The Phillies ended their 135th season — and Pete Mackanin's tenure as manager — with an 11-0 win over the New York Mets Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Mackanin, informed Thursday he would not manage the club in 2018, will move into a front-office adviser's role next season. He received a nice ovation from the fans before the game. His final record was 174-238.
The Phillies played well under Mackanin down the stretch. They went 37-38 after the All-Star break and 16-13 in September. All of this after the team 29-58 before the All-Star break.
For the season, the Phillies went 66-96 and finished third from the bottom in the majors. They will pick third in the draft next year.
Final attendance at Citizens Bank Park was 1,905,354, down from 1,915,144 in 2016.
• Rookie Nick Williams punctuated the win with a three-run, inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Williams finished with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 83 games. He clubbed a liner off the center field wall. It bounced wildly and he sprinted around the bases to the delight of the crowd. He received a curtain call. It was the Phillies' first inside-the-parker since Chase Utley in 2011.
• Right-hander Nick Pivetta survived five walks, a wild pitch and a hit batsman on his way to six shutout innings in the 26th and final start of his rookie season. Pivetta's final ERA was 6.02. Despite control problems, he allowed just two runs over 17 innings in his last three starts. That should give him a little confidence as he heads into spring training looking to win a spot in the rotation.
• The Phillies scored six runs in an eventful fourth inning that saw Maikel Franco clout a three-run homer and Mets first baseman Dominic Smith make a pair of ugly defensive miscues.
• Franco ended up with 24 homers. He has 49 the last two seasons. There was credible buzz that Franco was on the trading block earlier this season, but indications are Phillies management is not ready to give up on his talent. (Surely, they'd be selling low if they did now.) Barring a favorable deal coming their way this winter, the Phillies appear to be leaning toward giving Franco another shot at third base next season. The hope is he puts it together as a hitter and becomes a firm piece of the future or a good trade chip.
• J.P Crawford made his sixth start at shortstop since coming up on Sept. 5. It seemed rather telling that Crawford got the nod over Freddy Galvis on the final day of the season. Galvis blossomed into a team leader and continued to play Gold Glove caliber defense this season and probably deserved to start on the final day. But Crawford has long been considered the shortstop of the future and his getting the nod at the position on the final day of the season seemed to indicate that the future will start on opening day 2018. Galvis does not have the on-base skills that the Phillies' front office wants to build a team upon. Crawford does, and he got one more bit of big-league experience before the curtain went down on the season Sunday.
• Galvis had wanted to start all 162 games this season. He came six short but did play in all 162 after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and stroking a double Sunday. It may have been his last at-bat with the club. The Phillies are likely to shop him for a trade as they look to add some pitching this winter. Galvis became the first Phillie since Ryan Howard in 2008 to play in all 162 games.
• The Phillies out-hit the Mets, 11-2.
• Late-season sensation Rhys Hoskins struggled to the finish line. He went 0 for 3 with two walks and three strikeouts Sunday and was just 7 for 52 (.135) with 19 strikeouts and 11 walks since hitting his 18th homer on Sept. 14. Hoskins is set to open the 2018 season at first base.
• This wasn't just Mackanin's last game. The members of the coaching staff became free agents after the game. They are free to consult with other clubs. There's also a chance some of them will be back under the new manager. Time will tell.
• Next on the docket for the Phillies is a manager search that general manager Matt Klentak has undoubtedly already begun.