Franco, Herrera lead Phillies in offensive explosion over Brewers

While both teams struggled to pitch effectively early on tonight (more on that in a bit), neither offense struggled in the early going.

The Brewers scored four runs through the first three innings, including a two-run home run from Ryan Braun in the third inning. 

Though the Brewers would threaten on numerous occasions throughout the rest of the game, the Phillies bullpen was relatively effective after the third inning, allowing just two runs the rest of the game. 

Part of the success that the Phillies had in keeping runs off the board in the second half of tonight's game was the impressive fielding of Maikel Franco, who made two tremendous defensive plays in the sixth, including this one. 

As promised. #BeLikeMaik pic.twitter.com/eKzzWBh74K

— Phillies (@Phillies) April 24, 2016

The Phillies had their best offensive showing of the season tonight, despite leaving the bases loaded in the first and seventh innings. 

Franco hit his fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning, which was his third this series, which gave the Phillies a 6-4 lead. Franco added an RBI single to his three-run home run in the seventh, when he brought home Odubel Herrera. 

Herrera also had himself an impressive night. Herrera, who entered the night tied to Jose Bautista for the most walks in Major League Baseball, walked two more times Saturday, while also singling twice, scoring three times and hitting a ninth-inning two-run home run.

While Dalier Hinojosa allowed the game to get close heading into the ninth, the Phillies offense secured a win in one of their best performances of the last few seasons. As mentioned above, Franco and Herrera both had great nights, but the Phillies also got RBIs from Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Tyler Goeddel and Cesar Hernandez, in a night that saw them collect 13 hits. 

Following two impressive starts, Saturday night wasn't a good night for Charlie Morton. Morton needed 29 pitches to get through the first inning, an inning which he was lucky to escape having only given up one run. 

In the bottom half of the first, Morton laid down a poor bunt, and was injured as he attempted to run to first-base. Though it initially appeared that Morton may have sustained a serious knee injury, the team announced that his injury was a left hamstring strain. 

Though it's encouraging that Morton didn't injure either of his knees, a hamstring strain can be tricky to manage, especially for a pitcher. It's entirely possible that Morton will be placed in the disabled list, which would seemingly mean that Adam Morgan or Brett Oberholtzer will get a chance to make a few starts. 

Chase Anderson is, as Tom McCarthy and Ben Davis pointed out on the telecast, deliberate in the way he pitches, which caused the game to go as slowly as it did. Anderson threw 30 pitches in the first inning, but managed to strand three runners without giving up a run. The rest of his night didn't come with that type of luck, as he gave up six runs on eight hits in just four innings.