The humidity in South Philly wasn't as unbearable as it's been lately, but the ball continued to fly out of Citizens Bank Park on Thursday night. The Phillies and Dodgers combined for four home runs, the game-winner coming courtesy of Maikel Franco.
Franco's two-run blast to dead-center field in the seventh inning put the Phillies ahead for good in a 5-4 win. They avoided being swept by the Dodgers thanks to a seventh-inning homer for the second straight week. Last week, Freddy Galvis was the hero.
It was home run No. 22 on the season for Franco, who also doubled. He's hitting just .249 with a .305 on-base percentage but is on pace for 29 homers and 94 RBIs.
The win makes the Phillies 57-65. The Dodgers are 67-53.
The Phils are 25-15 in one-run games this season. The only team in the majors with a better record is the Texas Rangers (27-8).
Starting pitching report
Jerad Eickhoff was greeted with two singles and a three-run home run to start the game. Chase Utley and Corey Seager set the table for Justin Turner, who hit a towering flyball to left field that landed just over the fence and inside the foul pole. It was a "Citizens Bank Park home run" in its purest form.
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From there, Eickhoff settled in, allowing just a solo homer to Yasmani Grandal the rest of the way. He finished with eight strikeouts in six innings after whiffing nine in his previous three starts combined.
Eickhoff (8-12, 3.91) has been the Phillies' most consistent and durable pitcher all season. Their starters haven't been able to complete six innings with regularity of late, but Eickhoff has done that in 16 of his 25 starts.
Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling didn't have great stuff but did just enough to make it through five innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Stripling (3-4, 4.04) threw 94 pitches.
The Phillies, down one run, had Stripling on the ropes in the fifth inning but Jimmy Paredes struck out swinging at a pitch over his head with the bases loaded and two outs.
Bullpen report
Nine up, nine down for the Phillies' 'pen. Michael Mariot pitched a perfect seventh, Hector Neris had a 1-2-3 eighth, and Jeanmar Gomez locked down the ninth for his 32nd save in 35 chances.
Joe Blanton, who has turned into an elite reliever over the last year, retired both hitters he faced in the seventh. Blanton has a .167 opponents' batting average and 0.89 WHIP this season in 61 innings with the Dodgers.
At the plate
Ryan Howard homered again to center, his 19th of the season and third in his last four starts. Howard is 13 for 31 with five homers and 13 RBIs in nine August games. He's hitting .357 since the All-Star break.
Batting seventh, Aaron Altherr went 2 for 4 with an RBI, a stolen base and two strikeouts. It's the lowest spot Altherr has occupied in the Phils' batting order. Manager Pete Mackanin said before the game that he moved Altherr down because his wants his young players to feel like they must continually earn their spots in the middle of the order. Altherr was 7 for 34 with 12 K's in his previous eight games. He's struck out at least once in 17 of 19 games this season.
Turner, an extra-base hit machine lately, had two more with the homer and double. He had three homers and seven RBIs against the Phillies in the six meetings.
Utley went 1 for 4 with the first-inning single. In the six games against the Phillies, Utley went 6 for 26 with three homers, six RBIs and two walks.
In the field
Utley had a bad error in the second inning that led to a run. With a man on first and one out, he attempted a side-hand flip to second base on a groundball but he was too far away and the flip sailed over shortstop Seager's head. It resulted in a two-base error that advanced Cameron Rupp to third. The next batter, Altherr, singled in a run.
On the bases
Another example of Peter Bourjos' speed came in the eighth inning. Pinch-hitting with two outs and nobody on, Bourjos hit a groundball in between shortstop and third base that trickled off the third baseman's glove and went into shallow left field. Running hard the whole way, Bourjos was able to leg out a double.
Scratched
Cesar Hernandez, hitting .352 with a .429 on-base percentage in 48 games since June 23, was supposed to lead off for the Phillies Thursday night but was scratched just before first pitch for an undisclosed reason. Taylor Featherston started at second base and batted eighth in his place.
Up next
The Phillies begin a three-game series Friday against another NL contender in the St. Louis Cardinals.
The pitching probables for the series:
Friday — LHP Adam Morgan (1-7, 6.62) vs. Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72)
Saturday — Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65) vs. Luke Weaver (0-0, 4.50)
Sunday — Vince Velasquez (8-5, 4.14) vs. Mike Leake (8-9, 4.78).
