The Phillies wrapped up a four game sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon with a 6-3 win. Starting pitcher Vince Velasquez pitched 6 quality innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 early home runs while striking out 12. Carlos Santana batted in 3 on a 3rd inning home run, and Odubel Herrera contributed 3 hits of his own. The game was symbolic of the entire series, as the Phillies dominated the Giants in every facet, outscoring them by 24 runs throughout the four games. Here are some other important numbers, and takeaways, from a very impressive series by a young, contending squad.
Nine
Home Runs hit in the series.
It was a great offensive showing for the Phillies this series, and they brought out the lumber and hit 9 long balls including 3 from Carlos Santana, 2 from Odubel Herrera, and one apiece from Jorge Alfaro, Maikel Franco, Aaron Altherr, and Cesar Hernandez. Franco now has 7 home runs, good for the team lead and surprisingly ahead of a key piece of the offense who has been struggling of late…
Two
Number of hits by Rhys Hoskins
The young left-fielder has struggled of late, hitting only .163 in his last 12 games. Hoskins carried the Phillies offense in the early part of April, and the offense looked lost with him struggling as the team lost four consecutive series heading into Monday. However, while the second-year stud was unable to carry the load, two other players stepped it up big time…
21
Number of RBI’s for Odubel Herrera and Carlos Santana in the series.
While Rhys Hoskins’ struggles continue, Herrera and Santana are white hot. Herrera has reached base in 39 straight for the Phillies, and the fourth year center fielder is sporting MVP-type offensive numbers more than a month into the season.
Santana’s hard luck has finally started to turn. Santana, who had a lousy .153/.295/.276 slashline in April, has turned things around in May with a .294/.333/.735 line. The first-baseman signed a 3 year/$60 million dollar deal in the offseason, and is expected to continue to produce on par with the numbers in May, not the ones from April.
While the offense was very productive, the team still could not have completed this sweep without the help of its starting pitchers…
Four
Number of Wins by Phillies Starting Pitchers
It was a dominant four games from Phillies starters, who combined to go 4-0 in 24.2 innings, allowing only 18 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, all while striking out a whopping 40 batters. While Aaron Nola’s dominance has become expected, good starts from Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta, and Vince Velasquez are the kind the team needs in order to stay in the playoff mix through the summer. A quick side note: The Phillies haven’t completed a 4-game sweep of a team with its starting pitchers getting the win in all four games since July of 2014. The starting pitchers in those four games? Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, Roberto Hernandez, and David Buchanan.
This dominant pitching by the starters combined with the clutch hitting from the heart of the lineup led to a sweep of the Giants. Seems like the Phillies are doing that a lot this season…
Four
Number of Sweeps by the Phillies this year
The Phillies have now swept the Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants in two 3-game series’ and two 4-game series’, respectively. The 2017 Phillies swept four team all year. It’s May 10th.
0.5
Games back of the first place in the NL East
The Phillies now sit at 22-15, only a half game of the Atlanta Braves. It has been a long time since a baseball team was making noise in Philadelphia, but this team is trending towards at least threatening to contend in the late summer months. Stay tune to Philly Sports Network for analysis on the team’s performance throughout the rest of the season.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
