Final: Phillies 5, Cubs 3
WP: Ken Giles (5-2, 1.85 ERA) LP: Rafael Soriano (0-1, 3.38 ERA) SV: Jonathan Papelbon (17)
Chicago, IL – In Friday afternoon's series opener matinee against the Chicago Cubs (51-44), the Philadelphia Phillies (35-63) rallied late, and ultimately came out on top thanks to clutch at-bats from corner-outfielders Cody Asche and Jeff Francoeur.
The Phillies have won six of their last seven games since the All-Star break.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| Cubs | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
Today's matinee remained scoreless until there were two outs in the bottom of the third inning, when rookie third baseman Kris Bryant launched his 13th home run of the season to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
The next half-inning was rather eventful for the Phillies. With runners on first and second and one out, shortstop Freddy Galvis singled through the hole to left field. Running from second was Jeff Francoeur, who doubled earlier in the inning, however he was tagged out at home as Chris Coghlan picked up his eighth outfield assist of the season.
The next batter, left fielder Cody Asche, was nearly called out on what should have been a strike-three call from home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. Instead, his at-bat lived on and it eventually transpired as a two-run double, his 12th of the season, off of the center field ivy.
In the bottom of the fourth, Chicago answered with two runs of their own by homering for the second time off of Williams. This came off the bat of Coghlan, who picked up his 70th hit and 10th home run of the season.
Right handed reliever Jeanmar Gomez threw two scoreless innings in relief of Williams this afternoon. A good throw from Maikel Franco charging in from third on a drag bunt by catcher David Ross greatly helped his cause, and held the Phillies' deficit at one run.
Against a familiar face from the 2011 National League Division Series, Jason Motte, the Phillies tied the game at three in the top of the ninth inning. With one out already recorded, Galvis hit a clutch triple down the right field line, his third of the season. Asche followed with a game-tying RBI-double, his second of the game, that got stuck in the center field ivy. Motte was six-for-six in 2015 save opportunities entering today's appearance.
Phillies' set-up man Ken Giles escaped trouble in the bottom of the ninth on 29 pitches.
Second baseman Cesar Hernandez led-off the top of the tenth against James Russell with a single. Center fielder Ben Revere followed with a sacrifice, advancing Hernandez into scoring position. Two batters after long-time veteran Rafael Soriano entered in relief, Franceour hit a two-run blast to left field to give the Phillies a late, 5-3 advantage.
Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 17th save of the season in 17 opportunities in the bottom of the tenth to cap-off the afternoon.
The following six Phillies had multi-hit performances this afternoon: Hernandez, Revere, Francoeur, Ruf, Galvis and Asche.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Williams | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6.28 |
| Jon Lester | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.32 |
- Williams: ND; 83 pitches, 59 strikes; 10 groundouts, 3 flyouts; 25 faced batters
- Lester: ND; 95 pitches, 62 strikes; 8 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 27 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Jeanmar Gomez (7th, 8th): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.23 ERA
- Ken Giles (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.85 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon (10th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.59 ERA
Cubs
- Hector Rondon (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.88 ERA
- Jason Motte (9th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.79 ERA
- James Russell (10th): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.35 ERA
- Rafael Soriano (10th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 3.38 ERA
At the Plate
Phillies
- Jeff Francoeur: 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, .265 AVG
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, 2 R, 3B, .273 AVG
- Cody Asche: 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .248 AVG
Cubs
- Kris Bryant: 1-5, R, HR, RBI, .257 AVG
- Jorge Soler: 3-5, R, .261 AVG
- Chris Coghlan: 2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, .257 AVG
What's Next:
- Saturday, July 25, 2015: at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 pm
- LHP Cole Hamels (5-7, 3.91 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (11-5, 2.52 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Sunday, July 26, 2015: at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 pm
- RHP Aaron Nola (0-1, 1.50 ERA) vs. RHP Jason Hammel (5-4, 2.82 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
