Phillies and Pirates rekindle cross-state rivalry with weekend series

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Phillies will spend a steaming hot July weekend at PNC Park

The Philadelphia Phillies (50-47) will be spending the next three days at one of the most beautiful ballparks in the game when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (45-50) for a weekend series.

The Pirates are struggling, losers in five of their last six and seven of their last 10 games. Though just 6.5 games out in the NL Central Division standings, the Bucs have not been able to rise above fourth place in their division since the start of June. They have not won more than three straight since mid-April.

For their part, the Phillies enter the series coming off a 2-2 split with the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, but are still struggling mightily themselves to put back together what once appeared to be a winning season.

The Phillies went 3-4 on their just completed home stand in which they faced two tough teams in the Dodgers and division-rival Washington Nationals. They are just 7-9 going back over the last three weeks, since ending a four-game winning streak. While nine games over the .500 mark at home, they have fashioned only a 20-26 record on the road

Head-to-head, the Phillies won six of the seven games between the two clubs a year ago. However, that was the first time since their record-setting 2011 campaign that they had a winning seasonal mark against the Pirates.

Pittsburgh is 17th in MLB in runs per game (4.74), just behind the Phillies (4.84) who rank 15th. The Pirates are 13th among the 15 teams in the National League in home runs, 10th in stolen bases, and 9th in OPS. The Pittsburgh pitching staff is collectively ranked at 13th in the NL in both batting average and OPS against, ninth in strikeouts.

With the hot summer weather fully entrenched here in the eastern United States, and with two struggling pitching staffs, this could end up a high-scoring series. That is especially so if the Phillies do not get improved starting pitching, and if they can get into the Pirates bullpen by the middle innings.

Phillies and Rays talking trade as the MLB non-waiver deadline approaches

Ramos is a two-time all-star

As the 2018 MLB trade deadline fast approaches, trades are being finalized and the rumor mills are really starting to heat up. 

The Philadelphia Phillies, linked to a number of players in recent days, are expected to be active as the afternoon rolls along.

It is believed that general manager Matt Klentak is looking to bolster the bullpen, as well as trying to find players who might improve the overall team defense.

Breaking reports on Tuesday afternoon had the Phillies “deep into talks” with the Tampa Bay Rays involving catcher Wilson Ramos. 

The first rumblings of this item came across Twitter from Yahoo reporter Jeff Passan:

Jeff Passan

✔@JeffPassan

Sources: Phillies and Rays are deep into talks on a deal for Wilson Ramos.

1:16 PM - Jul 31, 2018

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That was followed moments later by MLB Network insider Joel Sherman, who stated that the Phillies are looking to upgrade their defense at both the catcher and shortstop positions:

Joel Sherman

✔@Joelsherman1

Wilson Ramos will be traded b4 the deadline, sources say. @Ken_Rosenthal says #Phillies are talking seriously. Heard that Phils are concentrating on defensive upgrades at catcher and SS (TB has Hechavarria too).

1:22 PM - Jul 31, 2018

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Ramos will turn 31 years old on August 10, and is now in his ninth big league season. He is currently on the 10-day disabled list with a hamstring injury which is not expected to sideline him for long.

Ramos was originally signed as a teenager out of Venezuela by the Minnesota Twins more than a decade ago. He made his MLB debut with Minnesota in 2010, but was traded to the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline that year for reliever Matt Capps.

After parts of seven seasons with the Nationals, Ramos became a free agent. He signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal with Tampa Bay on December 12, 2016 and will become a free agent again in the coming off-season.

The Phillies have also been considered as one of the possible destinations for pitcher Chris Archer of Tampa Bay. 

It is possible that Klentak will be exploring a price to land a package that includes Archer, Ramos, and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Rays.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Phillies reportedly 'deep into talks' with Rays on catcher Wilson Ramos"

Velasquez, Eflin take mound for key weekend outings in Cincinnati

Eflin needs to show he is back to June form

The host Cincinnati Reds dumped the Philadelphia Phillies by a 6-4 final score on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.

With the win, the Reds have managed a split of the first two games of this four-game long weekend series with the Phillies.

