Phillies rally late to take series finale from Giants
PHILADELPHIA -- For the second day in a row, Jeff Francoeur came up with the big hit for the Phillies. This time, however, it led to a 6-4 victory over the Giants at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.
One day after hitting his second-career grand slam, Francoeur roped a two-run double off Giants relief pitcher Javier Lopez just over the glove of a jumping third baseman Matt Duffy in the seventh inning. The extra-base knock plated Freddy Galvis from third base and Ben Revere from first to give the Phillies a two-run lead. The home team didn't look back after seizing that lead.
"Frenchy came up big with the pinch-hit," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He's been a guy in that it seems has a lot of impact in helping us win games, whether it's a defense or swinging the bat."
Video: SF@PHI: Galvis' 7th-inning knock ends hitless streak
Both of the runs on Francoeur's double were credited to Ryan Vogelsong, who was removed from the game before pinch-hitter Francoeur's at-bat. Vogelsong threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out five.
Vogelsong lamented issuing a two-out walk to Ben Revere with Freddy Galvis on third base that prolonged the seventh for Francoeur.
"It was more a mental mistake, really," Vogelsong said. "I was just trying to be too fine. The go-ahead run's on third base and it might have cost me some of my aggressiveness."
Video: SF@PHI: Vogelsong strikes out Asche to end the 6th
On the day a T-shirt bearing his likeness was handed out at the stadium, reliever Ken Giles earned the win for the Phillies. Giles struck out three batters and allowed just one baserunner in 1 2/3 shutout innings.
"That was big also because he was fairly rested for us today so he was up for that task today," Sandberg said. "All in all it worked out pretty well with the innings we did have available."
Video: SF@PHI: Giles strikes out Susac to end the 8th
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Phillies' bullpen holds: Just one day after their bullpen had to pick up 6 1/3 innings of work, the Phillies didn't have as many options as one would like entering Sunday. However, the 'pen, which has struggled of late, pitched three quality innings in relief of starter Sean O'Sullivan, allowing just one run to score over that span. Inherited runners have been a weakness of the bullpen all year, having allowed 47.3 percent of inherited baserunners to score. Sunday, however, both of the runners inherited by the bullpen were stranded and in all the bullpen stranded five. More >
Video: SF@PHI: Papelbon fans Crawford to lock down the save
Lopez's rare lapse: Though he yielded Francoeur's big hit, it was difficult to find fault with Lopez. He stranded all but one of the National League-high 25 baserunners he inherited entering Sunday and limited opponents to an .059 batting average (1-for-17) with runners in scoring position. Moreover, right-handed batters such as Francoeur were hitting .167 (3-for-18) off Lopez.
"[Lopez] threw a changeup that he yanked a little bit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's baseball. It's gonna happen."
Said Lopez, "I wanted to throw some sort of offspeed pitch to keep him off-balance."
Ruf makes it look easy: With one out and men on first and second in the top of the seventh inning, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg double-switched Elvis Araujo and left fielder Cody Asche out in favor of Giles and Darin Ruf. Giles dispatched the two batters he faced with a little help from Ruf, who wasn't afforded much time to acclimate to the outfield. Brandon Belt laced a fly ball toward the left-field fence and Ruf made the running catch to prevent the runs from scoring and end the inning, crashing his shoulder into the wall in the process.
"I was watching where Cody was playing him pretty much most of the game and over the last couple of days," Ruf said. "I got a good jump on it. Luckily I was able to run it down." More >
Video: SF@PHI: Ruf makes nice catch at wall to rob Belt
Belt bolts to beat DP: Belt hustled up the first-base line after hitting a potential inning-ending double-play grounder in the third. Belt beat the relay by an eyelash, enabling Angel Pagan to score what was temporarily the go-ahead run for the Giants. More >
Video: SF@PHI: Belt hits an RBI groundout in the 3rd
QUOTABLE
"Who wouldn't [be]? I gave us a chance to win a ballgame." -- Giles, on the excitement he showed coming off the field after striking out the side in the eighth inning.
"You can't have a worse bunt be in a more perfect spot than that one." -- Vogelsong, on Cameron Rupp's popped-up bunt that fell among three Giants for a gift single that helped spark Philadelphia's seventh-inning rally.
REPLAY REVIEW:
The Giants requested a review in the third inning after Pagan was called out trying to advance from second to third base on Buster Posey's grounder to shortstop. Pagan, who slid headfirst, contended that he touched the base with his right hand before third baseman Maikel Franco could apply his tag. The call was overturned, rendering Pagan safe.
Video: SF@PHI: Pagan safe at third after play is overturned
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Chris Heston will make his first career appearance against the Mets in Tuesday's 4:10 p.m. PT series opener. The rookie right-hander has struggled recently, posting a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts. Heston has had mixed success on the road, where he's 3-1 in five starts. Yet his ERA in those outings is an unflattering 5.79.
Phillies: The day of the week every Phillies fan looks forward to falls on a Monday this week, as Cole Hamels will take the mound for the Phils in Cincinnati at 7:05 p.m. ET. This will be Hamels' second-consecutive start versus Mike Leake and the Reds, with his last coming on June 2; he earned a no decision in a game the Phillies won 5-4. Hamels is 9-0 in his career with an ERA of 1.59 in 13 starts versus the Reds.
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