April 28, 2016

Surprising Phillies

The Phillies beat the Nationals 3-0 scoring all three runs in the top of the ninth. That win completes a sweep of the Nationals and brings Philadelphia to a 12-10 record.

Going into the season, the Phillies were expected to compete with the Braves for last place in the NL East. While the Braves have proved to be worse than expected, the Phillies are playing well. Aaron Nola matched Tanner Roark with seven shutout innings, Nola striking out seven and walking one to bring his season totals to 37 K with 6 BB. He looks like a very good starter for the team.

Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco are doing a great job getting on base, and Franco and Cameron Rupp are bringing some power.

Note that early in the season, the Phillies Pythagorean projection is way off. They have scored 72 runs and allowed 91. They’ve had three big losses, however, 8-1, 9-1, and 11-1, which accounts for most of the difference. Of course, big losses indicate that this won’t be a great team, but if they stick around .500 it will be a nice advance for the team.

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