Despite the defeat, the Phillies remain 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East Division standings. The Braves were shut down at home by Clayton Kershaw on Friday, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In gaining the split to this point in the series, the Reds have faced the bottom of the Phillies pitching rotation options. On Thursday night the Phils dipped into their minor league depth for Ranger Suarez. The lefty made his big league debut a winning one.

Last night it was the struggling Nick Pivetta who suffered the loss. Pivetta has been a true head-scratcher this season. There is no question about his stuff. After striking out a dozen Reds batters on Friday night, he now possesses a tremendous 134/32 K:BB ratio over 107.2 innings.

However, Pivetta also surrendered a pair of home runs which resulted in five earned runs scored against him. That lifted his ERA on the season to the 4.85 mark in what was his second straight poor outing since the MLB All-Star Game break.

With those two back-end starting pitching efforts in the rear-view mirror and the club still in first place, these next two games to end the weekend series become pivotal for the Phillies.

Saturday’s match-up will feature a pair of interesting pitchers taking the mound. For the Phillies it will be Vince Velasquez looking to extend what has been the most successful string of starts in his career. The Reds send out Matt Harvey, who moved to Cincinnati and has been largely effective after being dumped by the New York Mets.

Velasquez has pitched into the sixth inning in nine of his last 12 starts and has gotten to the seventh inning on five occasions during that period. He has allowed just 49 hits over 67.1 innings with an 80/24 K:BB ratio during that time.

The knock on Velasquez over the first few years of his career was that he couldn’t get deep into his starts. If this recent stretch of performances is indicative of what’s to come, the 26-year-old will silence those who have felt that his best role would come with a move to the bullpen.

After Velasquez shut down the San Diego Padres last Sunday, manager Gabe Kapler was quoted by Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia on the keys to his pitcher’s increased effectiveness:

“That was as good as he’s been all year. The tempo, the pace and the energy levels were right on. It’s the combination of keeping his rhythm and his pace but not losing control of his body…When he gets runners on base, he’s done a really good job of holding runners on…he does a great job holding the baseball. As a runner at first base, you have difficulty timing your jumps and before you know it, your body shuts down naturally. Across the board, I think he’s been an exceptional athlete for us on the mound.”

For the series finale on Sunday it will be Zach Eflin taking the mound for the Phillies. Though his overall numbers look fine, Eflin struggled mightily in his most recent outing this past Monday night. The Dodgers got to him for three home runs, knocking him out in the third inning.

Nick Pivetta continues to struggle at back of Phillies rotation

Nick Pivetta's struggles continued on Friday night

The Phillies crushed the host Pirates by a 17-5 score on Friday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The win moved the team into first place by percentage points in the National League East Division standings.

It also marked the 15th victory over the club’s last 22 games. Even more recently, the Phils have taken five in a row and seven of their last eight.

There was plenty of good news to go around from an offensive attack that has struggled mightily during most of that winning stretch. For the most part it has been strong pitching, particularly from the starting rotation, that has pushed the Phillies back to contending status.

The news was not all good last night. Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta lasted just 2.2 innings, struggling through 74 pitches in the short outing. He surrendered three runs on five hits while walking two batters. Further, the poor outing directly led to manager Gabe Kapler needing to use six relief pitchers in the opening game of a long road trip.

This was not a one-time aberration performance from Pivetta. The 25-year old right-hander has been struggling mightily for a month and a half now. In fact, only five of his 17 starts all season have resulted in a Quality Start effort: at least six innings pitched, no more than three earned runs allowed.

Pivetta is 0-5 over his last eight starts, and hasn’t won as a starting pitcher since May 21. He has allowed 47 hits, including 13 home runs, and walked 16 opposing batters over 35.2 innings in that span. The Phillies problems at the back of their rotation are not limited to Pivetta.

Vince Velasquez remains on the Disabled List after being drilled on the right arm by a nasty comebacker nearly two weeks ago. No official timetable for his return has been made public.

On Friday, Jim Salisbury with NBC Sports Philadelphia noted that Velasquez “is feeling good and will throw a bullpen session Saturday. If all goes well, he could pitch Wednesday in New York.”

