Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Neris, Segura play familiar roles again against Yanks
Since history over the past several days repeated itself so well, perhaps the Phillies thought it unnecessary to wheel out the respective goat and hero of an 8-7 win Saturday night over the New York Yankees onto their nightly Zoom chat with the media.
After all, Hector Neris blew a save on this night just as he’d blown a save against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. And Jean Segura had the saving walk-off hit in the 10th inning Saturday, just as he’d had the walk-off hit in the 10th inning against the Braves Thursday.
With back-to-back hero shows by Segura, the Phillies not only extended their winning streak to three games, but they extended their walk-off winning streak to three. Rookie Luke Williams had walked off a two-run homer against the Braves Wednesday.
So in lieu of a Segura appearance on Zoom Saturday night, we present what he’d said just two nights earlier in the same Zoom situation: “The walk-off (Wednesday) was huge,” Segura said then. “It gave us momentum to play a little better. Then to come out with this win (Thursday), especially when you come from behind, is huge. It tells you what kind of team and what type of leaders we have to play this game.”
Again, that was Segura’s stance Thursday after his extra inning hit beat the Braves. It was Segura again taking the wouldbe hero’s spotlight with a potential winning run on third on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park ... this time against Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman, the veteran triple-digit man.
If that intimidated Segura, it didn’t show. And since he wasn’t going to be available to talk about that later, allow Joe Girardi to speak for him. Except that he didn’t, outside of indicating Segura lives for moments such as these.
Girardi did, however, have something to say about the play that allowed Segura to get the chance to win it: A bunt laid down by minor league promotee Travis Jankowski that was so good Chapman couldn’t make a play anywhere.
“That might be one of the toughest guys to bunt off of in the league, right?” Girardi marveled. “Chapman can get to 102, he’s got a good slider, he’s got a split as well now. But (Jankowski) did a good job ... and his speed allowed him to get to first base and it made all the difference in the world.”
That left two on and none out in the 10th (remember that stupid new rule starts extra innings with a “ghost” runner on second base), and after Chapman got Odubel Herrera to pop out, on came Segura to not be denied. He smacked a shot toward third that was knocked down by the Yanks’ Gio Urshela, but his rushed throw toward home went awry as Ronald Torreyes scored easily.
So it was joy in Phillyville, even though most of the crowd of 38,000-plus in Citizens Bank Park were actually from somewhere north near Yankeeville, and came with the mouths to prove it.
“So good,” ex-Yankee field boss Girardi said. “It was great to see a packed house. That’s what baseball is. It’s everyone enjoying it together ... best atmosphere we’ve had all year long and I’m thankful for it.”
Even Phillies and Yankees fans ... together? Enjoying each other’s company?
“That’s the fun part of the game, fans get into it to make the noise that they make,” Girardi said. Then thinking better of his earlier assessment, he added, “That’s the best atmosphere we’ve had in two years.”
• • • Two years ... heck, Neris has been a closer around here for longer than that. So long, in fact that the fans are getting restless about his late-game presence.
That he allowed a Freddie Freeman home run Thursday to blow
a save in the ninth, and that he allowed a three-run homer by DJ LeMahieu in the ninth in this day-turned-night game ... well two blown saves in two games isn’t going to help Neris’ case any.
But Girardi insists he’s going to stay true to his closer.
“The bottom line is we won the game, right?” Girardi said. “Hector gave up a home run to the MVP last year (Freeman), right? And LeMahieu is pretty good, too. The thing that hurt (Neris) were the two walks (in the ninth against the Yankees), and that’s what we have to take care of.
“Hector for the most part has been really good for us this year. Closers go through it. We’ll get him back on track and we’ll go from there.”
It was pointed out to Girardi that Phils reliever Archie Bradley had blown through three Yankees in the top of the 10th, his fastball
almost looking like Chapman’s. And wasn’t Bradley brought here to be a back-end bullpen presence?
“That’s the best Archie’s thrown,” Girardi said, “but I’m not making any changes.”
Another guy in Neris’ corner is Vince Velasquez, who went five innings Saturday but lost the chance for a W on the LeMahieu home run.
“His demeanor never changes and that’s one thing I love about him,” Velasquez said of Neris. “Despite the situation he always has a smile on his face.”
Neris was unavailable for comment.
••• NOTES » Three straight walk-off wins hadn’t happened for the Phillies since August 21-23, 2013. ... Segura’s consecutive walkoff winners is the first time any Phillie did that since Juan Samuel in 1985.