The Phillies (3-6) are tied for third in the NL East with the Braves and Nationals after nine games to start the season. They began 2015 losing two out of three to the Red Sox, but rebounded nicely to take two out of three from Washington.
On their first road trip of the season, the Phillies offense couldn't come up with the big hit, ultimately ending in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets. Though things aren't looking great, there are some bright spots so far, specifically Cody Asche's hot start. Through the first week and change of play, here are some media clip highlights regarding the Phillies recent performance:
Ryne Sandberg on Cody Asche's hot start:
"Asche's swinging the bat well," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "I like the way against the lefthander he used the left-field stroke of his. He's had success against (Mets lefthander Jonathon) Niese in the past, so he was a good match-up tonight actually. He's got a good approach going." [Philly.com Sports]
Jonathan Papelbon on his player-only meeting before the Phillies 6-1 loss to the Mets:
“It was a team meeting about baseball, about playing the game,” he said, straight-faced. “It wasn’t a big deal.” [CSNPhilly.com]
Cody Asche on the Phillies inability to get the big hits with runners in scoring position:
"I think it has been a trend here the last four or five games," said Phillies third baseman Cody Asche, who went 3-for-3 with one walk to improve to .500 (12-for-24) for the season. "We kind of need that big hit, a two-out double here and there to really spark something. It's going to come. It's still early. There's no need to panic or have knee-jerk reactions. But we do need a big hit. I think that would help a lot."
The Phillies are hitting .159 (11-for-69) with just two extra-base hits with runners in scoring position this season. [Phillies.com]
Ryan Howard on being benched against left-hander:
“You’ll have to talk to the manager about that,” he said when asked if he believed not facing lefty starters would become a pattern.
“You keep bringing up these lefty questions. I talked with Ryno earlier about that kind of stuff. I think right now it’s more trying to get rest, days off here and there. I don’t think it’s going to be a pattern. I think early on he said that he’s going to pick days to get rest. Obviously with it being two lefties and two days off people are going to try to make something out of it, but it’s nothing. Like I said, we had that conversation earlier that when this situation arises that’s what it is.” [CSNPhilly.com]
Ryan Howard & Ryne Sandberg on the first basemans early season struggles hitting the fastball:
“It’s confusing, isn’t it?” Howard said of the increase in fastballs that he’s seen. “There’s been a pretty good amount. It’s just about getting them in the zone and taking care of them. I have to make adjustments.”
Sandberg said he and the team’s hitting coaches have spoken to Howard about making those adjustments.
“He’s getting fastballs throughout his at-bats,” Sandberg said. “The inconsistency has come from not being on the fastball each day. With the amount of fastballs he’s getting he should look fastball and really disregard the breaking ball until he gets to two strikes.” [CSNPhilly.com]
Cody Asche on the Phillies 6-20 record against the Mets since August 2013:
"I see the discrepancy in the win-loss record," Asche said. "Do I have an explanation? No. Do I wish it was different? Yeah. If we are going to make moves, we have to take care of the teams in our division. So we definitely have to play better against the Mets." [CSNPhilly.com]
Jerome Williams on moving forward after a rough start against the Mets:
"I ain't going to take no steps back from that," Williams said. "Just move forward with this one and put this one behind me and come back at home and pitch well [Tuesday against Miami]." [Phillies.com]
Chad Billingsley on his second rehab start:
"I felt pretty good," Billingsley said in a transcript provided by the IronPigs. "I didn't feel like I had my best stuff, but I was able to go out there and execute some pitches to get some ground balls and get out of a jam early.
"It's been a long road, but I'm excited and I'll keep working. The strength is there, my arm feels good. I talked to my doctor who performed the [2014] surgery [on my right elbow], and he said if I can get through a month and a half of pitching in games with no pain, I'll be in the clear."[Phillies.com]
Ryne Sandberg on Chase Utley's two home run game against the Mets on Tuesday:
"It was just a game he needed to play, to get under his belt," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was just a matter of time. Sometimes when a great player faces another great player, it brings the best out of him. That was our guy today. Chase rose to the occasion, rose to the challenge of facing a very good pitcher. I think he stepped up and gave us a boost early and gave us another boost with a base hit to drive in a run. That's the type of player Chase is and he showed that tonight." [Phillies.com]
