A game after getting waxed in the series opener by the Cardinals, the Phillies flipped the script and bounced back with an emphatic 11-1 win in St. Louis last night. While you were understandably watching the Sixers’ season go south up north, many, many good things were happening for the local baseball team. Bryce Harper, who raised his OPS from .816 to .855 after a 2 for 3 effort that also included a walk, is the guy who grabs the headlines, so let’s start with him:

Sans sleeve, with muscle, and that, friends, is what a 396 ft. grand slam jumping off the bat at 102.5 mph looks like. By the way, this wasn’t the hardest ball Harper hit tonight. According to MLB Statcast, his fifth inning single left the bat at 107.7 mph.

No doubt it has been a rough go in recent weeks for Harper. He entered last night’s game hitting only .182 with a .662 OPS and 29.9 K% over his previous 18 games, which is cause for skepticism and maybe even some scattered boos, but I’ll go the other way on this one. The guy has been substandard for three weeks and is still 15th among NL hitters with a .374 OBP. Am I concerned about his career-high 53.7% pull percentage and increased soft contact percentage this season? A little bit, but he’s still on target for 32 HRs and 116 RBI. The man hasn’t even gotten hot for a prolonged stretch, which is probably going to happen based on his previous career performance, so perhaps–and just hear me out on this one–Harper’s season won’t be defined by the first 35 games.

Rhys Hoskins, NL MVP Dark-Horse?

Speaking of getting hot for a prolonged stretch, Rhys Hoskins is up to a .302 average and 1.076 OPS after a monster 4 for 5 night, including this 415 ft. blast:

 

I’m not telling you that Hoskins, who is on pace for over 140 RBI after knocking in his 32nd run tonight, is the NL MVP right now. He can’t be–not with Cody Bellinger’s .806 slugging percentage or Christian Yelich’s 1.21 OPS standing in the way, but he has at least entered the conversation as the regular season approaches the quarter pole. Hoskins is tied for third in the NL in HR (11), is third in RBI (32), fifth in OBP (.425), and fourth in SLG (.651). That’s elite-level production.

Nola Returning to Form

Perhaps the most encouraging development of the night came courtesy of Aaron Nola. From April 3 to April 20, he lasted only 19 innings over four starts, pitching to an 8.53 ERA and 1.84 WHIP. When he walked off the mound at Citi Field after only four innings of work with five earned runs across the plate, Nola’s ERA read 7.45 on the stadium scoreboard. Fast-forward four starts and that ERA is now down to 4.57 after a third straight turn in which he allowed only one earned run. Given the context, this start was his finest of the season.

St. Louis entered the evening third in offensive WAR, fourth in OBP, and 10th in OPS. No problem. According to PITCHf/x data, Nola utilized his curveball 40 times, throwing it for a strike 28 times (70%), and generated eight swings and misses. He’s struggled with his curveball in the early going with opponents hitting .300 against it through his first eight starts compared to only .156 last season, so it was nice to see the command and effectiveness there last night. His final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.

That will play.

Local IBEW 98 Hard Hat/Lunch Pail Play of the Game

Odubel Herrera could be a really good player, you know, if only he just hustled more, played with some grit, and was a little more Philly.

 

Shrug.