a long home run, and make outstanding plays in the field. but when it mattered most of all, crunch-time in the 8th inning, His error on a rather routine grounder led to a Washington run, which made it 3-2 Phils, and got the game closer for the dramatic 8th inning.
Inconsistent is the key word for Franco. If he is trade bait now, before the July trade deadline, or after the season, his value is growing due to his recent surge in performance.
Roman Quinn made a tremendous, diving catch in the right field alley, laying out to catch a ball destined for the right field scoreboard wall, to save a few runs.
With center field wide open now Quinn should play everyday to finally see if he can play in the major leagues. Injury has prevented him from getting a consistent shot. Quinn was a switch-hitter but recently stopped hitting left-handed.Even if Quinn doesn't hit his defense and speed should make him a valuable guy, even off the bench, for the Phillies or some other club. He's still young at 25 and ideally should hit lead-off.
Adam Morgan, terrible since he came back from an injury, surrendered a run in the 8th to set up the fatal final frame.
I don't trust hector Neris since he imploded in Los Angeles a few seasons ago. he has performed well as a closer, despite the fact he also blew a lead not long ago in a game I also attended against the Mets.
Last night,coming into the 9th with a one-run lead vs division-rival Washington, in a key game to swing momentum of the series back to the Phils, Neris easily got the first two outs in the inning.Two strikes were on the pesky Amthony Rendon when he slashed a single to left. Young Juan Soto, only 20, stepped up and belted a towering, opposite field home run to left, putting the Nats ahead.
Neris hung a split-finger fastball and was lustily booed walking off the field. For some reason he abandoned the plan of throwing fastballs, as he did in Atlanta when he was brilliant with a 1-2-3 inning vs the young Braves.
Today is Ryan Howard Retirement Day at the ballpark. I'll always remember his majestic homers, his Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and 58 home run seasons. I'll always remember how "The Big Piece" led the 2008 to a world championship. And sadly, I'll always remember his devastating Achilles injury in the bottom of the 9th inning against St Louis in the playoffs.
I wish the current team had a Ryan Howard. The excitement of his 2006 season, as a 25-year-old rookie, clubbing a club-record 58 homers, will never be forgotten.
The times I met Howard during Photo Nights he was always friendly, funny and a nice guy to all the fans.
Jake Arrieta, the sore-armed righty, will go today for the Phils, trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Nats. Every outing may be Arrieta's last, as he deals with a bone spur in his right elbow.
It says a lot for this dysfunctional organization that they have no one to fill in for the hurt Arrieta, either on the major league level or from the minors.
The Phillies try to salvage one game from the nationals before the best team in baseball, the Dodgers, come to town for a big four-game set.
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