Giles, Papelbon continue to own late innings
Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon have owned the eighth and ninth innings for the Phillies and it happened again during Friday's 3-1 win over the visiting Miami Marlins in 10 innings.
While Cody Asche justifiably was in the star's role with a walk-off two-run homer in the 10th off Dan Jennings, Giles and Papelbon continued to add to their tag-team dominance.
Giles pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Papelbon did the same in the ninth. The two have appeared in 23 games together this season. The Phillies are 19-4 in those games.
The two have combined to post an ERA of 0.73 when pitching together, having yielded four earned runs in 49 1/3 innings.
For the season Giles has a 1.11 ERA in 40 2/3 innings. Papelbon has a 1.59 ERA in 62 1/3 innings.
There have been many calling for Giles to be the Phillies future closer. Yet with Papelbon having a contract that is next to impossible to unload, there is nothing wrong with having him around if he is this effective.
With Giles and Papelbon, the Phillies have been in shutdown mode during the eighth and ninth innings. It's now the other seven innings that they have to worry about, especially on nights when Cole Hamels isn't slated to start.