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NEW YORK – The Phillies start the All-Star season with their first road win in a month.
Yes, this has happened against the Mets.
Yes, the club Mickey Callaway routed.
Yes, the Phillies are supposed to win when Aaron Nola wins.
Still, it was a series they needed to claim. They needed to finish the first half on a positive note, with a dynamic, positive vibe and with their ace continuing to give the impression of rediscovering the magic of 2018.
That's what Nola has done in the last three weeks. He has 89 outs and posted two earned runs in his last four starts, bringing his ERA ratio from 4.89 to 3.74. He seemed totally dominant twice against the Mets, one against the Braves and one against the Marlins. On Sunday, he culminated with an 8-3 Phillies win.
"I think that with Nola's track record, what is most likely to happen is that he will regain his normal performance and that we will be able to rely on him as the leader." 39, one of the best baseball pitchers, "said coach Gabe Kapler. "And I think in the last four starts, we've seen it.
"It is difficult to enter the stadium against their big three (Jacob) deGrom, (Noah) Syndergaard and (Zack) Wheeler and win a series. We are really proud of our guys for the work that they have accomplished in this series. "
At 47-43, the Phillies are 6.5 games behind the Braves and half a match on the Nationals. They are in third place and on the pace of 85 wins. Not good enough. That was not what Managing Partner John Middleton had in mind when he signed the addition of more than $ 430 million of future payroll during the off-season.
There is a lot of work to be done. To win 90 wins, the Phillies must win 60% of their remaining games. And their program in the second half is not flexible, at least not right away. The Phillies have played seven games against the Nationals and the Dodgers, who have the league's two best starting rotations.
The Phillies have just won a series against the big three of the Mets and, at the end of the break, they will probably have three great nationals: Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg.
At least bats are coming.
"I think the time has come for us to step back, think, adjust and get to work," Kapler said. "And of course, we can enjoy the break, but think of ways to do better in the second half. I think we play better in baseball and beat the bats better, and I think we've beaten better for weeks now. So, if we had more games coming here, I would feel pretty good in our chances. I feel that we are improving in some areas. "
The Phillies averaged 6.3 points over their last 13 games in the first half. They will have to continue to approach this figure from the rest of the way to make up for a dull rotation behind Nola. While Nola has a test point average of 0.61 in his last four starts, all other Phillies starting pitchers have an average of 7.58 test points in all 13 games of that period.
"It was a little complicated in the first half," said Nola of the Phillies' overall game. "We were first for a little while and the Braves got hot at the right time. There is still a lot of ball. … it will not be an easy road until the end. "
Injuries played a huge role in the disappointing first half of the Phillies. They had 16 players on the injured list – twice as many as the Braves – and lost their starting field center to an end-of-season suspension.
No baseball team has suffered as many injuries as the Phillies' nine goals.
"We arrived with a very good server and a lot of guys were injured," Nola said. "I think it's going to be a big part of the second half going to have more guys."
Tommy Hunter came back in the last days of June and seemed fresh and efficient. He started a 1-2-3 run Sunday and pulled out 13 of the 15 batters he has faced since his activation. He will play a key role in the second half for a Phillies team needing setup.
David Robertson is getting closer and closer, although it is not obvious, he will be back in mid-July. A few boudin sessions and re-education outings would be necessary first.
Pat Neshek and Seranthony Dominguez are also expected to return. At some point, maybe the Phillies will have all their enclosures healthy at the same time.
"I do not want to put our struggles and adversity of the first half on one particular area. I just do not think it would tell a complete story, "said Kapler. "However, I think the wounds we had in our paddock had an impact on us and, to a certain extent, I think we weathered the storm.
"More importantly, with Robertson coming back, with Hunter now back and some sort of self-explanatory version, Adam Morgan continues to look good. I think we are getting closer to what we expected when we leave early in the season.
"We know that Seranthony will come back at some point or we are confident that Seranthony will come back at some point. So we can expect a stronger pen than the first half. "
Now, the entire team, less All-Star J.T. Realmuto, has four days off.
Regarding Kapler, the game planning for the second semester has already begun. The first item on the agenda is whether Nola, who has made 216 shots in her last two starts, will have a day or two more before her next outing.
"Personally, it's not the easiest thing for me," said Kapler after leaving baseball mode just hours.
Phillies fans could probably use the rest as well. These first 90 games have sparked a range of emotions.
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