Hellickson looks to get Phils off to solid start
Jeremy Hellickson will make his second straight Opening Day start for the Phillies today when they begin the season in Cincinnati with a 4 p.m. meeting with the Reds.
PHILADELPHIA >> When the Phillies traded last year for Jeremy Hellickson, somehow they were hoping for a parade. Turns out, they didn’t have to wait long.
Because that would have been Hellickson, their No. 1 2016 starter, being startled out of bed by hoots, hollers, drumbeats, trumpets and an Opening Day tradition in Cincinnati.
“I remember it was about 8 o’clock, and waking up to the parade they had outside,” Hellickson was saying Sunday. “So that was pretty fun to wake up to.”
That’s how his day began. It ended with him pitching six scoreless innings, striking out six, and providing the first hint at what would be a strong season despite a 6-2 Phillies loss. For his 2016 excellence and his re-commitment to the franchise, Hellickson again will be the starter when the 2017 Phils begin their season at 4:10 Monday afternoon, again in Cincinnati.
“I’m very excited,” Hellickson said. “Obviously, it is another huge honor, especially in Cincinnati. They put on an awesome show last year. I will have a lot of my family there. It is going to be a lot of fun.”
Hellickson would go 12-10 in his first season with the Phils, with a 3.71 ERA and a careerhigh 154 strikeouts. He pitched 189 innings, matching his career best.
With a chance to try free agency, Hellickson considered leaving after one season. But the Phils made him a $17.2 million, one-year qualifying offer to stay … and he did.
“It was kind of a different offseason, I guess, just not knowing how the market would shake up and what was going to happen with the qualifying offer after this year,” he said. “So I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the beginning of it. So it came down to the very last day. I love it here. I wanted to be back, especially with the signings we made, it was kind of an easy decision when it came down to it at the end. And I was pretty happy with the decision that I made.”
Though Clay Buchholz, who had a start for the Red Sox in the postseason, was added, and while Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Aaron Nola were seasoned enough for the consideration, Hellickson’s reliability made Pete Mackanin’s first pitching decision of the season simpler, too.
“That’s the reason I made him the Opening Day starter,” Mackanin said. “He was a model of consistency last year. He pitched extremely well. He throws strikes. When he has his changeup working and his breaking ball working, he’s a solid majorleague pitcher.”
Hellickson, who will turn 30 April 8, will oppose 33-year-old Scott Feldman Monday. Feldman, a right-hander, joined the Reds in the offseason as a free agent. He was a combined 7-4 with a 3.97 ERA for Houston and Toronto last season. He opened the season for Texas in 2010 and Houston in 2014.
Matt Klentak has insisted he believes in Hellickson’s worth on the mound and as an example to the Phils’ developing pitchers. Yet on a one-year deal, Hellickson may face the same straits as last season, when his was a hot name at the trade deadline.
“I’ve been in the same situation for the last three or four years,” he said. “So I am kind of used to it by now. I don’t really try to think about that stuff until I am asked about it. Right now, I am just thinking about the first game and hoping we get off to a little better start than we did last year.”
*** While Hellickson will open the season at the top of the rotation, Cesar Hernandez will do the same at the top of the lineup.
“I did it last year,” Hernandez said. “So I can do it this year, too.”
A switch-hitter with speed, Hernandez had been tried throughout the lineup until taking over the No. 1 spot during the last season. He became a .313 hitter from July through October, and wound up leading the Phils with a .294 average. Despite being caught stealing on 13 of his 30 attempts, Mackanin has labeled him a “prototypical” leadoff hitter.
Hernandez was perfect in stolen-base attempts in the Grapefruit League.
“I worked on that in spring training,” he said. “That’s why I was 7-for-7.” *** NOTES: The Phillies’ Opening Day roster includes 12 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and five outfielders