The inconsistent Phillies played well in San Francisco Friday night, beating the Giants 9-6. Bryce Harper finally had the break-out game the fans have waited for. Harper crushed two home runs with 4 RBIs. Let's hope this is the start of a hot streak to carry the team.
Harper now has 22 homers. He is targeted to finish with 32 home runs, 110 RBIs and over 40 doubles.Mow a bad year. But players like Yelich and Bellinger already have 39 homers. Even Mets rookie Alphonso has 38 dingers.
Harper has played fine defense in right field and has hustled all season. He may not be worth his money this year but I'm sure he will give the Phils superstar seasons in the next 12 years.
Harper hit lead-off last night, with Hoskins batting second. Let's see how long Manager Gabe Kapler sticks with this line-up.
Corey Dickerson collected 3 hits. He is a legitimate .300 hitter and should play left field in 2020.
It will be interesting to see if the front office goes after a center fielder via trade or free agency, or will stay in-house with Hasealy, Quinn or someone else.
Cesar Hernandez needs to be traded to allow Scott Kingery to move to his Gold Glove position of second base for good. Pitching needs to be addressed, both the starters and the bullpen.
Two more games out west, including this afternoon at 4:05. Vince Valasquez starts, with Jake Arrieta finishing the road trip Sunday night in an ESPN contest. The club flies home and starts a series with the Cubs on Tuesday.
The red-hot Mets have now won 7 games in a row. They are tied with the Phils, 8 games behind Atlanta. Bith teams, along with St. Louis, are 1/2 game behind Washington and Milwaukee in the wild card race.
To me, chances are better of the Phillies ending up in 4th place in the division in back of New York, rather than getting into the playoffs.
Adam Hasealy is back with the big club after Jay Bruce got hurt again and ended up on the IL again. It was a mistake to send the rookie back to the minors in the first place.
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