Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

Phillies beat Twins to end nine-game losing streak

MINNEAPOLIS - As Jerad Eickhoff's pitch count mounted Thursday afternoon, every ball he threw carried the weight of a nine-game losing streak and a drained group of pitchers. A rebuilding process guarantees trying times, moments for a young player to separate himself, and that is what Eickhoff has done.

MINNEAPOLIS - As Jerad Eickhoff's pitch count mounted Thursday afternoon, every ball he threw carried the weight of a nine-game losing streak and a drained group of pitchers. A rebuilding process guarantees trying times, moments for a young player to separate himself, and that is what Eickhoff has done.

The Phillies avoided their worst losing streak in 17 years with a 7-3 win over Minnesota. They have won three of their last 17 games, and Eickhoff was the winning pitcher all three times. In the tense moments, he embraced being a stopper.

"Absolutely," Eickhoff said. "I think every pitcher that goes out there wants to be the guy who stops the bleeding and gives us a chance to win."

"He appears to be that guy," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

Eickhoff was not at his most dominant; he threw too many pitches and was fixated by runners on first base. But, for a desperate team, it did not matter how pretty it looked. In the sixth inning of a two-run game, he struck out Max Kepler on a biting curveball, and Eickhoff showed rare emotion. He pounded his right fist into his glove.

"I was jacked up," Eickhoff said.

Yes, the Phillies won, and all reason was suspended. Cesar Hernandez, inserted into the lineup an hour before the first pitch because Tommy Joseph was sick, reached base five times and scored three runs. Freddy Galvis, who bunted in his first two at-bats, tripled and homered in his next two. Ryan Howard, who had not mustered a multi-hit game since April, homered and singled.

The Phillies have won seven of their last 33 games. Eickhoff has started four of those wins. His 3.36 ERA is the best in a vulnerable rotation.

He has paired with Carlos Ruiz in his last four outings, and that is by design. Mackanin wanted the veteran Ruiz to unlock Eickhoff's arsenal. The 25-year-old righthander had grown too predictable. Ruiz, Mackanin said, is more apt to call for an off-speed pitch. In those last four starts with Ruiz, Eickhoff's ERA is 1.82.

"We're just rolling," Eickhoff said. "It's been fun."

That could be the product of timing; Eickhoff's stuff is sharper than it was earlier this season. But the pitcher admitted that Ruiz has challenged how he thinks.

"There are times in the game when, in my head, I wouldn't necessarily throw a change-up," Eickhoff said. "But he's throwing it down and I believe in what he's throwing down. I trust what he's doing. I have confidence in the pitch, too. It's an evolving process with throwing it and when to throw it."

Interestingly, Mackanin said Ruiz will likely catch a struggling Aaron Nola in his next start Sunday. Ruiz has never caught Nola in his career.

Even with the rapport with his catcher, Eickhoff labored Thursday. He threw over to first base 18 times in the game's first four innings.

In the fifth inning, his 21st throw to first eluded Andres Blanco and moved a runner to second. The Twins capitalized with a fly ball to center by Eduardo Escobar that Odubel Herrera misjudged. That cut the Phillies' lead to 3-2.

Mackanin emerged from the dugout. Eickhoff teetered; no one warmed in the bullpen. He delivered a brief message: "I don't want you throwing over the rest of the time." Eickhoff took the ball. He fired an inside fastball to Joe Mauer, who popped it to shortstop.

The Phillies hope three days in Minnesota revived a limp offense. They rapped 38 hits and scored 22 runs in those three games. On Thursday, every batter in the lineup reached base.

Ruiz and Howard, the team's two seasoned players, spoke Tuesday in a hitters' meeting. The young team, Howard said, lugged the pressure of a long losing streak.

"Sometimes you try to do a little too much," Howard said. "You just try to offer some different words of encouragement to guys and try to get them to settle down."

Finally, in the third day against the worst team in baseball, something went right for the Phillies.

mgelb@philly.com

@MattGelb