Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
A year later, Hernandez still going strong
Considering that for a point early last season the manager wasn’t sure where he would bat him at all, Hernandez’s last four months, even if spread over two seasons, have been dazzling.
PHILADELPHIA >> Since baseball seasons are best judged in neat, 162-game chunks, Cesar Hernandez’s year of excellence will be perceived as a little inside-out.
It’s what happens when a player follows a strong second half of a season with more first-half quality, not the other way around.
After hitting .324 over his final 94 games last year, Hernandez has been a .339 hitter through the Phillies’ first 18 games this season. That included Sunday when he went 2-for-4 with a goahead, two-run eighth-inning homer in a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
The home run — which was followed by homers from Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera, matching a Phillies record — was Hernandez’s team-high fourth. Deadpanned Pete Mackanin: “I’m thinking of hitting him cleanup.”
Considering that for a point early last season the manager wasn’t sure where he would bat him at all, Hernandez’s last four months, even if spread over two seasons, have been dazzling.
“I was trying to do the same things last year,” Hernandez said. “I saw it working. So I am still doing it.”
After sputtering early last year and hitting .240 after 13 games, Hernandez began to level his swing and improve his approach at the plate. Then, in the offseason, he worked on his strength and conditioning, returning in top physical shape.
For that, the Phillies have an early All-Star candidate. Hernandez has reached base safely in 16 of 18 games, has 10 multi-hit games and has shown wide defensive range.
“I think the fact that we convinced him to level out his swing and stay on top of the ball helped,” Mackanin said. “That has not only given him more power, but also he is hitting more line drives and using the whole field.
“He’s not trying to hit home runs. He’s trying to hit line drives. And when you work above the ball and level your swing out and you hit the bottom half of the ball, the ball is going to go up with a line-drive swing. Because of that, he’s hitting more gaps and hitting for more power.”
*** After Hernandez delivered Michael Saunders with his home run to give the Phils a 3-1 lead, Altherr and Herrera followed with solo shots. It was the eighth time in their history that the Phils have hit three consecutive home runs. The last was June 13, 2008, when Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell equaled the record in the first inning at St. Louis.
The Phillies did not break the record Sunday, though Maikel Franco gave it a try, flying to center field, bringing the crowd of 28,632 to an uproar of anticipation.
“There was a lot of energy in the dugout, especially when Odubel hit his home run,” said Altherr, who is hitting .400 over his last seven games. “Then Franco was up there and everybody was pulling for four in a row. A lot of energy out there today.”
*** While flashing some excellence in 11 starts as a rookie last season, Zach Eflin had two thoughts: What would it be like to pitch without pain in the right knee? And what would it be like to pitch without pain in the left knee?
Two relatively minor offseason surgeries later, he’s finding the answer.
“It’s amazing,” said Eflin, who retired the first 10 hitters Sunday. “It really is a blessing just being able to go out there and focus on pitching and pitching only. It is honestly a blessing.”
The knee trouble ended Eflin’s first season early and delayed the start of his second. But an injury to Clay Buchholz opened a spot in the rotation, and Eflin has been excellent. Sunday, he pitched seven innings, walking none and allowing one run. In his two starts, he has a 2.25 ERA and has struck out seven.
“Just the other day we were talking about depth in the pitching rotation, especially at Triple-A,” Mackanin said. “And there is good evidence of what we have down there. Eflin comes out of Triple-A and pitches outstanding. That’s a bonus for us.” NOTES >> The Phillies are off Monday. Then they will commence a threegame home series against the Miami Marlins. Vince Velasquez (0-2, 7.20 ERA) will face left-handed WeiYin Chen (2-0, 3.94) Tuesday night. It will be Aaron Nola (2-0, 4.50) and righthander Edinson Volquez (02, 4.82) Wednesday night and Jeremy Hellickson (3-0, 1.88) vs. left-hander Adam Conley (1-1, 3.00) Thursday afternoon at 1:05 while a bunch of people stand on the Parkway in Center City for an NFL Draft party. … Pat Neshek and Joely Rodriguez combined to pitch a scoreless eighth Sunday. Hector Neris sputtered in the ninth, walking two and allowing a run, but finished the game. … Rodriguez earned his first career victory.