In that same piece, Salisbury also reported an update on Jerad Eickhoff, who has been out all season to this point:

“Eickhoff has experienced on-again, off-again tingling in the fingers on his right hand when he throws. He experienced the sensation again while throwing to hitters in Clearwater and will return to Philadelphia to be checked by doctors…The tingling, which first presented itself late last season, has been limited to two fingers. The difference now is Eickhoff felt it while throwing his fastball. He had previously felt it throwing his curveball only.”

Ben Lively received five April starts, but was largely ineffective. He went 0-2 with a 6.85 ERA, allowing 34 hits over 23.2 innings pitched.

Fortunately for the Phillies, they have three reliable starting pitchers at the front of their rotation. Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin have been outstanding. Jake Arrieta has been up and down, but is a proven veteran with a Cy Young Award on his resume.

A look across the current 40-man roster does not reveal many attractive options should the club wish to make a change at the back of the rotation.

Tampa Bay Rays successfully transition Alex Colome to the closer role

Colome (L) leads the American League in Saves

Way back on July 28, 2000 the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays completed a trade with the Oakland Athletics. The D-Rays sent away a pair of arms in Jim Mecir and Todd Belitz, and in return received a Double A right-hander named Jesus Colome.

Colome had a big arm, with pitches clocked at over 100 miles per hour. He made his big league debut with Tampa in June of 2011 as a reliever, beginning what would be a 10-year career in Major League Baseball.

Colome left via free agency, signing with the New York Yankees. He would end up pitching again in the big leagues with the Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Seattle Mariners. Jesus retired following the 2010 season at age 32, but would show up for a 2012 stint in the Mexican League.

A year later, the Rays would debut another Colome at the big league level. This one was Alex Colome, the nephew of Jesus. The younger Colome had signed out of the Dominican Republic as an 18-year old in March of 2007.

Rays of Hope During Hot Spring in Tampa Bay

To say that the 2016 season was rough for the Tampa Bay Rays and their fans would be an understatement. The club’s 68-94 last place finish in the AL East was their worst in nearly a decade.

From 2008, the year that a talented, young Rays club won the franchise lone American League pennant, through 2013, Tampa Bay won 90 or more games in five of six seasons.

But it has now been three straight losing campaigns in west-central Florida. And most prognosticators had the team again finishing at the bottom of the standings.

But the Rays are off to an encouraging 9-9 start here in the early weeks of the 2017 season. It hasn’t been any one particular thing either.

Under third year manager Kevin Cash, there has been real improvement across all facets of the game. Those improvements added up to a winning record after the Rays swept the Detroit Tigers earlier this week for the first time since 2010. A loss last night to Houston dropped the club back to the .500 mark.

2016 Winter Meetings: Tampa Bay Rays

When newly named Tampa Bay Rays GM and senior VP of baseball operations Erik Neander arrives at the Winter Meetings, he is likely to be a popular fellow.

The Rays have what is generally considered to be a top ten farm system. They finished the 2016 season at 68-94 in fifth place in the always tough AL East Division.

Now might be the perfect time for Neander and Matthew Silverman, the club’s President for Baseball Operations, to begin looking at building a contender for a few years down the road.

To that end, the Rays would have two of the most attractive assets as the Winter Meetings open. 

Those would be starting pitcher Chris Archer and veteran third baseman Evan Longoria.

MLB 2016 Prediction: American League Cy Young Award

Our staff has just released our predictions for the winners of each division, as well as our postseason predictions, including the 2016 World Series winner. 

I released my own predictions for the Phillies in the coming season. 

Now we begin the process of releasing our predictions for some of MLB’s major award winners.

The Cy Young Award is given annually to the top pitchers in Major League Baseball. Instituted for the 1956 season, the award was originally given to just one pitcher as the best in all of baseball from 1956 through the 1966 season.

In the American League, 11 different pitchers have won the award over the last 11 years. Johan Santana became the last to win it multiple times in the 2004 and 2006 seasons. 

Former Phillies stars Roy Halladay in 2003 with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cliff Lee in 2008 with the Cleveland Indians have won the AL version of the award.

The last two years saw surprise winners in the junior circuit, as both Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros came apparently out of nowhere to take home the honors.