Looking to avenge their 8-0 loss on Opening Day, the Phillies made some lineup changes that ended up working to their advantage. A stellar outing by Aaron Harang paired with a big three-run homer from Jeff Francoeur helped the Phillies earn their first win of the 2015 season.
How they scored:
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Darin Ruf drew a one-out walk and Cody Asche followed with a single. Then, up stepped Jeff Francoeur. On a 1-1 pitch, "Frenchy" took Rick Porcello's pitch out of the park to left center to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. It was Francoeur's first home run since June of 2013. In the seventh, Chase Utley drove in Ben Revere with a sac fly to extend the lead to four.
The Red Sox got on the board against Ken Giles in the eighth. After a fielding error at first by Darin Ruf, Giles issued a walk to Ryan Hanigan. Xander Bogaerts grounded a single down the third base line past a diving Cody Asche to score Daniel Nava and make it a 4-1 game. The Red Sox opted to use David Oritz as a pinch-hitter, but Giles got "Big Papi" looking on a slider at the bottom of the zone for the first out. Mookie Betts followed with a flyout before Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval drew walks. Sandoval's base on balls scored Ryan Hanigan to cut the lead to 4-2. Jonathan Papelbon got Hanley Ramirez to fly out, ending any remaining threats.
Pitching Report:
Aaron Harang got mixed reviews as a signing, but performed very well in his Phillies regular season debut, allowing just two hits over 6.1 innings of work. The 36-year-old right-hander struck out eight Red Sox hitters and walked just one. After two runners reached against him in the sixth, Jeanmar Gomez took over and induced a line-out double play to end the inning.
Ken Giles took the hill in the eighth and was ineffective to say the least, unable to reach the upper 90's, a skill that makes him so dangerous. His command was well off as five of the seven hitters he faced reached base, three via the walk. The two runs that crossed the plate were unearned thanks to Darin Ruf's fielding error to start the frame. Jonathan Papelbon was called on for the four-out save and delivered to give the Phillies their first win of the season.
At the Plate:
Offensively, the Phillies were carried by Jeff Francoeur, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI's and a run scored. Carlos Ruiz was 2-for-3 while Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Darin Ruf went a combined 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.
Pablo Sandoval went 2-for-3 for the Red Sox with an RBI walk. Starter Rick Porcello gave up three runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Post-Game Thoughts:
Darin Ruf can catch routine fly balls in left, but can't field sharp grounders to first. The Phillies are impatient on offense and that needs to change. Ryan Howard looks bad at the plate and Chase Utley didn't look much better tonight. Everyone looks very jumpy up there. Right now, Carlos Ruiz looks like the most "together" hitter for the Phils. Jonathan Papelbon is five saves away from tying Jose Mesa for the franchise lead in saves, but he doesn't feel like a Phillie. Whatever, Jon. Pitch well and get saves, and we'll be good. I'm a tiny bit concerned about Ken Giles. Not so much his velocity, but more so his command. Hopefully that changes. Otherwise? Yikes.
Up Next: The Phillies send David Buchanan to the mound in the series finale after an impressive spring while the Red Sox will counter with Justin Masterson.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
