By Phil Sheridan
Before he was hawking cheesesteaks at Citizens Bank Park, Charlie Manuel was a pretty darn good baseball manager who knew something about hitting.
It’s hard to say hitting season arrived in Philadelphia when the gametime temperature was a crisp 63 degrees. And hey, maybe the Phillies aren’t checking the thermometer.
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Whatever it is, they are starting to drive baseballs out of the Bank with increasing frequency. Four of their eight hits against the Colorado Rockies Sunday were home runs. The Phillies hit a total of eight home runs in their last three games against Colorado. They were 3-0 in those games.
In their first 21 games of the season, the Phillies hit a total of 19 homers.
“It kind of comes in waves,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ve just got to keep it going.”
In Sunday’s win, home runs got the Phillies going and then allowed them to seal the deal.
MLB
Trea Turner, who whet the appetites of Phillies fans with his epic, five-home run performance in last month’s World Baseball Classic, didn’t hit his first home run as a Phillie until Wednesday, in his 19th game of the season.
“We were joking about it,” second baseman Bryson Stott said. “Who was going to get one first. Trea’s a great player and a great shortstop. You knew he was going to get going.”
Turner hit his second home run of the season, and first as a Phillie at Citizens Bank Park (in front of a sellout crowd of 44,618), in the first inning Sunday. With one out, Turner hit the first pitch he saw from Colorado right-hander Jose Urena to left field. The ball landed 392 feet from home plate.
Two innings later, Kody Clemens hit his first home run as a Phillie to lead off the third inning.
Stott, who set a club record with a season-opening 17-game hitting streak, hit a two-run home run in the seventh. Brandon Marsh hit a two-run bomb to center that was upheld upon review. A fan touched the ball but not before it cleared the fence above the out-of-town scoreboard.
It was Marsh’s fourth home run of the season. He also drew two walks, giving him the best OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in baseball. Marsh is the only player in the major leagues with at least four doubles, four triples and four home runs.
“He is really playing well right now,” Thomson said. “He’s getting good at-bats, he’s playing well on defense. He’s just a good player.”
And just wait until Charlie declares it’s hitting season.
A day off
The Phillies have their first scheduled off since April 6 on Monday. The Phillies-White Sox game in Chicago was rained out last Monday. That led to a double-header on Tuesday, which means the same amount of work for the bullpen as well as the position players.
“This is going to be a great day off for these guys,” Thomson said. “They’ve been grinding now for a while. Especially our bullpen, I think they need some rest. Especially the three or four guys we’ve been using a lot.”
The Phillies’ five runs in the seventh and eighth innings allowed Thomson to give Craig Kimbrel the day off. With a 9-3 lead, Luis Ortiz pitched the ninth inning.
On Tuesday, the Phillies begin a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, who were 10-11 going into Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The teams conclude the series, and the Phillies’ homestand, with a 1:05 p.m. game Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
From there, the Phillies travel to Houston for a series against their World Series rivals, the Houston Astros.
Roster move
The Phillies called up right-handed pitcher Yunior Marte from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Marte made the opening day roster but was sent down after giving up six runs in one inning pitched, over two appearances.
Cristopher Sanchez, who pitched well in Saturday’s victory over Colorado was optioned to Lehigh Valley. The Phillies want Sanchez to be able to continue starting and stretch out his appearances.